Update on the Great Friday the 13th Tattoo Experiment

Well, many generous souls allowed me to reach the goal and now we're halfway to a tattoo for Melanie. You can still donate, though. It will allow you to vote for what I get, and all proceeds go to the artist(s).

Here's where I'll be:

And here are our choices. Sponsors can pick the top three choices, along with where they want it to go. Check out the flash:

Flash by Joey Wilson

 Flash by Zoe

Flash by Derik Snell

Flash by Jacob Des

Flash by Brian Faulk

So those generous souls who contributed, please vote. And don't forget to choose a limb!

If you want to vote on my tattoo, you can still contribute to my (and Melanie's) ink fund by clicking on the "Donate" button to the left. Thanks, all!

The Great Friday the 13th Tattoo Experiment

Long time readers of this blog may recall this event, when Friday the 13th  fell on my wife Melanie's birthday.

I didn't get a Friday the 13th tattoo then, because we were celebrating for Melanie.

This month we have another Friday the 13th, and I'm itching for my own little celebratory tattoo.

But I want to include the Tattoosday community in this journey, and I want you to pay for it.

Wait, hear me out. I've placed a PayPal badge on Tattoosday for people to make donations. A Friday the 13th piece is only twenty bucks ($13 for the ink plus $7 for tip). I've already budgeted for my older daughter's
birthday on Saturday, so all my funds are tied up. But, in exchange for contributions, I'll trade power. Contributors will get to decide, within reason, what tattoo I will get and where I will get it.

So, assuming I get $20 in PayPal contributions today, whether it be $1 from 20 people, or $5 from 4 people, those patrons will have votes on what tattoo I get, and where.

Those who contribute receive a vote per dollar and will get to select the flash (which I will email to contributors and try to post on the blog from the shop). You also get to vote on which limb will receive the ink.

Hand of Glory's Flash from November 2009

No face or neck tattoos, no designs of genitalia, but if you pay, you have a say. I'll get it, I'll report it and I'll share it.

So, if you're interested, click on the Donate button on the left and secure your vote(s) through PayPal contributions.

Think about it, if twenty of you contribute a dollar, you can participate cheaply in the inking of yours truly. If you don't contribute, and I don't achieve my funding goal, oh, what a boring day Friday will be for all of
us.

The primary purpose of this experiment is  to see if it will work. If anyone out there is interested in seeing this work, please help out.

Any questions, feel free to e-mail me or post them in the comments section.

Thank you,

Bill

Jack Kerouac Back

This is an orphan post, what I refer to as a photo with no real story attached to it, as the individual who let me take the photo, never e-mailed me with any further details.

I shot the picture at the end of the Brooklyn Cyclones-Staten Island Yankees game at MCU Park in Coney Island.

The crowd was filing out, so a protracted conversation was not an option.

The woman who belongs to this tattoo, however, did allow me to take the photo and said it was a quote from Jack Kerouac's On the Road.

It's a slightly modified version of this phenomenal passage:

“The only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn, like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars and in the middle you see the blue centerlight pop and everybody goes "Awww!”

If you're reading this, Dear Contributor, please accept my thanks for allowing us to enjoy your tattoo here on Tattoosday, but contact me, please, to tell us more.

Jarrod's Multicultural Demon Sleeve

When I met Jarrod last month in Penn Station, he was happy to share what he called his Demon Sleeve.

It currently has a Viking Demon:

And a Hannya mask, representing a demonic figure from Japanese theater.

He hopes to add an Aztec demon, as well.

Both tattoos were done by Pepe at The Tattoo Shop, in Medford, NY.

Thanks to Jarrod for sharing his ink with us here on Tattoosday!

Sailor Jerry on the Rooftop

Saturday night found me on a rooftop in the Gowanus section of Brooklyn watching the film Hori Smoku Sailor Jerry, a documentary about the legendary tattoo artists Norman "Sailor Jerry" Collins.

It was part of the Rooftop Films free festival, yet another amazing benefit of living in New York City. That and hearing a guy with a cowboy hat playing "Silent Night" on his harmonica on the subway in August.

A bit about Rooftop Films, what a great program. I encourage everyone in New York to take advantage of (and support) this series, now winding up it's 14th year. The program champions underseen independent films in spectacular locations.

Saturday's show was atop the historic Old American Can Factory.

 Here was my view, initially:

and then when I moved up to the front row:

We were treated to some music from a band called Cheeseburger.

Prior to the film starting, we were introduced to the producer/director of the film, Erich Weiss. He explained that the film has been a three to four year process. It was initially shown at the 2008 South by Southwest Festival and, after a limited theater run, found its way to DVD in late 2009. "I've met a lot of interesting people," he told the audience, and he also asked us not to talk to him after the movie about our own tattoos and the story behind them. Clearly he's heard more than his fair share of tattoo stories.

The film itself was wonderful, and echoed what I consider one of the best tattoo books I've ever read, Sailor Jerry Collins: American Tattoo Master.Much of the book is the actual correspondence between Sailor Jerry and a young tattoo artist named Don Ed Hardy. The film intersperses snippets from the correspondence, typed out across the screen, with a voiceover representing the artist's voice, with interviews from Don Ed Hardy, along with a veritable Who's Who of Old School tattoo legends like Lyle Tuttle, Mike Malone, Zeke Owen, Bob Roberts, and the scene-stealing Philadelphia Eddie Funk.


Because Sailor Jerry was so suspicious of "outside forces" (i.e. the media), he never gave interviews, and the only exposure we get to him are still photographs and a rare recording of his voice from a radio program.


I found the film doubly interesting because Sailor Jerry was based in Hawai'i, my home state, and I really had an understanding of the Hotel Street area of downtown Honolulu where the tattoo shops were located, and I remember how seedy that part of town was, even as late as 1984. I also loved the one artist speaking pidgin, "Eh brah, wheah da five dollah poke stay?" This, of course, translates to, "Excuse me, where can I go for a five-dollar tattoo?"


The film illustrates the man for who he was, warts-and-all. He was a political conservative who thought Nixon was too liberal. He exhibited what today would be considered racism, but back in the Fifties, Sixties, and Seventies was considered a typical prejudice toward Asians that was molded by experiencing World War II in the Pacific. Yet, through this all shone his artistry and his commitment to the craft of tattooing. The fact that he has been dead for 37 years certainly allows one to focus more on his contributions as an artist, and less on what many would call his shortcomings.


After the film, Erich Weiss did a brief Q and A, with the audience. He seemed to channel a bit of Sailor Jerry, as he continued with his polite rant against people who want to talk about the stories behind their tattoos (sounds like he would not be a Tattoosday reader!). He railed against "tattoo snobbery"  and said he "loves the fact that my tattoos are so shitty". 


What Weiss was saying is that tattoos are art and the personal aspects should be just that, personal. He cut his teeth with this film dealing with old school tattoo artists, many who have seen their art form go from an exclusive club to a worldwide fad. About Sailor Jerry, Weiss said, "I think he would have hated what tattooing has become in our society," referring to the tattoo-reality shows and the trendiness of the art form.


The irony of the event being co-sponsored by Sailor Jerry Rum was not lost on me. I could almost see Norman Collins looking down from heaven (or up from hell) and shaking his head at the spectacle.

Speaking of rum, there were free drinks after the event and an after-party in the building courtyard. I had a cup of rum and ginger and looked at some of the beautiful flash that was being displayed in huge frames. My favorite was this one:

The whole experience was quite enjoyable, but the star of the show was Sailor Jerry. I recommend the movie to anyone interested in the art of American tattoo, and encourage people to check out Rooftop Films and support this amazing program.

Marie's Anchor of Hope

I met Marie outside of Penn Station last month after spotting her sleeve of naval designs. She picked this one on the inside of her upper right arm:

This tattoo reminds her the importance of "loving where you're from" and having "faith in where you live". The anchor and cherry blossoms are a nice blend of traditional tattoo designs from the East and the West.

The design is an allusion to a song called "Anchor and Hope,"  from the album Wall of People by alternative rock band Monty Are I, out of Cranston, Rhode Island.

Check them out in this video of them doing the song acoustically:



Marie is originally from New York, moved to Virginia, and has relocated back home to New York City.

The tattoo was done by Rob at Brooklyn Ink. Rob was a subject on Tattoosday a couple of years back. See his post here. And this tag will show you the work previously featured on Tattoosday created at Brooklyn Ink.

Thanks to Marie for sharing her cool tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

Bryan's Memorial Rose

Bryan was around the corner from where I work with this rose on display:

Perched on his left elbow, the tattoo is identical to one that a friend of his had.

When his friend died, Bryan chose to commemorate his friend's memory by going to the artist that did the original tattoo on his friend, and asked for the same drawing be used to recreate the tattoo on himself.

The artist was Agent at Screamin' Ink Tattoo in New Jersey.

Thanks to Bryan for sharing this memorable tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

In a city of 8 Million...

Three days in a row I ran into previous Tattoosday contributors in different locales.

On Wednesday, I ran into Leyna at the Barnes & Noble in Union Square. I had first encountered her ink back in June fifteen blocks uptown coming out of Borders. I spotted her hot air balloon tattoo and had to say hi.

Yesterday, after a Trader Joe's run for salsa, I saw Kat getting on the F train, seven blocks from where I first spotted her.

I know, I know, it's all in pretty close proximity. However, today I approached Mike at the Penn Plaza Borders and knew, once the flicker of recognition crossed his face, that he was the same guy I had met in Brooklyn on 86th Street on April 4.

If you don't recall their ink, click their names which will magically transport you to their original posts.

Shaina's Back Piece Blooms

A post-work errand had me walking down 6th Avenue to 23rd Street where, to my delight, I ran into Shaina, whose large back piece stopped me dead in my tracks. Lucky for me, and all of our Tattoosday readers, she had no problem sharing it with us here:

This piece is a cover-up (more on that later) and initially was born out of a desire for a large bunch of purple flowers. Shaina explained that, at six feet tall, her size can sometimes take the edge off of her feminine side. "I try as hard as I can to be girl-y," she said, and she embraced her floral design as "a sign of girliness".

As time passed, the whole tattoo, which Shaina estimates was composed in five four-hour sessions totaling twenty hours, took on additional elements. When her grandmother passed away, she added a memorial line for her ("In Loving Memory of Eleanor Vespie) along with the red carnations, which were her favorite flowers.

She later added the additional memorial on her neck, for her cousin Tasha.

The tattoo was created by Cliff Evans at Fuzion Ink in Norfolk, Virginia.

Of course, I had to ask about the tattoo she covered up. Shaina looked at me, and I'll give her points for honesty, she confessed, the original tattoo had been a portrait of the Icelandic singer Björk.

She looked at me. I looked at her. "Don't take this the wrong way," I cautioned her, but what would possess you to do that?" Shaina had good humor about it. Like a lot of eighteen-year olds, what seemed cool at the time, in retrospect seemed ill-chosen. But there are many amazing tattoos out there that might not exist had they not been needed to cover up an earlier, less memorable piece.

Thanks kindly to Shaina for not only sharing her lovely back tattoo with us here at Tattoosday, but for taking the time to chat so candidly about her body art.

Two Rocking Tattoos from Joe

I met Joe last month outside of Penn Station and he shared two tattoos with us.

First is this hellcat:

Why this cat? It's a design, Joe says, inspired by the band Rancid, whose music appears on Hellcat Records.

Not to mention, he likes cats. Need he have more reasons? That's on his upper left arm.

I'm more excited to share this photo, which actually is a rare Tattoosday shot in which one can see the contributor's face. I could have cropped it out, but I think it's a cool shot.

This tattoo arose out of Joe's desire to have some body art made with red ink. The design is based on the album art for a disbanded musical act out of Washington called Isa.

The two tattoos are among five Joe has in total and were done by Milton Sillas at Tattoo Royale in the Pacific Beach section of  San Diego, California.

Thanks to Joe for sharing his ink with us here on Tattoosday and for waiting so patiently for me to get to his tattoos. The summer backlog is both a bane and a blessing.

As a postscript, readers familiar with the site will notice that I've watermarked these photos. I've grown tired of seeing Tattoosday content appropriated elsewhere on the web, without attribution. This is an attempt to maintain credit of our content here at Tattoosday.

Sam's Sleeve Revels in Her Heritage

Last month I had the pleasure of running into Sam on the subway platform at West 4th Street. She had this amazing work on her left arm:

Sam's half sleeve is autobiographical in that it celebrates her heritage and her family in the South.

Her ancestry is one-half Koren and one-half Scotch-Irish, which explains my favorite part of the tattoo, the pigs holding the fans emblazoned with the flag of South Korea:

Her home state is acknowledged by the pig with the gold necklace in the shape of Virginia:

And the one pig drinking from the distinctively-shaped bottle is a nod to her affinity for Jack Daniels.

Many may ask, why pigs? Sam explained that many of her family gatherings and reunions are lavish pig roasts. As a chef, Kim, who blogs here, embraces the cultural aspects of her upbringing through food and, as one can see, in this tattoo.

The work done is by Willie Kirby at Classic Tattoo in Richmond, Virginia.

Thanks to Sam for sharing her awesome tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

Chuck Liddell Head Tattoos

Ultimate fighter Chuck Liddell has a Kanji inspired head tattoo on his left back side, the Chinese characters translate to peace and prosperity.

& (Melissa)

I love typographical tattoos.

You've read about them here before in this post, among others.

Last month I met Melissa, in Borders at 2 Penn Plaza, and she shared this tattoo, right below her left collar bone:

This was Melissa's first tattoo (she now has three) and she got it because it is her favorite punctuation mark.

She couldn't recall the exact font, but it resembles old English.

This tattoo was done in Babylon Tattoo & Body Piercing in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Thanks to Melissa for sharing her ampersand with us here on Tattoosday!