Little Dead Riding Hood

I met Amy in Penn Station earlier this month and she agreed to share this, one of her eight tattoos:


Actually, she has since e-mailed me about her ninth, and I am waiting for a photo.

This tattoo represents an undead version of Little Red Riding Hood, which is Amy's favorite fairy tale.


She also likes zombies, so it seemed like a good match.

This tattoo was inked by T.J. Mcinnis at Mcinnis Tattoo Company in Providence, Rhode Island.

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

Zack's Spectacular Foot Tattoos

I met Zack earlier this month as he was walking north on Broadway. But, like many Tattoosday encounters, the ink I spotted (on his leg) was not what ended up here on the blog.

Behold, Zack's feet:

These incredible foot tattoos were created by Beef Stu at Bleed Blue Tattoo in Lexington, Kentucky. Zack recently moved to New York from the Bluegrass state.

Zack told me that the idea for these tattoos came to him in a vision. His right foot tattoo is comprised of a DNA strand, the key to life.
And the left foot. with the skull, represents death.


The word "LIVE" is spelled out above the pieces, with "LI" on the right foot and "VE" on the left. The tattoos, together, Zack told me, serve as a "reminder not to get caught up in the shit" and to "make the most of what you can between life and death".

It took three or four sessions (the feet are not easily inked) for these tattoos.

Thanks to Zack for sharing his amazing foot tattoos with us here on Tattoosday!

The Pro's and Con's of a Girl Back Tattoo

Getting a girl back tattoo involves deciding not only what design to choose, where to place it, but also how both of those elements combined can embrace ones own femaleness and personality. I'll focus here on the placement of a girl back tattoo.

Where to get a girl back tattoo? The most common placement for a girl back tattoo has been in the center lower back area, right above, or even in line with, the waist line. With low cut jeans being the latest fad, and tight tees that hike up above the belly button, the lower center area has been an ideal place to display your girl back tattoo.

Pro's of getting a "low-center" girl back tattoo:

-Displaying is ideal with todays clothing trend. The tattoo is both slightly subtle and yet very noticeable when one does see it. For instance many males have gotten "reverse forearm" tattoos in which their tattoo is placed on the underside of the forearm as opposed to the front, more noticeable area. This is both slightly subtle, as first glance you may not see it, but also its not hidden and very visible once one visually zero's in on it. A girl back tattoo placed in the low center area has the same advantages.

Con's of getting a "low-center" girl back tattoo:

-It's unoriginal. Unfortunately the ''lower center" girl back tattoo has been heavily played out. Many girls have followed the trend, and hence it has become more of a fad than an original idea for placement. Tattoos as a whole have become so common that it remains a struggle to find original angles to approach when it comes to both design and placement. Slang terms such as "tramp stamp" have begun to emerge for females donning a girl back tattoo in the low-center area. Some have said in 40 years that slang term will be replaced by "gramp stamp" playing on the notion that the plethora of elderly women who will still be donning the permanent girl back tattoo art in their later years. The popularity and common placement of lower center girl back tattoo lends itself to this type of slang creation.

-Another obvious disadvantage with a low center girl back tattoo is the fact that you are unable to visually see your tattoo, unless you look in a mirror. This is of course the case with all back tattoo's, and if one would like to view their body art frequently, without a mirror, they should consider placement elsewhere.

Possible alternatives:

-If one is absolutely dead set on the low center girl back tattoo, believes that area of permanent placement is right for them, and is content within themselves to rise above slang labels and such, then they should go for it. Other options could include a more unique lower back placement, such as off to one side, or even on the side of the body above the hips. This enables the individual to view their tattoo without the assistance of a mirror. Naturally five years from now a trend could emerge for side hip tattoos, but for now it remains a not very common placement area, and an alternative area for a typical girl back tattoo.

-Another option for the low center girl back tattoo, is to choose a design that is more mural-like, as opposed to a single object like a butterfly or rose. This somewhat lifts you out of the common trend of the single girl back tattoo placed low and center. And the potentiality exists for stretching the design across the back, instead of just centered in the middle.

Whatever you do choose as the placement for your girl back tattoo, it ultimately should be one you are able to be happy with both in the short term and the long term. No matter where you choose your placement area, a good, unique, design can make a huge difference and in any event it's always worth researching to find the right one for you. One that in your eyes would look good no matter where you decide to place it.

Stephanie's חַי

It was a string of elephants marching above Stephanie's right ankle that first made me stop and talk to her, but she offered up this, her first tattoo, as well:


She started with the Chai at the top of her left breast. At the time, Stephanie was dating a guy who was covered in tattoos., She was 35, uninked, and going through a mid-life crisis. The shop was in Brattleboro, Vermont, but it has been gone for years.

She liked the tattoo so much, she later added the Star of David and the leaves. The Jewish theme was a tribute to her cultural identity as a Jew.

It somehow seemed both suiting and slightly inappropriate to post these tattoos on Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the year on the Jewish calendar.

I am waiting to hear back from Stephanie for clarification on her string of elephant tattoos. But, in the mean time, I thank her for sharing this deeply personal tattoo with us here on Tattoosday.

J.R.'s Five Elements

At the end of August, I spent a couple of minutes on the R train with J.R., who has quite a few tattoos. I didn't have time to take notes, just photos, and I hoped that she would e-mail me with all the details of her work. Fortunately, she did. So, what follows is her explanation of the tattoos, with a little bit of friendly editing.

"My left arm? Dedicated to the five elements...as I see them to be. Earth, Air, Water, Fire and Friendship.

The ants (done by Roni from Hidden Hand Tattoo in Seattle) represent Earth.


Ants are the closest social structure to mirror humans. They have no real strength individually, but together can achieve so much. As a human, I feel it is destined to feel lonely and when I got the tattoo, I came to terms with that and even found beauty in it. I want to feel less like an ant in the sense that there is something that I'm "supposed" to do and if I don't do it I'll be punished or kicked out of the colony, so to say. I want to feel more that there is a greater purpose for my life (or at least one that reflects me as an individual and not what society tells me to be) and that with the help of others I can realize that to it's fullest potential.

The clouds and birds (done by Jeff Cornell owner/artist at Hidden Hand Tattoo) represent Air.


There is a Leonard Cohen song called "Bird on the Wire" that I think is one of the most beautiful songs ever written. I feel the lyrics of the song so deeply and feel that they express such a core sense of who I am. Always, trying to be free. I aspire to someday be free instead of always trying and the tattoo is an attempt to remind myself that the feeling of trying is also a choice just as easy as the feeling of being free is a choice. The past tense nature of the words remind me to be light and free as a bird...

The blue tattoo on my inner arm (done by a girl in her apartment 10 years ago and I can't even remember her name) represents Water.


It is a play on yin and yang as well as a the symbol for Cancer, which is my astrological moon sign. Cancer is ruled by the moon and your moon signs make up your emotional nature. So, I feel this sign very strongly and luckily balances my Leo sun sign which I will get to more later. The symbol has stars instead of circles like a traditional yin yang because I wanted it to represent the universe within myself versus me questioning the universe around me. I got the box around it to express the feeling of being limited due to the human mind. I wanted to remind myself that any limitations are just an illusion and the healthy balance is one in which I'm learning from my experiences but also pushing my own boundaries.

The red and orange tattoo on my outer arm was done by the same forgotten artist though I will mention I was one of her first clients and that she was the perfect person for the job due to her own self-exploratory nature. She provided a healing space in which I was able to have an out of body experience.


The tattoo represents Fire. It captures my before mentioned fire sign of Leo, which is ruled by the sun. It is also Buddhist themed using a Tibetan mantra Om Mani Padme Hum which roughly translates to "the jewel is in the lotus," which to me is a beautiful way to live life. The lotus roots reach far into the muck and swamp but emerge with a beautiful flower on top. The tattoo is an attempt to capture the notion of living in the world yet being separate from it, as to not get burned or be consumed by it. The circle in the tattoo represents the sun and myself and the red is the part of myself that struggles to find my way in the world.

The beehive (done by Louis Barak here in NYC) is a tribute to Emer and Naomi, two best friends of mine, and the tattoo as a whole captures what I consider to be the fifth element, Friendship...It bears the lyrics of The Beatles' "With a Little Help from My Friends." We lived together in Seattle and called our lovely house the Beehive. We used to listen to The Beatles A LOT...though now I'm more of a Stones fan.

There are two bees buzzing to represent them


and the three forget-me-not flowers represent each of us. Emer and Naomi have known me the longest and have seen me through thick and thin. They mean the world to me and I love them both like sisters. I know in my heart that we will know each other forever."

A big thanks to J.R. for sharing her tattoos with me on the subway and then writing so eloquently about them for us to read here on Tattoosday!

Cogito Chuck Robbins (Literary Ink)

Sometimes I abbreviate post titles and they seem nonsensical, like one of those captcha messages, or a subject line in a morsel of spam.

So I'm sticking with this title "Cogito Chuck Robbins" because I like the way it sounds. So there. It will all make sense eventually.

I met Chris outside of Penn Station one Friday afternoon, intrigued by his forearm tattoo:


"Cogito ergo sum" is a Latin phrase that means, in English, "I think, therefore, I am." It is attributed to the 17th Century French philosopher René Descartes.

This was the first of Chris' three tattoos. He is a philosophy and creative writing major at SUNY New Paltz. This phrase is the "missing link in a belief system," or, in his words, "what I always knew, but never knew".

The tattoo was done at a shop in East Meadow, New York.

Chris also has this dead bird near his right elbow:


Inked at Skin Deep Tattoo in Levittown, this is inspired by the art on the cover of Chuck Palahniuk's Lullaby.

Work from Skin Deep has appeared previously on Tattoosday here. Palahniuk also has quite a cult following, and his work is the most often represented in ink here on Tattoosday. Check out other Palahniuk tattoos here.

And Chris' third tattoo is based on the cover art from one of my favorite authors, Tom Robbins:


This echoes the front of the great book Still Life With Woodpecker, which has made many people a fan of the writer.


The piece, which was inked by Mike Vlad at Triple X Tattoo in Manhattan, is a subtle nod in appreciation of Robbins and his great book. Work from Triple X has appeared previously on Tattoosday here.

If you like these pieces, and are a fan of literary tattoos, you should certainly check out Contrariwise, a site dedicated solely to contributors' literary ink.

A hearty thanks to Chris for sharing his tattoos with us here on our site!

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Back Tattoo - Guidelines for Choosing

Choosing a back tattoo requires three important guidelines to remember:

1. A back tattoo must be a design which you are OK with not seeing often. Obviously you are placing it on an area which is not going to be visible to you, and when you do want to view it, you'll have to do so with the assistance of a mirror.

This is the major drawback of getting a back tattoo. Often times you will see very elaborate, beautiful back tattoo designs, and it seems odd that the tattoo wearer is the one who can't enjoy viewing it, as others can.

2. Pick a medium to large design for a back tattoo. The back is the one place on the body which is literally a large flat blank canvas. Getting a tiny shamrock or some other small back tattoo design seems almost like a waste of space. Often times people have the same regret after getting a back tattoo: I wish I had gotten it bigger! This is very common. So with a back tattoo, think bigger than you normally would.

3. The back is one of the ideal places for concealment. If you are concerned with concealing your ink, a back tattoo could definitely be for you. It solves many issues of workplace or public appearance, or simply the desire of having a private tattoo, not wanting to flaunt or display it openly.

Choosing a back tattoo can be either an ideal place for a tattoo, or a regrettable place if you're very attached to the artwork or the design you choose.

Colin's Left Leg is Traditionally Flash-y

I spotted Colin one afternoon while I was waiting for another tattooed individual to get off of her cell phone.

(Not only have I come up with individual terms for things that are associated with inkblogging, but I follow a code, as well. One of its tenets is to never bother someone talking on a cell phone.)

Colin ambled by and I bounded after him, stopping him and asking about his tattoos.

His left leg is covered with traditional flash, from swallows and bombs, roses, death's head moths,


and a pin-up girl, done in the Sailor Jerry style.


He explained that the sleeved left leg is a result of being "overzealous and excited" about tattoos.
Usually I try to talk about one or two pieces, but because most of his work is just flash, I captured most of his calf.

No fascinating stories to tell, just tattoos.

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

Sweet Pea Shares More Classic Brooklyn-Style Ink

My last tattoo (here) was inked by Pete who uses the moniker "Sweet Pea".

I stopped by to say hi a few weeks back and I got a glimpse of him tattooing a koi on a client's leg.

Sweet Pea invited me to snap a shot of his own leg, recently inked by legendary tattoo artist Tony Polito:


This piece of classicly-inspired flash, signed by Polito himself, is another fine work of body art on Sweet Pea's canvas. See the original post featuring his ink here.

Thanks to Sweet Pea for sharing this tattoo with us here on Tattoosday.

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Any Port in a Storm: Chris Wears His Clipper Ship with Pride

I spotted this beauty of a tattoo in Bay Ridge on the calf of Chris:


He explained that it is a cover-up and took Alex Franklin at Brooklyn Ink about four hours to complete. Work from Alex and the other artists from Brooklyn Ink have appeared previously on Tattoosday here.


Chris is originally from Boston and he said the clipper ship tattoo just "seemed like the New England thing to get". He later elaborated, in an e-mail:

"I wanted to get something true to where I've grown up and my heritage. A clipper ship is a very New England type tattoo and I was born and raised in Boston before setting off to NYC. Ships also mean a lot to me as 3 of my relatives left England for NYC on the Titanic and 1 of them perished at sea with the ship. In addition, my grandfather was aboard the Navy's USS Allagash in the Korean War. Any Port in A Storm is an important saying for me, because I am a cop in Brooklyn. Essentially it means, when you're in trouble, any way out is a good way out, whether or not you like the decision.

Thanks to Chris for sharing this wonderful tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

Claire's Tree of Memory and Strength

On a drizzly day in late August, I ran into Claire, a woman on my block in Bay Ridge, with this tattoo on her upper right arm:


When I asked Claire about the tattoo, she explained that her mother is mentally ill and that, despite being present, she really has not been there as a parent to her, due to her illness.


She remembers, as a child, that her mom often wore a suit with a floral pattern. When deciding upon this, one of her five tattoos, the design reminded her of that suit, and subsequently, the tattoo came to represent the absent parent.

This tattoo was inked by Charlie Foos at Fly Rite Studio. Charlie apprenticed there and is now working in Baltimore at Read Street Tattoo Parlour. Work from Fly Rite has appeared previously on Tattoosday here.

Thanks to Claire for sharing this powerful and beautiful tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

Lower Back Tattoos of Butterflies Makes a Woman Gorgeous

Tattoos are decorative prints over skins that are pierced with inks to provide different colors and designs on the skin. Tattoos are mainly done on the skin for decorative purposes. Men and women get tattoos on different parts of the body and they find it very impressive, cool and brave to have tattoos on their body. Lower back tattoos are more feminine and most of the women like to get tattooed on their lower back region to be more fashionable, attractive and hot. Lower back tattoos of butterflies are very commonly chosen design by women.

Lower back tattoos are very attractive on women and most of the women prefer to get tattooed on their lower back for the reason that they could flaunt their narrow waist and attract people's attention by wearing a short top. Butterfly tattoos are very pretty and feminine that it would go perfect with the lower back region.

The line of the spine in the lower back region can be used to denote the butterfly's body and the wings can be tattooed on either sides of the spine. A butterfly's tattoo would make a perfect design in the lower back area. There is a lot of creativity in a butterfly tattoo as the wings can be designed and colored in a number of ways making the tattoo unique.

The tattoos imprinted on the lower back area are more feminine and most of the women consider the tattoo to be highly fashionable. The main advantage of such tattoos is that they can be covered if you wouldn't like to show it off, by simply wearing a fully covered shirt or a dress that covers your back region.

There are also painless tattoos by taking anesthesia and pain killers. If you really want a tattoo then having anesthesia will really help you get rid of the pain if you are not use to it. Really though, it is not all that bad once your start. There are a lot of designs from which you can choose, when you go for get a tattoo done they would provide you with various design and catalogues and you can select any of the designs.

The design of a butterfly is very feminine and would really make women look hot exposing their tattoos. People have tattoos on their body for various reasons it can be for fashion or to exhibit their toughness or to show their loved ones how much they care with their initials tattooed on the skin. What ever the reasons are a tattoo is a very different form of decorative print over your skin.

Tessa's Tattoo Illustrates the Battle of Head Versus Heart

Yesterday, I wrote about two of Lindsay's tattoos. After talking to her, I spoke to her friend Tessa, who had this amazing piece on her left shin:


First, I need to commend Tessa on the quality of this tattoo, which looks crisp and fresh, as if it had just been inked a few weeks ago. She actually had this done in 2005 by Adam Barton at Samuel O'Reilly's Tattoo Parlour in Santa Cruz, California. The quality of the tattoo is judged not just on how well it is done, but how it sustains its vibrancy over time. Tessa won the lottery with this piece.

The theme behind this tattoo is head versus heart. The struggle between logical thinking and emotional feeling are universal, and Tessa acknowleges that this tattoo reminds her of the ongoing battle between the two sides telling her what to do.

Thanks to Tessa for sharing this, one of her nine tattoos, here on Tattoosday!

Christina's Flawed Tattoo is Just Right

I spotted this interesting tattoo while in Penn Station last month:


Christina, to whom this piece belongs, called this a "reverse tattoo," in that the main focal point of the piece is the word "Flawed".

The word is empty of ink and is created by the artist using negative space.

But why "flawed?" Christina explained that "we all have a weakness" and that "only God is perfect." It"s a reminder that "everyone has need for improvement" and that no one is ever perfect.

This is one of four of Christina's tattoos.

Thanks to Christina for sharing this with us here on Tattoosday!

Nine Little Foot Tattoos and a Prayer for Peace

It is embarrassing to admit, I don't remember the name of today's contributor.

Normally, regular readers may know, I'm a bit more diligent about contributors to the site, but in this case, Z, as I will refer to her, gave me her card, which included her email address and website (she's an artist that works mostly in oils), and I subsequently put it somewhere safe. So safe, I forgot where.

In other words, I lost it.

But let's talk about how I met Z and came to know her tattoos.

Fate spilled me out on the 36th Street platform in Brooklyn. An express train (N) came before the local, so I hopped on, with the intention of riding to 59th, one stop away, and then grabbing an R train.

Standing on the N, I looked down and saw a tattooed foot. Not your normal tattooed foot, with a rosary (like this one), or flowers, or whatnot, but a foot with tattooed marks on it. Just the right foot. The left foot was bare, although there were symbols circumnavigating the calf, just above the ankle.

As luck would have it (Luck loves Tattoosday), Z exited the train at 59th Street and I started talking to her on the platform.

We both caught the R and talked tattoos all the way to 95th Street. Upstairs, at street level, I snapped some photos.

This is her foot:


Up close, one can see that the marks are ants.

Z grew up in New Orleans and always remembers the big, black ants that scurried about.

One day, she was bored, and drew some ants on her foot with a Sharpie. She went several days with her foot be-speckled by these ants, and they grew on her. She wandered into Cherry Bomb Tattoo in Brooklyn, and had them permanently tattooed.

There are nine ants in all.

The following tattoo is above her left ankle:


The Tibetan prayer is "om mani padme hum". She told me that this is the prayer for universal peace.

Thanks to Z for sharing her tattoos with us here on Tattoosday!

UPDATE: It took a while, but our paths crossed again, on July 2, 2010, I was hanging outside of the laundromat near home when I saw a woman with black spots on her foot crossing the street across the avenue from me. When I saw the ring of Tibetan around her left ankle, I knew it was the same person. I scurried across the street and re-introduced myself. The subject formerly known as "Z" is actually named Jeanette, and I was finally able to update this post, with her proper name attached.