Sandra's Cherry Blossoms

I met Sandra at the local laundromat at the end of August and she shared this lovely tattoo on her upper right arm:

There are two elements to this design, the cherry blossoms and the quote. The cherry blossoms were inked after her father was initially diagnosed with cancer. The quote was added when Sandra decided to move to New York from Oregon.

Reading "When your heart is in your dream, no request is too extreme...", this quote is from the film Pinocchio, in the song "When You Wish Upon a Star".

The tattoo was done by Dragon at Star Tattoo, in Portland, Oregon.

Thanks to Sandra for sharing her lovely tattoo with us here on http://tattoosmonday.blogspot.com/!


Here's a little bonus:

Frank's Anvil

When someone is "not sure" how many tattoos they have, the one they do offer up can seem a bit random.

Take Frank, for example, who volunteered this anvil for us here at http://tattoosmonday.blogspot.com/:

Why an anvil? "I'm a big Looney Tunes fan," he told me. The anvil, falling from great heights, is often a cartoon catalyst for one of those big expanding bumps on the head of say, Wile E. Coyote, for example. Thus the name on the anvil, ACME, which was said coyote's chief supplier of items designed to aid in the capture of the Roadrunner.

This particular piece was inked by Jae Connor at Electric Lotus Tattoo in Boonton, New Jersey. Work from Electric Lotus has appeared previously on http://tattoosmonday.blogspot.com/ here.

Thanks to Frank for sharing this nostalgic tattoo with us here on http://tattoosmonday.blogspot.com/!

The Queen of Clams

One year ago today, I posted about meeting a couple of Kansas City burlesque performers outside of Penn Station (recalled here).

Since then, I had the pleasure of meeting another local performer, Legs Malone, and documenting one of her tattoos here.

Coincidentally, I am sharing here today, a tattoo on the ankle of one Miss Clams Casino.

It would be one thing if I was catching these performers in their natural habitats of burlesque shows, but my encounter with Clams was so fleeting, I was fortunate enough to snap a photo and take her card.

A brief ride on the F train (two stops only) afforded me enough time to spot a tattoo above her ankle, introduce myself and take a picture before necessity required I transfer to the R train.

So, here's the tattoo that so intrigued me:

As I mentioned previously, I barely had time to snap a photo, let alone get the story behind this cool tattoo. Thankfully, Miss Clams Casino was generous enough to send me the story at a later date:

"Every year I go to the Burlesque Hall of Fame weekend in Las Vegas and play in the official Burlesque Hall of Fame Poker Tournament. I enjoy poker, but I know that I'm probably not going to win, so I like setting little goals for the game with fabulous rewards...in 2009 I decided that if I won a hand with a pair of Queens I would get a tattoo to mark the occasion. Long story short, a few hands in I was dealt a pair of Queens and won the only hand I won that tournament. A few months later, my friend Scarlet Sinclair was getting started as a tattoo artist and was looking for willing guinea pigs. I told her the story and that I'd like some ink involving Queens and hearts and she came up with this incredible design. I went to see her at Matt's Tribal Dragon Tattoo in Bethpage, NY and was her 7th tattoo ever. She's incredible and I love the queen living on my ankle."

Thanks to Miss Clams Casino for sharing her tattoo with us here on http://tattoosmonday.blogspot.com/!

Please feel free to check her out on these sites:

http://www.MissClamsCasino.com
http://www.GameShowSpeakeasy.com
http://www.casinoofortunecookie.com
http://www.burlesqueonthegogo.com

Matt's Golden Silence

I met Matt one afternoon as he stood among the masses at the southwest corner of Madison Square Garden, waiting for a bus out of town.

This is his tattoo which he shared with us, covering his upper right arm:

The message is simple: silence is golden. I love how the side skulls spill off of the front skull, and how the teeth of the primary jaw are fused together.

Matt attributes this piece to "deep life experiences" and how it serves as a reminder to keep his head on straight.

He told me he's "been low and wants to stay higher" and that "keeping what I've done to myself has given me the ability to achieve what I have in life".

This tattoo was inked by Loki M. LaChapelle when he was at Kaleidoscope Tattoo & Art Gallery in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Loki now works out of Mazel Custom Tattoo & Piercing in Everett, Massachusetts.

Thanks to Matt for sharing his tattoo with us here on http://tattoosmonday.blogspot.com/!

Tattoo from a Francophile

Earlier this summer, I posted a couple of tattoos from Joe, seen here.

Needless to say, Joe became a fan, and updated me with a new tattoo, below:

Joe explains:

"The picture is fresh from the artist finishing it. It is "C077X" and is a nod to James Franco and General Hospital. He is my fav actor and I have been watching General Hospital for at least 21 years. It is the the tag that "Franco" sprayed on everything when he recently guest starred on GH as an artist/serial killer. His character's name is Franco, reflecting that art imitates life. A motto the actor and character believe, and so do I. That is why I got the tattoo. To prove art imitates life!"

Photo Credit: ABC via http://sn.soapnet.go.com

The tattoo was inked by Rob at Brooklyn Ink. Rob originally appeared here as a contributor here. And is one of several artists that has represented Brooklyn Ink over the years on http://tattoosmonday.blogspot.com/. This label links all of the work from the shop previously seen on http://tattoosmonday.blogspot.com/.

Thanks to Joe for sharing his new tattoo with us here on http://tattoosmonday.blogspot.com/!

Rachel's Bird Helped Her Let Go

The same night I met Brian, I met Rachel, who has eight tattoos.

She shared this one with me:

This piece on her left biceps is based on the work of artist Kurt Halsey. This little bird appears in multiple works by the artist, but Rachel imagined it for her own personal situation. She got it after a break-up a couple of years ago, and the tattoo gave her the strength to "let the bird go". In this case, the bird represents the ended relationship and the tattoo is a transitional piece that helped her recover from the difficulty of moving past it.

From Memphis, Tennessee, Rachel had this inked at Underground Art Tattoos and Body Piercing by Chris Fitzgerald. Chris had been a piercer at the shop and then moved into tattooing. He has since left tattooing and moved to photography. His new business is Cult Noir Photography, and his work can be seen here.

Thanks to Rachel for sharing her tattoo with us here on http://tattoosmonday.blogspot.com/!

Brian's Ink Speaks About Art

I met Brian in Barnes & Noble, Union Square, back in August and he shared two tattoos with us. Put your thinking caps on, folks, because Brian, who is a video artist (website here), has very cerebral ink.

First up is this tattoo, on Brian's left biceps:

This tattoo is based on an illustration entitled "Every Night We Are Haunted by a Dream" by the artist Alfred Kubin (1877-1959).

Jede Nacht besucht uns ein Traum (Every Night We are Haunted by a Dream), ca. 1902-03
Pen and ink, brush, wash, and spray on paper
39.1 x 31.8 cm (15 3/8 x 12 1/2 in.)
Albertina, Vienna

Brian explained that this work corresponded very closely to the publication of Sigmund Freud's The Interpretation of Dreams, and that Kubin's illustration represents "art between the cusp of pre-surrealism/expressionism and surrealism". It speaks to Brian's understanding of the perception of dreams and art.

Brian also had these words inscribed on his inner right forearm:

The words "Créer Dangereusement" are the French title of a 1957 essay by Albert Camus entitled "Create Dangerously". This "essay on realism and artistic creation" likewise spoke to Brian who acknowledged that "all art is a political act". It makes perfect sense, if you think about it, in that no great work of art was ever created by the artist playing it safe. It is those who created dangerously that are remembered as trailblazers and icons in their respective fields.

Brian had both of these tattoos done in Austin, Texas.

Thanks to Brian for sharing his artistic ink with us here on http://tattoosmonday.blogspot.com/!