Basic Tattoos: January 2011

tattoo bikini full body painting

Crossing the Blues, University of the Nations, Social Work and Education, Shop Clothes Online, Radiology Information Social Work and Education

"First Taste" Art Show at Bound for Glory Tomorrow Night!

Crossing the Blues, University of the Nations, Social Work and Education, Shop Clothes Online, Radiology Information Social Work and Education In case you're wondering where I'll be on Friday night, the plan is for me to attend the opening of Bound for Glory's first art show.

Now, I'm not a big fan of Staten Island (nothing against the people, just my least fave borough), but the fact that the show is curated by Friend of Tattoosday, Magie Serpica, makes it worth the effort. Magie originally appeared on Tattoosday here.

Here is the spiel from the show's Facebook page:

"First Taste"

This is our first art show at Bound For Glory! It will feature the art of many awesome local Staten Island artists, as well as select works from some tattooers nationwide.

The art will be for sale and a portion of the proceeds will go towards Project Hospitality, a local charity which feeds the hungry, shelters the homeless and cares for people with HIV/AIDS.

...The opening reception will be on Friday Jan 28th at 8pm. There will be refreshments, which will be generously donated by local businesses such as Starbucks, Jeans Fine Wine & Spirits, and The CupCake Bar NYC.

Everyone is invited!

This show is curated by Bound For Glory's lady tattooer Magie Serpica

Participating Artists:

Mike Shane
Richie Clarke
Kev/psyn of RobotsWillKill
Chris of RobotsWillKill
Ethan Morgan
Cynthia Von Buhler
Dave Borjes
Brendan Coyle
Amanda Curtis
Chris Sorrentino
Lauren Monardo
Terry Lee Chandler
Charles Tagle
Marina Inoue
Frank Kempo
Chelsea Bunn
Danny Loveridge
Justine Lordo
Veng of RobotsWillKill
Vinny Rega
Tara Anne McCloskey Chillemi
Jennifer McMenemey
Magie Serpica
Nick Caruso
Emma Griffiths
Alexander Rivera
Tom Connors
Victor Modafferi
Sarah Smith (sas photos)
Scott Bakoss
Steve Lapcevic
Sweety
Miss Elvia
Demetrius Felder
Maya Ventura
Bert Krak
Gina Venosa
Mike Hooligan
Eric Perfect
Alex Sherker
Dennis Del Prete
Charlie Foos
Steven Huie

We will be selling raffle tickets for an awesome gift package including: a gift certificate from Comic Book Jones, Some T-Shirts from Robots Will Kill, & "An hour in the chair" with Magie Serpica!

Assuming I can dig my sister's car out from under a new foot of snow by tomorrow evening, I plan to attend and report on it next week, with a photo or two, to boot. Hope to see you there!

Tattoos have officially taken the world by storm with countless famous celebrities now sporting them, including actors and actresses, singers and musicians and sports stars of all kind.

And it now seems that tattoos have found their way into the modeling industry where some of the worlds most beautiful women have elaborate tattoo designs gracing their sleek bodies.

A few models who have been spotted with tattoos include, Ana Beatriz Barros who has a small heart with angel wings on her lower back, Kylie Bax has a name under her left breast, Selita Ebanks has a pair of angel wings on the back of her neck, and Naomi Campbell has been seen with a flowery armband tattoo.

There are numerous other beautiful fashion models who also have tattoos including, Elisabetta Canalis who has a handful of tattoos one of which is an armband of roses, Gisele Bündchen has a small star tattoo on her wrist and a crescent moon on her ankle, Alessandra Ambrosio a small cat resting on crescent moon located on her lower back, and Rachel Hunter has a circular tattoo on her back among other designs elsewhere.

Also checkout these tattoos on more lovely models: Nicky Hilton, Vida Guerra, Freja Beha, Summer Altice and the male model Tyson Beckford.

There are certainly many more models who have tattoos, so drop us a line and let us know about other models with tattoos

Tattoorism: Sean Returns, Part 2

Crossing the Blues, University of the Nations, Social Work and Education, Shop Clothes Online, Radiology Information Social Work and Education Last week, I shared more of reader Sean's vast tat-alog here. It's time to finish off our inventory of this very generous fan o' the site. Let's see what we have:

...I got a clipper ship on my upper arm. The ship is navigating through a background of clouds and lightning bolts and has a banner underneath reading “Hope.” Its meaning follows the same idea behind my anchor tattoo. Hope is a huge part of having a positive mental attitude, which I try (sometimes with little luck, of course) to hold at all times. It’s a reminder that you can make it through stormy parts of your life, no matter how bad they get. It’s also done in the traditional style I love so much. The tattoo was done by Mike Schweigert at Electric Tattoo in Bradley Beach, NJ.

While attending [the 2010] Philadelphia Tattoo Arts Convention, I decided to get a tattoo to commemorate my first convention. For as many years as tattoos have been a part of my life, this was my first convention...I got a blue rose with a candle spouting out of it in between my sparrows and flower on my outer elbow.

I’m a firm believer in everyone having a different reasoning for getting tattoos. Some are used as place markers in one’s life, some are used to remember an event, some have deep profound meanings and some are just aesthetically pleasing. I could probably come up with some in depth meaning behind the tattoo, but in the end, I got it to commemorate my first tattoo convention and that’s pretty much the only reason. Done by Rocco at Death or Glory Tattoos in Westbrook, Maine.

Finally, I got my outer elbow to forearm done with a snake coiling through a skull and dagger and impaling itself on the dagger’s blade.

I usually try to go out of my way to ensure that my friends/family/other people in general are happy, more often than I would like to admit, putting their happiness before my well-being. This tattoo serves as a reminder for me not to do that so much, and to focus on myself sometimes. The snake can be viewed as a protection figure, coiling around and through the rest of the tattoo, but has also caused injury to itself by doing so. Basically, its my reminder that as much as I would like to help others, I need to keep my own happiness and well being in mind before I choose which action to take or I’ll end up injuring myself in the process. Done by Mike Schweigert at Electric Tattoo in Bradley Beach, NJ.

A hearty thanks to Sean for continuing to share his tattoos with us over the years!

Hot Tattoo Girls

Crossing the Blues, University of the Nations, Social Work and Education, Shop Clothes Online, Radiology Information Social Work and Education

Newsday on Tuesday?

Crossing the Blues, University of the Nations, Social Work and Education, Shop Clothes Online, Radiology Information Social Work and Education Newsday on Tattoosday?

So winter makes me consider desperate measures. As I've trickled down to two or three posts a week (believe me, it hurts me more than it hurts you), I've occasionally toyed with the idea of reporting on other things in the tattoo community, other than the Bill-o-centric encounters I have in the City That Never Sleeps. I've even gone so far as to write a few posts and then never published them. The reality is, however, I am facing a scarcity of inkspotting occurrences, and I'm just going with the flow.

So, here we go.....

I recently got an email from someone representing a Guide to Art Schools website, listing Tattoosday among the top 45 tattoo blogs. Considering how specific the site is, I'm honored to be included, especially among some of my favorite tattoo cyber-destinations. You check out the list here:
http://www.guidetoartschools.com/library/best-tattoo-blogs.

And since we're throwing around the work "Best, " I received word about a new tattoo reality show currently in production for the Oxygen Network. Its working title is "Best Ink" and it sounds rather compelling. Check it out:

Capturing the drama and culture of the tattoo scene, "Best Ink"(WT) will feature approximately 12 top tattoo artists as they compete for a cash prize and bragging rights. These unique artists will produce bona fide masterpieces on skin -- something rarely seen in the competition world. The permanent artwork will be created for -- and on -- real people in a variety of challenges to showcase the artists' talents. Only one artist will win the ultimate prize of BEST INK (WT)

Casting details are here.

And, finally, in a creepy news story, but one that certainly nipped at my curiosity, the artists at Sacred Art Tattoo Studio in Tucson are getting some publicity, as they had the dubious distinction of tattooing Jared Loughner last fall. Not to feed into the media frenzy surrounding this guy, but I was curious, so I just had to look into it. Read all about it here.

So what do you think? Should Tattoosday Newsday becoming a regular feature? Feel free to comment below.

Tattoos I Know: Paul's Taíno Ink

Crossing the Blues, University of the Nations, Social Work and Education, Shop Clothes Online, Radiology Information Social Work and Education Last summer, my friend Paul had some new work done by Pierre at The Fort Apache Tattoo Studio near Penn Station. You can see some of his old work here and here and here and here (yes, he's a regular!).

Fort Apache is up several flights of stairs, but it is conveniently close to my day job, which makes up for the aerobic ascension to the shop on 31st Street.

This is what Paul had tattooed on his right forearm:

These four symbols are petroglyphs from the Taíno culture in Puerto Rico. They are one way Paul has chosen to acknowledging his and his ancestors' culture, in ink.

From top to bottom, the symbols each have literal meanings, and then personal meanings for Paul. The triangular piece is a zemis, pointing in three directions - to the sky and the Creator, to the underworld and the realm of the dead, and to the world of the living.

The second petroglyph is Sol, or the sun and the fourth design is the coqui, or frog.

Thanks once again to Paul for sharing his latest installment of ink here with us on Tattoosday!

TATTOO DESIGN ART - The Tribal Tattoo Art

Crossing the Blues, University of the Nations, Social Work and Education, Shop Clothes Online, Radiology Information Social Work and Education

The tribal tattoo art have a rich history of tradition, dating back thousands and thousands of years. Throughout the course of time, there has always been an important role of tradition and ritual behind tribal tattoo art.

The Tribal Tattoo Art

Tribal tattoos are generally influenced by tribal art from native and indigenous tribes. The tribal tattoo art comes from the older tribes such as the Celtics (Ireland, Scotland, & Wales), the Maori Tribe (indigenous people of New Zealand), the North American Tribal, the African Tribal, the Marquesan (Polynesian inhabitants of the Marquises Islands) and the tribes of Borneo.

Celtic Tattoo Art

Celtic tattoo art come from Ireland. Celtic knot tattoos are some of the most popular and most common designs, featuring loops with no end that symbolize a never ending cycle of dying and rebirth. There are also Celtic cross and animal tattoo designs as well

Mori Tribal tattoo Art

The Maori, the aborigines of New Zealand, call their tribal tattoo "Moko" and Mori art is incredible to behold. To the Maori, a person's Moko designs enhanced their prestige and show transition from one social status to another. At its highest level, Moko designs proclaimed the sacredness of chieftainship.

North American Tribal Art

There are many Indian tribes in North America and many different traditions for tribal tattooing. It was very common for tattoos to denote rank within the tribe. Take the Illinois Indians for example. It was quite common for weapons of war to be tattooed upon the men and it is suggested by some that the women received tattoos of tools used for labor. The tools of war outranked the tools of labor. This was, to the best of my knowledge, their tradition. They seemingly kept their practices to a minimum.

Samoa Tribal tattoo art

The Samoan tribal tattoo was done with a carved boar tusk, sharpened with a piece of coral, attached to a turtle shell, and then affixed to a stick. This tool is used to carve the designs into the flesh by tapping it against the skin and then a mixture of candle nut soot and sugar water is rubbed into the resulting wound.

Marquesan Tribal tattoo art

Sea-faring Polynesians from Samoa colonized the Marquises Islands as early as 300 A.D. They were warring tribes who sometimes cannibalized their enemies. Marquesan art is very uncommon. Most tribal tattoos are done with one specific object and the size variation is minimal. This is not so with the Pacific.

African Tribal tattoo art

Tribes in Africa do not use pigment for tattooing, they cut the skin and either the wound is packed with a substance so that it becomes raised or it is rubbed with ash or sand until the wound rises up, then the scar is the tattoo.

Borneo Tribal tattoo Art