Kathryn's Birdhouse Reminds Her of Home

I spotted Kathryn in Penn Station earlier this month and asked her about her tattoos. She shared this one, which jumped out at me from across the room:

I had a nice time chatting with Kathryn who referred to her approximately 18 tattoos as a "patchwork" collection, with each tattoo marking a different occasion and/or the places she has been. I totally related to that, although she certainly has a lot more ink than I do.

This birdhouse was the first tattoo she got after moving to Philadelphia. It represents a look back to home. Although the house is not modeled after the building where she lived, it's the same color as her former home, and she associates it with her leaving the nest for the big city.

This piece, on her inner right forearm, is credited to Topper at Philadelphia Eddie's.

Do note I framed the photo so you can see two of the five cherry bombs she had tattooed on her left arm when she turned eighteen. She noted that these bombs were a "loose" reference to the graffiti artist Banksy.

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

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John Shares More Than Just a Fly on the Wall

I met John walking down 7th Avenue in the upper 20s back in the beginning of September.

He has six tattoos, but it was this one, on his left side, that I spotted through the hole cut in the side of his t-shirt:

Fans of the popular British graffiti artist Banksy will recognize this as a tattoo based on his work. Another Banksy-inspired tattoo appeared here on Tattoosday in October of 2009.

Why this design? Aside from the fact that John likes the imagery, he especially likes the dripping effect at the bottom of the piece, as if it was spray-painted on. He also related to the ape's sign that reads "Laugh now but one day we'll be in charge".

The piece was inked at Tattooville in Neptune, New Jersey.

Here's a shot of the original Banksy work:

John offered up, an additional tattoo, as well:

Yes, that's a fly tattooed under his right armpit.

John explained that this was tattooed by an artist under the moniker "Porkchop" at Asbury Park's Parlor Gallery. It was part of an occasional event called "Fly Day Friday".

If that sounds bizarre, it gets even crazier. If you present Pork Chop with an item that was bought for under $5.00, and he finds it valuable, he will trade it for one of his fly tattoos.

John successfully presented an item and got the tattoo in exchange.

"What did you offer?" I asked.

"A Pets.com sock puppet," he replied.

Cool.

Thanks to John for sharing these unusual tattoos with us here on Tattoosday!

Graffiti girl Solveig Barlow hailed as 'the new Banksy'

A 10-year-old girl has taken the graffiti art world by storm with a series of spectacular creations ... but don't compare her to famous graffiti artist Banksy.

Primary school student Solveig Barlow has been described as as “the young Picasso of street art”, and compared to satirical street artist Banksy, whose work sells for up to $896,266.

Solveig has created more than 20 legal works on walls around Brighton, Sussex, and has earned a legion of fans along the way.

She started painting at age eight and is now regularly seen meticulously spray-painting walls on a patch of wastleland near her home.

But Sloveig has pleaded for people to stop comparing her to famous graffiti artist Banksy, saying their creations are very different.

“I don't like being compared to Banksy because what we do is different. I do graffiti and he does stencils,” she said. “It's not the same thing.”

Solveig isn’t the only person annoyed over comparisons with Bansky, whose murals have made him a cult figure in the art world and whose customers include Christina Aguilera, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie.

Many bloggers have criticised comparisons of Solveig’s work with Banksy’s.

“She's great and definitely has a very particular style and talent, (kinda relax panda-esque) but this is nothing like Banksy's work,” one commenter said.

Sloveig said she had been overwhelmed by the public’s response to her work.

“I never set out to become known - it just happened,” she said.

Her aim is to create graffiti works that stand out from the crowd.

“I love to make pieces that are as crazy as I can make them. I have no plans to stop so watch out for me.”