Tattoo Coomments: 2007-09-30

Love is a Mix Tape

On a recent trek to Starbucks at 31st and 7th Avenue, I saw someone sitting at the table lining the window. I thought to myself, "Hmmm... She looks she would have tattoos....". This is just the way I think. However, there was no visible ink on this person.

Standing in line, a minute or two later, I discovered I was right at first, wrong at second. The young lady, indeed, had a tattoo:

After grabbing my venti sugar-free cinnamon dulce (with room) Americano, I headed over and introduced myself.

The possessor of the skull tattoo ~~was~~ is Vanessa, a student at SUNY Purchase. The tattoo above was Vanessa's first, and originated from her being fond of cassette tapes, a characteristic her friends tease her about. She loves mix tapes. I asked if she had read Love is a Mix Tape: Life and Loss, One Song at a Time by Rob Sheffield, which is a love song to the mix tape. She had.
Here's a little more detail:

This piece was inked by Adam, owner of Adambomb Gallerie, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Vanessa, however, said that the tattoo meant little to her compared to this one, on the inside of her left forearm:

Seems pretty simple, yet Vanessa insisted that this basic tattoo had great meaning for her. It's the logo from Eyeball Records in New Jersey.

Eyeball has a lot of indie bands, including a band with one of the coolest names I have heard in a while, The Number Twelve Looks Like You. Eyeball records, according to Vanessa, changed her life, which is why she paid tribute to it with the logo on her arm.

Thanks to Vanessa for her contribution to Tattoosday!

3rd Avenue Festival, Bay Ridge, Part 6

The last of the 3rd Avenue Festival tattoos belongs to Tracy, who boasted a beautiful floral piece on the left side of her back.

It's a bright, colorful tattoo that definitely catches one's eye. This was inked about five years ago by Peter at Body Art Studios, whose work appeared previously here on Tattoosday, and can also be seen at the bottom of the page in the form of the cherub playing the green guitar.

What makes this piece particularly interesting is that it is a cover up, the first to appear (as far as I know) on Tattoosday.

When Tracey was 17, she got a wizard tattooed on her back. At first glance, you really couldn't tell and, one might argue, if she didn't disclose it was a cover up, it might not be even remotely visible. As it is, I think I see where the wizard was.

Tracy said that the tattoo was very similar to that of a woman she knew who had survived breast cancer. She had some scarring, and had a similar tattoo, which Tracey admired. This piece was inspired by this woman, and carries with it an extra meaning, as a result.

Seems appropriate, then, that this post was written and posted on Lee National Denim Day, one of the nation's largest fund raisers for the Susan G. Komen for the Cure fund.

Thanks to Tracy for sharing this beautiful tattoo!

So that wraps up the Third Avenue Festival tattoo onslaught. Stay tuned as I have two more tattooed volunteers in the pipeline, and it's unseasonably warm here in New York as the weekend approaches.

Already drawing the crowds in the South American resort of San Alfonso del Mar in Chile, this artificial lagoon and swimming pool is eight hectares in size and contains an incredible 250,000 cubic metres of water. Acknowledged by Guinness World Records as being the world’s largest swimming pool, the lagoon trounces all other record holders in the category, including the Orthlieb pool in Casablanca, Morocco, itself a huge 150 metres by 100 metres – the San Alfonso pool is 1km in length. The revolutionary clear water artificial lagoons, transparent to a depth of 35 metres and unprecedented in design and construction methods, are the brainchild of Crystal Lagoons founder, biochemist and Chilean businessman Fernando Fischmann. Equivalent in size to an incredible 6,000 standard domestic pools, details of its technology are to be unveiled for the first time at Cityscape Dubai later this month.

It seems the world has gone crazy for the massive pools, with Crystal Lagoons confirming that they are in advanced planning stages with companies all over the world, in particular in the Middle East, where, says Fischmann, companies are only too keen to take advantage of the way in which the lagoons form “impressive artificial paradises, even in inhospitable areas”, and at surprisingly low construction and maintenance costs. Currently in talks with both the Nakheel and the Dubai Property Group, Fischmann will be at Cityscape to outline the technology in detail which involves the use of unlimited volumes of clear water: “This advance provides something that until now was not technically possible - the generation of monumental masses of water in a crystalline state to provide a beach life environment and aquatic sports at the top level.”
Source: nubricks.com

Amusement Park Ride from Hell

3rd Avenue Festival, Bay Ridge, Part 5

I really hit my stride on Sunday when I approached a group of young guys hanging out at the street fair in front of the Rite Aid at 93rd and 3rd.

No offense guys, if you're reading this, but I most likely would have passed you up as possible Tattoosday subjects had it been any other setting. These guys were young, in the early twenties, and looked pretty tough. The mass of ink added to their hard edges.

I approached one of them and started explaining myself, but he seemed very reluctant. However, his friends joined in the discussion and, before I knew it, two of them had allowed me take some pictures and post them here.

I will start with John Candela. He was totally into participating. He first had a young lady lift up the back of his shirt to reveal a huge back piece:

The large cross is a tribute to his friends Rob and Frank.

He then showed me the tattoo on his left arm which was a tribute to the same guys and to a third friend, Smokey, who he called his guardian angels. It's hard to tell from the picture, but there are three angels are around the edge of the piece (only the one at the top is visible).

Lastly, he showed me this free-hand graffiti-like piece, which spells out his last name, Candela, which is the Spanish word for candle, which represents flames, and merged with the fiery border design produces a nice effect.

John credited the work to an artist named "Steve the Butcher," who free-lances out of his house, and is not affiliated with any shop.

I did not ask, as he did not offer, what happened to Smokey, Rob and Frank that caused them to die at such an early age. Had he wanted me to know, I'm sure he would have told me.

The other tattoo I captured belonged to Jaimie, who I think had one of the coolest pieces of the day.

It's actually one piece that wrapped around his left forearm. I generally avoid tattoos that wrap around because it is hard to capture the essence of the piece in photographs.

But it's worth a try, so check these out:

The message is "Brooklyn, born and raised." The Brooklyn Bridge is represented, along with the Statue of Liberty. The best part of the piece, however, is the "and" represented by the letter N of the N train (on wich I am currently riding as I type this up). The N express services a big chunk of Brooklyn (as well as Manhattan and Queens). The "raised" is inked like graffiti on the N train, completing a sweet Brooklyn-themed tribute to the borough in which Tattoosday is based.

Jaimie credited this awesome tattoo to Angel at Hypnotic Designs in Sunset Park.

A hearty thanks to Jaimie and John for their participation in Tattoosday!