Tattoorism: Corline's Beautiful Tree

As we rapidly approach the milestone of a half a million hits, it only seems fitting that today's post features a tattoo from one of our fans. We recently received this photograph of a lovely tattoo from Corline:


This beautiful tree on her lower back was tattooed by an artist known as "Hellboy Dennis" in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It's her first tattoo and took about four hours.

Corline says she and Dennis collaborated on the design. They worked at a friend's home studio, he drew it on her back, and then took about four hours to tattoo it, making his own interpretation of their design. She adds, "Trees are really important to me. I went to travel after a long relationship and found my roots and my freedom...".

Thanks to Corline for sharing her lovely tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

Ben Commemorates the Cat and the Tree

Ben recalls wandering off one day when he was four years old. He was up in Wells, Maine with his family and no one knew where he'd gone.

Fortunately for Ben, someone did know: the family cat. A la Lassie, the feline led his parents straight to Ben, who was sitting under a tree, munching on blueberries.

To this day, Ben regards this as a crucial moment in his life when he was saved by the cat.

He collaborated with Brendan Rowe at Pins and Needles Tattoo in Portland, Maine to come up with a commemorative tattoo to honor this animal:


Brendan is now working out of Unbreakable Tattoo is Studio City, California.

The tree nearby on his left forearm, was inked, in part, to complement the cat:


It is, however, also a nod to Gustav Klimt's "Tree of Life".
Not an imitation, but a variation.

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

Johnny's Crows Are His Spiritual Guides

Back in May, I got off the subway in Bay Ridge and was walking behind a guy with ink I couldn't quite make out.

I thought I saw birds on his right arm, but wasn't sure. He was talking to someone so I didn't bother him. I figure, in my neighborhood, I'll run into him again.

About a week later, my wife Melanie is telling me about someone with amazing tattoos with crows on it. She was so impressed, she struck up a conversation with him and passed him my card. I tell her I'm certain I know who she's talking about.

Johnny e-mailed me a day or two later. After some back and forth, we agreed to meet the first Sunday in June. I told him when I would be at the laundromat that morning and we met up and I took pictures.

The problem is, the pictures didn't come out great. It was a bright sunny day and the shots are very light. I e-mailed him back and explained what happened. He said he could send me some better photos. And so it goes.

That was the last time we communicated and I've decided to run the pictures anyway. The sleeve, for that's what it is, isn't complete anyway, so I figure we can get some better shots when the piece is complete.





Johnny has had about four sessions on this piece, and expects about four more.


The birds depicted are crows, which represent his "animal spiritual guide". In his words, "I am not only paying respect to spirit my guide, but also my ancestors, family and friends."


Represented in the various sections of the piece are Mother Earth, Father Sky, and The Great Being.



This work has been done by Half-Stack at Addiction Ink Tattoo & Piercings in Manhattan..

Thanks to Johnny for sharing his amazing ink with us here on Tattoosday! Sorry it took so lone to see the light of the blogosphere!

Tiffany's Tree of Life

I was walking through Penn Station back on July 3 when I noticed the woman ahead of me had an interesting-looking tattoo on her inner left bicep.

But it was rush hour and I was off to a small birthday gathering so, when we went separate ways at the turnstiles, I sighed and thanked the tattoo deities for letting me meet two other people earlier in the day.

A few minutes later, however, while pacing the platform, I ran into her again. And, well, I couldn't resist talking to her about this fascinating tattoo:


Tiffany, who was visiting the East Coast from Los Angeles, was quick to point out that this was not the tree of knowledge in the Garden of Eden. Apparently the serpent confuses a lot of people.

In fact, Tiffany says the tree is based on the tree of life in Angkor Wat, Cambodia, where she visited two summers ago.

The presence of the serpent is due to her affection for snakes, and the image of the reptile climbing the tree in pursuit is a nod to the circle of life. The tree sustains the bird; the bird sustains the snake.

Of the three tattoos I saw on my birthday, this one just made my day. The detail is phenomenal, and I just loved the concept of the piece.

It was tattooed by Henry Lewis at Incognito Tattoo in Pasadena, although he has moved to Northrn California. Although not listed on their website, he has been associated with Everlasting Tattoo in San Francisco. Incognito's site says he still makes guest appearances at the shop in Pasadena.

Thanks much to Tiffany for capping off an awesome day by sharing her wonderful tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

The Tattooed Poet's Project, Jillian Brall's Love of Trees Manifests Itself in a Back Piece

In April, we featured 31 tattooed poets in honor of National Poetry Month. But we had some late entries who missed the cut-off and, well, we just plum ran out of days. Nonetheless, we have decided to continue the feature as an occasional treat for those lovers of tattoos and poetry who frequent Tattoosday.

First, the tattoo:


The owner of this piece elaborates:

My name is Jillian Brall. I am receiving my MFA in Poetry from The New School this May. I am also a collage artist and saxophonist. I live and work in Brooklyn (Bushwick)...On my back is a bare black and grey tone tree that I drew. I have been drawing trees like this one since I was a little girl. Drawing them makes me feel calm and focused. I love seeing the skeleton of the tree, not veiled by leaves. I love that every time I draw one it is completely unique from all the others I have or ever will draw...different numbers of branches, different sizes, different positions, different light sources guiding the shading of the trees.

Jillian had this tattooed in February 2007 at R&D Tattooing in Queens, Rich Fie is the tattoo artist. She adds, "the tree was definitely not his typical street style tattoo, but I drew the sketch and he traced it and did a really beautiful job with it!"

When I asked Jillian for a poem, she not only offered up a poem, but she presented a photo of one of the collages she created:


And, a short poem from Jillian, as well:

To Lose Myself

At night in bed, I hear my neighbor's heaving music

through the concrete wall. In this pale red light

the music is supposed to inspire me to lose myself.

It is supposed to aid me in losing myself.

But I turn my head and there is a bookshelf, with my books in it.

I turn my head and there is the off-white circular rug.

I'm not lost.

Someone threw it out in the hallway, and after scrutinizing and cleaning it,

I brought it into my room.

I turn my head and there is a pen I took from the bank.

And there is a bottle of diet coke,

not an angel, an object without angles.

I turn my head and there is my laundry bag,

not the underworld.

Thanks to Jillian for sharing her tattoo, her collage and her poem! The Tattooed Poets project can be seen its entirety if you click on the tag at the bottom of the post.

The Tattooed Poets Project: Tess. Lotta's Tree Has Her Back

Today's tattoo comes to us from Tess. Lotta, a poet and editor of Media Cake eMagazine. She was referred to me by Rick Lupert over at the Poetry Super Highway:


Ms. Lotta had this piece tattooed "around 1998-99". She noted that, "it took awhile, as it was painful along the spine".

She continues explaining the piece:

"...Most of my work, including this back piece, is done by my dear friend Owen Connell. His shop, Parlor F, is located in Seattle ... At the same time I was coming through some heavy shit in my life, our neighbor was chopping down a very healthy, fabulous oak tree. She left it a stump. By the next spring, the stump had sprouted fresh twigs, each waving tiny, green flags at the ends as if to say 'I’m here.' It was a deep lesson for me. I’m lucky to have two trees in my life now: a skittish but big-hearted lemon tree (it was mutilated by an untrained tree trimmer) and a scrappy peach tree that is cranky as hell."

Thanks to Tess. for sharing her tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

Be sure to head over to BillyBlog and read one of her poems!

Amanda's Tree of Strength

It seemed quite appropriate that, as I had some guests over to celebrate my birthday, Amanda, a friend of my wife's, was sharing with me a tattoo she had inked as a 30th birthday gift from her husband.

I'm fairly certain that this is the first one of these tattoos appearing here and, when I say, "one of these," I am referring to the type of tattoo that looks like it has been painted on in a watercolor style.

This was inked by Adam at Electric Rose Tattoo in Olympia, Washington. According to Amanda, Adam has tattoo training in Japan, and this watercolor-style piece certainly evokes cherry blossoms.


Amanda elaborated on the origins of this tattoo. In 2001, she was dating James, who would eventually be her husband. She had become pregnant and suffered a miscarriage in September, and this experience, after they had been dating for only seven months, was very traumatic for them.

She has other tattoos (this one was number six), and she wanted something to mark the moment, to memorialize the difficulty of the situation that was such a touchstone for emotion at the time. As the years passed and she thought of the occasion for this tattoo, searching for what she thought was the appropriate art to base it on, she envisioned a tree from which to draw her strength.

Then, in 2004, she found the image upon which the tattoo was based, on a thermos, of all places. Amanda knew instantly that this was the art she wanted on her back. She finds that it symbolizes the rebirth of her self and represents what could have been, had she not miscarried. She recalls that this was more painful than any of the other tattoos she has (three on her ankle, two on her hip) and that the emotion behind the piece helped her transcend the pain as part of the healing process.

It's a beautiful tattoo with deep meaning, and I thank Amanda for sharing it here on Tattoosday!

Erin's Tattoos for Loss and Healing

Back in Tattoosday's infancy, when it was a weekly feature over at BillyBlog, I neglected to ask someone about their tattoo, and it had continued to nag at me, months later.

I had just come back from taking pictures of James's tattoos (here) and stopped in Rite-Aid for something. Ahead of me in line, a woman had an incredible black and grey piece that was complex and, I was sure, had great meaning.

But I had yet to successfully get pictures from someone that I didn't know previously, although I did manage to break the barrier and compliment her on the work, which to me was a small
victory in itself.

So, last Saturday, I was walking down my block when two women passed me and there it was, there she was, and this time, after 9 months of talking ink with complete strangers, I had no problem asking what this was all about.

Erin even vaguely remembered my compliment in Rite-Aid from the summer before. Her right biceps actually is comprised of three pieces, all of them inked by Todd at Hardwire Tattoo in Wilmington, North Carolina.

Her first element is the phrase "Until we meet again".
Erin's father passed away when she was very young, and the quote is a phrase that resonated with her in an obituary written for her father by one of his close friends.

Words can be healing, across the years, and the phrase is a powerful reminder of her father's memory.

The piece was enhanced by the tree and, an element that I didn't notice when I first saw the tattoo months ago, the dandelion, which is on the inner part of the arm.


Erin loved the tree design and had it placed in a way that the "until we meet again" phrase runs in the foreground, creating the impression that they were part of the same design.

The dandelion is a flower that is often associated with childhood. What kid hasn't made a wish and blown on a recently-plucked dandelion to watch the seeds scattered by the breeze? The dandelion on the inner arm wraps around and the seeds blowing away actually drift into the other element of the tattoo, making the two pieces become one.

The part that, I believe, binds the whole tattoo together is the piece above the tree:

This is a depiction of a heart that has been ripped in two. However, it has been mended, held together by thread that binds it. Note the needle still sticking out of it in the upper left corner of the heart.

The image is inspired by the fact that Erin's mother was a seamstress by trade, and despite the tragedy of her husband's (Erin's father) death, she kept the family together. It's a nice tribute and a fitting homage to the woman who held the family together, in the face of great loss.

Many thanks to Erin for sharing her amazing tattoos with us here on Tattoosday!

Kyle's Take on Heaven and Hell

I initially just saw the bottom of this tattoo, an inverted cityscape poking out from under a sleeve. Quite unusual, so I had to stop Kyle and ask. We were on 7th Avenue, and I was using the borrowed Sony Cyber-shot of a co-worker (thanks, Tina!). Kyle rolled up his sleeve and blew me away.

The detail and color of the tree were breath-taking. And if you click on the initial photo to enlarge it, the detail in the buildings is astonishing, with color on the billboards and light emanating from some of the tiny windows.


The concept behind this piece, Kyle explained, is that the country is Heaven and the city is Hell, separated by a layer of purgatorial clouds. He was raised in upstate New York, far from the five boroughs of New York City and its eight million-plus inhabitants.

This work was inked by Myles Karr at Saved Tattoo in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn.

Thanks to Kyle for sharing this piece with Tattoosday!

Tani has 15 tattoos - Here's One!

I rain into Tani on 5th avenue in Bay Ridge on Thursday. She has multiple tattoos, on her arms, peeking out from the edges of her shirt on her back, and many that were out of sight.

She offered up this piece on her left biceps, although she admitted her favorite tattoo is on her ribs. Understandably, that wasn't seeing sunlight on a crowded street.

Nonetheless, the one she shared was nice:


This piece was tattooed by Jennifer at Ink Masters on 3rd Avenue in Bay Ridge circa 1998.

Tani indicated that she is half-Chinese, and that the Asian aspects of the design appealed to her. The two main elements are the phoenix and the tree, which she identified as a Japanese Maple.

People with a lot of tattoos, I have discovered, either know exactly how many they have, or aren't sure, and have to try and figure it out. When I asked Tani the inevitable question, she did not hesitate. Fifteen in all.

"So," I asked, "are you getting any more?"

"No" she laughed, "I'm pretty much done."

Thanks to Tani for sharing her phoenix and maple with Tattoosday!