Erica Wears Her Heart on Her Sleeve

The concept of wearing your heart on your sleeve isn't completely original, but when I met Erica in the grocery store last month, I was impressed with this interpretation:

Erica said she got this, one of twelve tattoos she has, to remind herself "not to toughen up ... you go through some shit and you kinda want to be mean and nasty and callous and it's kind of a reminder to be cool and stay neutral and be nice, no matter what."

She credited John Poverty at Thicker Than Water in the East Villlage with this tattoo. Work form John has previously appeared on Tattoosday here. He now tattoos out of Goose Tattoo in Brooklyn.

Thanks to Erica for sharing her softer side 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.

Kristen's Anchor - Dedicated to Daddy

"This tattoo is for my father," Kristen told me, as we sat talking at the laundromat earlier this month, "because he's my anchor and he's the only man that could ever hold me down and take care of me."

She credits an artist named Twace who works in Brooklyn. [On October 4, 2011, I learned Twace is working at Citizen Ink.] Twace does all her work and is working with Kristen on her sleeve, which is based on family and inspired by Sailor Jerry flash.

When I asked her about coming up with the design, she praised Twace, her artist:

"What I love about him is that we designed the entire piece together ... I paint and do artistic things, as well, which you find [can be] very difficult with tattoo artists to put your inspiration in ... The heart rope was my idea, the color scheme, we basically worked together, bounced ideas off each other, which makes it even more like a special event."

Thanks to Kristen for sharing this cool tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

This entry is ©2011 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.

Charles - Art and Science, Together in Ink

Last month, on a journey to the Fairway market in Red Hook, Brooklyn, my daughter Jolee was begging me for a couple of Snapples. "Only if you find me a cool tattoo," I teased her. She dashed off and, within seconds, it seemed, she was back, beckoning me to the next aisle.

There, I met Charles, who shared this interesting tattoo on his left arm:

I find this piece fascinating. I asked Charles to describe what went into its creation. He said it represents

"that rare occurrence when art can meet science ... The dancers are the expressive artist part of it and then this is the anatomical heart at the bottom ... this kind of green foliage-looking stuff behind the dancers is a representation of a brain neuron. I'm not a scientist by trade, but I'm a scientist by heart."

This "intersection of when expression can meet science" was inked in two sessions of two to two and a half hours each by an artist named Guido Baldini. Guido's work has appeared on Tattoosday before, here and here. Guido is based out of Santa Fe, New Mexico, but also spends quite a bit of time in New York doing guest stints at local shops.

Thanks to Charles for sharing this fascinating tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

(And yes, Jolee got her two Snapples).

This entry is ©2011 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.