cotidiano-ponto-com: Roses

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Marianna Shares the First Rose of Spring

Today is the first day of spring! It's always a joyous time here at Tattoosday, as the temperatures rise and all the tattoos of my fellow New Yorkers come out of hibernation.

Last week we were experiencing a lovely end-of-winter day with warm temperatures and I encountered this lovely first rose of spring on the F train:

This rose, on the upper left arm of a woman named Marianna, was just popping off of her skin having been freshly inked the day before by the talented Eli Quinters at Smith Street Tattoo Parlour in Brooklyn. Eli's work has appeared previously on Tattoosday here and here.

Marianna had a lot of other interesting work in progress going on, so perhaps we shall see more from her in the future. In the mean time, however, we have this lovely rose which she offered up in celebration of the end of winter.

Thanks to Marianna for sharing her beautiful flower with us here on Tattoosday!

This entry is ©2012 Tattoosday.

If you are reading this on another web site other than Tattoosday, without attribution, please note that it has been copied without the author's permission and is in violation of copyright laws. Please feel free to visit http://tattoosday.blogspot.com and read our original content. Please let me know if you saw this elsewhere so I contact the webmaster of the offending site and advise them of this violation in their Terms of Use Agreement.

Tattoosday at the Cincinnati Airport: Patrick’s Ink

Happy New Years from us here at Tattoosday! We still have some old 2011 encounters to recall which, for one reason or another, got postponed until now.

Regular readers may recall that I went briefly to Covington, Kentucky at the end of April and I spotted a few tattoos in my travels.

On my way back to New York, I was navigating the maze that is the TSA security checkpoint when I spotted a guy with a lot of interesting ink. However, common sense dictated that a crowded airport checkpoint was likely not the best place to start taking pictures and interviewing people.

So I put on my shoes and headed off to the gate. I just missed the little shuttle that transports travelers 150 yards or so from one section of the airport to the gate section of the terminal, so I waited, and who should walk up and stand next to me, but the guy I saw at the security checkpoint.

Knowing I couldn’t possibly ignore a clear sign from the fates that this gentleman should be on Tattoosday, I started up a conversation about his ink and five minutes later we were at the airport bar, talking about his tattoos, as I snapped photos of his sleeve, between sips of a very tall frosty glass of Shocktop Ale.

Patrick was kind enough to not only answer all my questions, was also nice enough to buy my beer for me. He works as a bartender on a river barge in the Cincinnati area and has a full sleeve, along with a separate piece on his left biceps. The work was finished in 2004 and took about four to five years due to the fact that he took some breaks between ink sessions.

Patrick is a Christian, and many of his tattoos are reflective of his faith.

For example, this quote, that reads, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart/with all your soul/with all your mind/ And with all your strength”.

The text on the forearm says “that was/to the/Rose/make/tenfold”.

The roses reflect the rose of Sharon.

The kanji on Patrick's right biceps, he told me, symbolize “truth, love and happiness.” The bird inked nearby is a dove.

The triangle at the top of the arm represents Christianity’s Trinity. And obviously, the crosses are also representative of his faith.

The tattoo on Patrick’s left biceps is a design representing the eye of God.

He got that tattoo in 2003 from Kenny Smith at Karmic Tattoo in McDonough, Georgia. Kenny Smith and Kenny Thompson, also of Karmic, are the two artists responsible for all of Patrick’s ink. It should be noted, however, that both Kennys are not listed as staff on the current Karmic website

Thanks to Patrick, not only for sharing his work with us here on Tattoosday, but for buying me the beer, and helping me pass the time at the airport.

If you are reading this on another web site other than Tattoosday, without attribution, please note that it has been copied without the author's permission and is in violation of copyright laws. Please feel free to visit http://tattoosday.blogspot.com and read our original content. Please let me know if you saw this elsewhere so I contact the webmaster of the offending site and advise them of this violation in their Terms of Use Agreement.

Jacqueline's Blood Rose

Two weeks ago I spotted Jacqueline and knew I had to ask her about this large tattoo in the center of her back:

Jacqueline explained that she and her older brother got this same tattoo in the same spot. "We just wanted to get a matching tattoo," she told me, "and, you know, we're both blood relatives". It's as simple as that.

She credits Seth Wood with this tattoo. Seth currently works out of Saved Tattoo in Brooklyn. Work by Seth appeared previously on Tattoosday just last month here.

Thanks to Jacqueline for sharing this amazing tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

Ryan's Tattoo Commemorates the Life of Dolly

Earlier this month I met Ryan, who has a whole host of tattoos. We were working on a project together, so we spent a bit of time chewing the fat, and he wanted to share this particular tattoo, which is on his right forearm:

Ryan explained how he was raised by his grandmother, whose name was Dolly, but he just called Mom. She lived a full life, well into her nineties, and was pretty much the only mother he really knew. After she passed, he wanted something to memorialize her and got this tattoo which not only has her name, but a black rose, a skull, a sparrow, and a derringer. He elaborated about his grandmother's life:

"Back in the day, when she was 19 or 20 years old, she was in the Irish mob and she made whiskey and hooch and she would basically run it back and forth across state lines and that's how she made her money. That's how she supported her family. That's what the derringer is for, because she would always keep a derringer in her bra, just in case something happened ... the black rose ... is symbolic of her life and her passing, which is the skull ... the bird - she's free - you know, God always keeps his eye on the sparrow ... it's a montage of her very interesting life."

Ryan had this tattoo done in Mobile, Alabama, buy an artist he only knows as 'Link,' a tattooist who spent a lot of time in Philadelphia and who also owns a shop in Pensacola, Florida.

Thanks to Ryan for sharing this tattoo, along with Dolly's story, here on Tattoosday!

A Rose for Emily (Laugh Now, Cry Later)

I ran into Emily at the beginning of the month on the 36th Street subway platform in Brooklyn.

She shared this awesome tattoo on her left thigh:

Emily credits Tazz at Aztlan Tattoo in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, with this cool ink.

"I just like roses," Emily told me, explaining that she had an idea and then Tazz expanded on the concept, which is a spin on the traditional "Laugh Now, Cry Later" theme.

Thanks to Emily for sharing this great tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

Corey's Traditional Creatures

I met Corey and Jessica last month outside of Madison Square Garden on a bright, sunny afternoon. Between the two of them, they have dozens of tattoos, so I had a lovely time chatting with them. They're originally from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and had been tattooed by a couple of artists who are friends of theirs working out of Perkins Road Parlor.

Corey credited Brent McCarron and Chris Handford with this pair of cool, traditional-style tattoos:

Corey, who has 14 or 15 tattoos, just asked them to draw him something and they did. This sabre-toothed tiger and his newest piece, the spider, about two weeks old in this photo, have a very traditional feel about them. I particularly love the yellows in the spider.

Thanks to Corey for sharing these tattoos with us! Check back tomorrow to see what Jessica had to offer!

Happy Mother's Day from Tattoosday

I wanted to celebrate Mother's Day with something new, but didn't have a lot in the backlog that was specifically motherly.

Then I remembered Meaghan Farrell.

I met Meaghan last month in Penn Station and approached her when I saw her tattoos. Turns out, Meaghan is a singer-songwriter with 15 tattoos, more of which will appear here tomorrow.

One of the tattoos we talked about was this one on her inner right forearm:

Madge Gassaway was Meaghan's grandmother, who passed away when Meaghan was only nine. Madge, she told me, was a "strong, independent woman," who had a huge impact on her life.

The quote, words of wisdom that have significant meaning for Meaghan, was worthy of inscribing them on her flesh.

Of course, right after I left Meaghan I realized, I forgot to take a picture of the quote from her grandmother, and she kindly sent me one she took herself.

In addition, Meaghan also has this stunning rose on her right shoulder:

Meaghan explained that her grandmother had an amazing rose garden, and that this tattoo represents not only the memory of her.

The artist responsible for these tattoos is Mr. Beans, at Fat Cat Tattoos NYC in Astoria, Queens.

Tune in tomorrow for two more of Meaghan's tattoos. I wanted to share these today in honor of mothers and grandmothers everywhere, who have such a great impact on all of our lives.

Thanks to Meaghan for sharing her tattoos with us here at Tattoosday! Happy Mother's Day to All!

A Black Rose for Saturday

I ran into Sean at the A,C, E subway station at 34th Street last month, and took a picture of this black rose, what he called a personal symbol and his "call sign since junior high school."

It's one of two tattoos he has, and was inked by Joe Staska at Broad Street Tattoo in Bridgewater, Massachusetts.

Thanks to Sean for sharing his black rose with us here on Tattoosday!

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