The Return of Danielle's Ink

I first ran into Danielle here, back in the Fall of '07.

Her upper arm tattoo jumped out at me then, as it isn't often you see Hawaiian words in Broolyn, and it jumped out the other day, when I had just come off the subway.

Last time I saw her, she had a burn on her right forearm, close to her other tattoo. So I took a rain check and cashed it 7 months later.

What looks initially like a few squiggles is actually a more complex piece she designed herself.

Danielle is the feminine form of the name Daniel. She appreciates the meaning of her name, in Hebrew, which is "God is my Judge." She elaborated on her name by transforming it in a stylized fusing of the Hebrew and Aramaic script. One familiar with either language can see, deep down, the daled, nun, yud, lamed.

Very cool design.

This piece, like the Hawaiian inscription, was inked at Funcity Tattoo in the East Village. The artist was Joe.

Thanks again to Danielle for sharing her ink here on Tattoosday!

Obama Knocked "Em Out!

As has been the case with Obama's run for the nomination, history just keeps getting made. And with his win of the Democratic nomination for president, the ultimate historical moment occurred (next to actually getting elected). It was a moment where common sense trumped race, where a deep and genuine need for a new direction overcame the well-worn script of a political dynasty and divisive tactics of race used by white politicians. I'll have more to say during the presidential race. Right now, I'm speechlesss.....

Erin's Tattoos for Loss and Healing

Back in Tattoosday's infancy, when it was a weekly feature over at BillyBlog, I neglected to ask someone about their tattoo, and it had continued to nag at me, months later.

I had just come back from taking pictures of James's tattoos (here) and stopped in Rite-Aid for something. Ahead of me in line, a woman had an incredible black and grey piece that was complex and, I was sure, had great meaning.

But I had yet to successfully get pictures from someone that I didn't know previously, although I did manage to break the barrier and compliment her on the work, which to me was a small
victory in itself.

So, last Saturday, I was walking down my block when two women passed me and there it was, there she was, and this time, after 9 months of talking ink with complete strangers, I had no problem asking what this was all about.

Erin even vaguely remembered my compliment in Rite-Aid from the summer before. Her right biceps actually is comprised of three pieces, all of them inked by Todd at Hardwire Tattoo in Wilmington, North Carolina.

Her first element is the phrase "Until we meet again".
Erin's father passed away when she was very young, and the quote is a phrase that resonated with her in an obituary written for her father by one of his close friends.

Words can be healing, across the years, and the phrase is a powerful reminder of her father's memory.

The piece was enhanced by the tree and, an element that I didn't notice when I first saw the tattoo months ago, the dandelion, which is on the inner part of the arm.


Erin loved the tree design and had it placed in a way that the "until we meet again" phrase runs in the foreground, creating the impression that they were part of the same design.

The dandelion is a flower that is often associated with childhood. What kid hasn't made a wish and blown on a recently-plucked dandelion to watch the seeds scattered by the breeze? The dandelion on the inner arm wraps around and the seeds blowing away actually drift into the other element of the tattoo, making the two pieces become one.

The part that, I believe, binds the whole tattoo together is the piece above the tree:

This is a depiction of a heart that has been ripped in two. However, it has been mended, held together by thread that binds it. Note the needle still sticking out of it in the upper left corner of the heart.

The image is inspired by the fact that Erin's mother was a seamstress by trade, and despite the tragedy of her husband's (Erin's father) death, she kept the family together. It's a nice tribute and a fitting homage to the woman who held the family together, in the face of great loss.

Many thanks to Erin for sharing her amazing tattoos with us here on Tattoosday!

Crack is Wack, But So Were Crack Laws

The Washington Post Magazine profiles former drug dealer Michael Short, putting a face on the unfair drug laws of the 1980's.

As he navigated traffic from his girlfriend's house in Charles County and boarded the subway to Capitol Hill, he braced himself for the inevitable questions, the scrutiny of his crime, the dissection of his punishment. His commutation had taken half a dozen years to materialize and, by Mike's calculation, had shaved only six months off the time he would have served. He had spent more years in prison than many murderers.

He arrived at the basement room in the Rayburn House Office Building a half-hour early and looked around, taking in the raised dais, the plaque that said "Ways and Means." He might have spent this drizzly morning at the Greenbelt health club where he had recently landed a job as a personal trainer. Instead, he was here, wondering what was meant by the term "majority whip" and hoping that he wouldn't stutter.

The room slowly filled with the most sympathetic crowd he would encounter all day: lawyers, ex-prisoners and advocates who believed that federal crack cocaine laws were unfair and had gathered to lobby for new ones. The subcommittee hearing would not take place until afternoon; this was just a practice session to give Mike and other lobbyists some last-minute pointers. Someone handed him a big red button that said, "CRACK the disparity," a reference to the vast difference in prison terms to which crack and powder cocaine offenders are sentenced. He pinned it to his shirt.

Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, a Democrat from Texas who has introduced a bill to remedy the disparity, walked to the lectern. An imposing woman in an emerald green suit, she wondered aloud what America's founders would have thought, had they been able to look into the future and see how many times the country fell short of its ideals.

Click here for the rest.

Jennifer's Butterfly, 2 Weeks out of the Cocoon

Standing in line waiting to buy a Lotto ticket, I noticed a bright fragment of ink peeking out from the top of Jennifer's shirt.

I struck up a conversation with her and she unveiled the whole piece, a bright butterfly that, as they say, "popped" off the skin.



She told me she just liked the coloring of the piece, and she and her husband were both getting tattoos by Michael Angelo (featured previously here).

The butterfly was inked only about two weeks ago. This explains why it is still so vivid, and also accounts for a little of the residual peeling that is evident on the piece.

She talked about how incredible the artist is, how he doesn't take appointments, that he is first-come, first-serve, and that his clients line up hours before he opens to get a spot later in the day.

Jennifer said her husband got a portrait of their son done by him, and that they are very happy with the work. Hopefully, we will feature more ink from Jennifer and her husband in the future.

Thanks to Jennifer for sharing her new butterfly with Tattoosday!

Tribal Chest

Had a customer walk in today to get something around the tribal dragon which he already had. So I created something for him and did what I was suppose to do.

He left with a big smile on his face. Another satisfied customer at Immortal Tattoos, Singapore !!

Please note that the Tribal Dragon was NOT done by me.

Fertility Goddess on the N Train

I met Patricia on the N train to Brooklyn. Generally, I am less inclined to ask people on the train about their ink, but Patricia's tattoo was so interesting, I couldn't resist.

She seemed very interested in Tattoosday as she explained that she got this piece in Puerto Rico. Based on the brief snippets of our conversation (she rushed off the train at the next stop), this is a likeness of a fertility goddess in Taíno culture. Note the similarity to this petroglyph:

According to this website, this petroglyph represents "the chief female diety Atttabeira, the fertility goddess. Her image is carved on a large stone in the main ball court of Caguana, Puerto Rico."

Thanks to Patricia for sharing her ink on the train!

Editor's note: Patricia, feel free to e-mail me a clearer picture of your tattoo, when you can. Thanks again!