3rd Avenue Festival, Bay Ridge

On Sunday, September 30, the community of Bay Ridge held its annual Third Avenue Festival. Every Fall, there's a street fair on 3rd and every Spring, one on 5th Avenue.

The weather was beautiful and there was a plethora of tattoos, as I had anticipated. I had kids in tow, however, and despite their appreciation of body art, I have found myself less inclined to approach people when they are around.

Nonetheless, as people familiar with New York street fairs know, the kids love the big, inflatable bouncy rides. You know, when they jump around with a bunch of other kids on a huge inflatable pad, surrounded by netting and inflatable walls.

Thanks to their love of such attractions and the leniency of the operator, the kids had unlimited fun in the hour or two we spent at the festival, and I got to talk tattoo.

I am proud to report that I met and spoke with seven different folks who agreed to let me photograph their ink and get a little history of the work gracing their flesh.

In fact, until post-street fair, when I asked a guy in Foodtown about his shoulder piece, and was rebuffed, I was batting a thousand, 7 for 7.

So, thanks to all my inked volunteers. Due to space constraints and time as well, I'm going to roll them out gradually, a day at a time. Unless, I find more cool tattoos this week and start to further backlog. Oh, to have such problems!

Enough of the talk, here we go.....


The first piece is a classic koi tattoo, done on the front of the calf. There is a dragon on the back of the leg but it is not finished yet, as color still needs to be added.

The host, John, is from the Bay Ridge area and had his koi inked at Body Art Studios on 3rd Avenue. We know the artist, Peter Cavorsi, who also runs the shop, because he is responsible for one of mine and three of my wife's pieces. I strongly recommend his shop if you live in southwest Brooklyn. His shop is clean and he does very nice work, as you can see from John's koi.

Koi are a traditional part of Japanese tattoo, and are very common subjects n body art because they represent good fortune. Despite their being regular subjects, they seldom are ever one in the same. Like snowflakes, they tend to differ from body to body, and unlike tribal pieces, I don't think I could ever get bored of koi tattoos.

John estimated that this large leg piece, including the dragon on the back of the leg, not pictured and not yet colored, took 13 hours so far. A lot of people don't realize how much time goes into elaborate pieces like these. On shows like Miami Ink, a ten-hour project can be compressed to five minutes of screen time.

Thanks to John for getting me off to a great start at the Third Avenue Festival! Tune back throughout the week to see the tattoos on Tracy, another guy named John, Jaimie, Helen, Chris and Lolita Ford.

Happy October!

McD's Fanboy

I hope he gets  at least some free fries when he enters the golden arches.

McD's Fanboy

I hope he gets  at least some free fries when he enters the golden arches.

Cartoon Mr. T

Overweight shirtless and with funny shoes, but why the caption says Mr. Tees ? 

Cartoon Mr. T

Overweight shirtless and with funny shoes, but why the caption says Mr. Tees ? 

BikeWoman

This one is strange, it is so bad (old) that you can barely figure out that it is a lady holding wheels and it's supposed to look like a bicycle, sort of.

BikeWoman

This one is strange, it is so bad (old) that you can barely figure out that it is a lady holding wheels and it's supposed to look like a bicycle, sort of.

Internet Connection

What Matrix would look like in the real world.

Internet Connection

What Matrix would look like in the real world.

Self Inflicted Knife Wound

Was that knife supposed to kill that ugly thing in the corner ? 

Self Inflicted Knife Wound

Was that knife supposed to kill that ugly thing in the corner ? 

Red Face Homicidal Maniac

He was supposed to be smiling. Instead he looks like a maniac serial killer ready to slit your throat

Red Face Homicidal Maniac

He was supposed to be smiling. Instead he looks like a maniac serial killer ready to slit your throat

Mc Fan

A couple of more visits to McD's and this tattoo will strech very nicely.

Mc Fan

A couple of more visits to McD's and this tattoo will strech very nicely.

My Little Ponies

Pony Power Forever !

My Little Ponies

Pony Power Forever !

Tear Trio

They are sooo proud of it.

Tear Trio

They are sooo proud of it.

Oldschool Skate

Oldschool Skate

Rad Tattoos from Nebraska

There are no defined rules for asking folks to volunteer for Tattoosday, but I have alluded to some personal guidelines, like the reluctance to interrupt people who are talking, or my tendency to select individuals who are stationary and generally alone. I have also said I will not follow people. Too creepy, generally speaking.

However, when something spectacular presents itself, all bets are off.

Friday morning, around 11:30 am, I was facing North on the southwest corner of 34th Street and 6th Avenue, on the outskirts of Herald Square, when I saw a heavily-tattooed woman across the street, walking with a guy, heading West. When the light changed, I had already decided to go take a closer look.

About half-way down the block, in front of Macy's, I caught up and without hesitation, tapped her on the shoulder and interupted her discussion with her companion. What inspired me to such boldness? Why this, dear readers:


Although not a completely finished back piece, it was breathtaking, especially if one admires quality ink. Click on the photo to enlarge. She also had tattoos running on both arms as well, neither of which I photographed.

I did my basic introduction and she was immediately receptive. Her name was Jill and she hailed from Nebraska.

After agreeing to participate, I asked her to offer me a piece that she felt most sentimental about. She had a hard time answering. I elaborated, "What one do you have the best memories about?" She selected the one I would least likely have chosen, but I was thankful that she was letting me add her to Tattoosday.

At the top of her right foot, at the bottom of the leg, she had the word "Rad" tattooed.

Jill explained that she and five friends had gone out together and each had a word inscribed on them permanently. The memory of the event clearly had an impact on her. When I asked "Why RAD?" She shrugged, "It's just a word I liked. One of my other friends had gnarly tattooed on her neck."

The tattoo was done in Omaha, Nebraska at Liquid Courage Tattoo and Piercing by the artist Jason Brown.

She said technically she only had 6 tattoos in all. She counted her 2 sleeves as one apiece. And I'm guessing she counted the back as one whole as well, despite the many components.

Well, I didn't want to take up too much of her time, standing in the sidewalk. In fact, while chatting with her, a couple stopped and the woman complimented her on her tattoos. With art like this, I'd imagine she gets that a ton!

I asked if I could take a shot of her back, she agreed. I thanked her and ambled off. I did notice when I uploaded the photo to the home computer later that the back piece still needs a little coloring which might be why she didn't offer it up right away as the tattoo I should photograph.

Of course, I want to dwell on the back a little longer. The script states "Traveler to the Grave".
I will take a stab at interpretation and attribute it as a reference to the lyrics of "How Can Anybody Possibly Know How I Feel?", a song from Morrissey's 2004 album You Are the Quarry:

But even I, As sick as I am, I would never be you
Even I, As sick as I am, I would never be you
Even I, Sick and depraved, A traveler to the grave
I would never be you, I would never be you

I also love the image on the neck, which is traditionally known as a calavera, attributed to the Dia de los Muertos, or the Day of the Dead in Latin American cultures.


The heart on the left side of the back is, I am surmising, a tribute to her grandfather. The strap of Jill's top covers up the first date partially, but I am leaning toward 1927-2004 as the span at the bottom of the heart.

Thanks to Jill for so kindly sharing her art with me! If you're reading this, Jill, and feel like sending me any shots of your sleeves, feel free to e-mail me. I hope you had a wonderful trip to New York City. Thanks for brightening my day!

Calf Portraits

Let alone the pseudo-artistic nature of these tats. Why the calfs ? 

Calf Portraits

Let alone the pseudo-artistic nature of these tats. Why the calfs ? 

Hot-N-Tasty

He definitely must have been on something when he came with the concept. What do you get when you cross Virgin Marry, Italian cook and a monkey ? This. 

Hot-N-Tasty

He definitely must have been on something when he came with the concept. What do you get when you cross Virgin Marry, Italian cook and a monkey ? This. 

No Fat Chicks

That makes a lot of sense. If you hate chubby women it's perfectly normal and logical to tattoo one on your belly with the "ghostbusters" logo spin-off and a lot of blood coming out of headless neck.

No Fat Chicks

That makes a lot of sense. If you hate chubby women it's perfectly normal and logical to tattoo one on your belly with the "ghostbusters" logo spin-off and a lot of blood coming out of headless neck.

Taco !

With a mustard dip in the most appropriate place.

Taco !

With a mustard dip in the most appropriate place.

Leia And Jabba

It so bad that it's difficult to recognize which one is which. Jabba looks like slimer and Leia has some serious steorids problem with all those ab muscles.

Leia And Jabba

It so bad that it's difficult to recognize which one is which. Jabba looks like slimer and Leia has some serious steorids problem with all those ab muscles.

Pogo Stick

Pogo Stick

Blue Dragon Backpiece

.... with flying cubes. The quality is poor but he is probably knitting something, moreover it is the first dragon with testicles.

Blue Dragon Backpiece

.... with flying cubes. The quality is poor but he is probably knitting something, moreover it is the first dragon with testicles.

RPG Exp Tat

A little bit too passionate RPG player.

RPG Exp Tat

A little bit too passionate RPG player.

Welcome to His Nightmare

I was walking up Seventh Avenue, headed back to work, and contemplating the left ankle of a young woman. She had a tattoo of the Black Flag logo (just the bars):

but she was traveling with two friends. I have a harder time approaching people in pairs or groups, for some reason, perhaps because I fear not the rejection of one person but of two or more. Imagine: I approach a person and ask them about their tattoo. Their friend shoots them a "Who is this dork?" look and the tattooed is less likely to be forthcoming about their art. I also don't like to intrude on conversations and/or stop people who are moving. It's a courtesy thing, I guess. Although, if someone is sporting an incredible tattoo, I may suspend these "rules" for a shot of an amazing piece of body art.

So there I was, walking uptown, thinking it will likely not be the day for the Black Flag ankle tattoo, when I spotted a guy leaning up under a scaffolding. He had ear buds in and was reading, but his tattoo was interesting enough that it was worth disregarding those two deterrents.

This is the piece that was on his upper right arm:


Now, wouldn't you say that's fairly unusual? I just had to get to the bottom of this one. Before you continue, click the photo to see it in greater detail. It blurs a little, but you get a better idea of the full piece.

This tattoo resides on a guy named Losie, a resident of New Jersey. I introduced myself and he was very receptive, removing his ear buds and speaking very openly about his tattoo. This was his second tattoo (more on #1 later). It originated from his finding the art of Greg Simkins online at his website IMSCARED.com. The tattoo was then inked by Damion Ross at New York Adorned in the East Village.

So why did he choose this artwork for himself? "It reminded me of having nightmares when I was a kid," Losie related, "The kid is me."
Greg Simkins seems like a perfect match, then, for Losie's nightmare motif. If you look at his site, you can peruse dozens of his paintings, sketches, and drawings and they all resonate with a sense of the macabre, depicting spectacular, colorful visions of an imaginary world in which rabbits are terrifying and inanimate objects come to life.

Losie definitely has a fascination along the same lines, and indicated that he would eventually like to have an entire sleeve dedicated to the horror genre.

The kid in the tattoo is having a nightmare, he is on his bed. The headboard appears as rows of teeth, things are crawling in through the window and from under the bed. Even his pillow is terrifying:


I asked him about the tattoo on his other arm, he indicated it was done at a shop in Burbank, California, where he had lived for a couple of years.

The tattoo is the logo for the band Coheed and Cambria.


Interesting, I was following a Black Flag tattoo and found a Coheed & Cambria one instead. Losie explained the bats around the logo as a reference to an ex-girlfriend. He elaborated, "Her name was Jamie, so I added five bats, because Jamie has five letters in her name."

He then directed me back to the first tattoo:


"See the purple skull coming out from under the bed?"


"That's for my ex-girlfriend Violet."

Do note, all quotes are approximate and may not be 100% accurate. I took notes but did not write down exact statements. The messages, however, are accurate.

Losie did allude to a third tattoo, on his stomach, but we didn't discuss the exact location, or what the piece consisted of.

Thanks again to Losie for his participation!

Maggie and the Senses

This post, originally called "Twenty-two Tattoos" has been revised. I ran into a woman from Boston named Lindsay in front of Madison Square Garden on Monday, September 24, and she let me photograph three of her 22 tattoos. Alas, it was a bright, sunny day and the shots were awash with light and did not do the body art justice. I appealed to Lindsay here and she answered my call, sending me much better shots, and an extra one to boot. So, thanks again, to Lindsay. So I didn't take these specific photos, but I gave it a try. The end result is the same, I hope: an interesting post about some great tattoos.

The first piece that Lindsay proudly showed me was this one, called "Maggie":

What struck me about this was its color. You see a lot of skulls in tattoo art, but they're seldom this shade, a pink that illuminates off of the skin. This was inked by Spiro at Superchango Tattoo Studio, just north of Houston in The Woodlands, Texas. Spiro is not listed on the shop's site currently, but his home page on Inked Nation here still shows an affiliation.

One of the things I ask people with multiple artwork when I meet them on the street, since I can't very well photograph everything on them, is what piece means the most to them. In Lindsay's case, it was a chest piece that was still a work in progress, so she offered up "Maggie," as she called her. Lindsay explained that Maggie was an original piece created by Spiro based on a painting he had done for a tattoo convention. Maggie is unusual because most of Lindsay's work she designed herself.

Maggie is an anti-drug tattoo, Lindsay explained. It's not visible in the tattoo but, off to the left, there is some additional work that she had Spiro add, like pills, a syringe, and other drug-related designs. Maggie represents what a life of drugs could produce. Lindsay wears Maggie as an anchor, a reminder of what could result from unhealthy choices.

Maggie sits on Lindsay's right shoulder. Her left arm, I noticed had this extremely interesting piece:

When I asked about it, Lindsay explained that she is creating a series of tattoos dedicated to her five senses, which she feels extremely connected to. Each sense is artistically represented with a different type of wings. This blue and yellow hand, on the outer left forearm, was barely visible in my attempt to photograph it, and represents the sense of Touch. This one is credited to Dave Boseman at Superchango.

She has the additional sense of sight on her inner left forearm:


Lindsay explained that "Sight" was done at a tattoo convention in Rhode Island.

When Lindsay so kindly responded to my request for some do-over photos, she sent me this one as well:

And I took the chance to add another one of mine...that I didn't think to show you. It is the chorus to my all time favorite song. Also done by Spiro at Superchango.

Made to Heal by Our Lady Peace

The chorus is:

I'm a thief, a liar
An angel in the fire
I'm a king, a drug
The push that comes to shove
I'm a freak, a star
I'm everything you are
I'm your jesus, I'm your pride

The song "Made to Heal" appears on Our Lady Peace's album Spiritual Machines.

The photo file name is entitled "Ribs," so I will assume that is why I didn't see this tattoo. I'll see if Lindsay can clarify that for me.

Thanks to Lindsay for her cooperation on this post and her willingness to share.