Tattoo Coomments: 2007-10-21

Wolf N Moon

Many Native Americans choose to get wolf tattoos because wolves are extremely important in their mythology. Wolves are seen as teachers or pathfinders, and can also symbolize ancestors or other spiritual guides. Different types of wolves were indicative of different clans and Native American tribes, as well as commonly being used as totems.

Here are some different meanings assigned to the image of a wolf (which some believe are transferred to the wearer of a wolf tattoo):

-Devoted
-Loyal
-Fearless
-Intelligent
-Family (pack) oriented
-Attuned to the natural environment

In astronomy and astrology, the wolf is represented in the stars by the constellation known as the Dog, or Sirius, in the Pleaides. This was also thought to be the origin of the "Ancients" by several of the Native American tribes.

Some Celtic mythology depicts the sun being devoured by a wolf (the cause of night). In Norse mythology, the wolf is a sacred image to the god Odin, who was the father of all the other gods. Romans also revered the wolf, because this creature was sacred to the god Apollo, as well as being featured in the myth of Romulus and Remus.

Credits to : http://tattoos.lovetoknow.com/Wolf_Tattoos

Baby Porcupine Eats A Banana and Has Hiccups

This baby porcupine (also called porcupet) eats a banana. You'll hear tiny squeaks--those are hiccups!

His mother was killed when she was hit by a car and someone got him to licensed wildlife rehabilitator Gail Buhl. He was orphaned and imprinted on humans and is now living at Wolf Ridge Environment Learning Center in northern Minnesota.

A New Awakening

At the beginning of the week, Summer was still clinging to the Northeast, which meant that there were still tattoos to be spotted out in the sunshine.

Monday afternoon, I noticed a woman in the plaza outside of Borders with a cool ring of flames and a lion tattooed around her ankle.

When I approached her about it, she was kind of down on the piece, saying the guy who did it out in Huntington, NY overcharged her and messed it up. It still looked pretty cool to me.

She also showed me her first tattoo, a star in a circle, on her lower back.

However, the third tattoo, which I hadn't seen until she pushed her hair back from her neck, was her favorite. That was the one she liked the best:

She gave her name as "Marla," which she acknowledged wasn't her real name. She slipped later and said what her real name was, but I will honor her desire to be anonymously misidentified.

Marla had her piece inked by Cheryl at Ink Alternative in Ronkonkoma, NY. She spoke nothing but praise about the shop. Marla was thrilled to not only let me photograph her tattoo, but was excited when I showed it back to her on my camera as she hadn't seen it in a while.

Marla said she had the tattoo done after getting through a hard time and that it represented "a new awakening". The symbolism of the sun and the tears represented the moving on from the difficulty she had just gone through.

Thanks to Marla for sharing this cool design with the Tattoosday community! Thanks also to Stacey Sharp, another artist at Ink Alternative, for identifying for me the artist who inked Marla's neck.

Update 7/27/2009: Stacey is now at Inkpulsive Custom Tattoos.

A Road-rail vehicle is a self-propelled vehicle that can be legally used on both roads and rails. They are sometimes referred to as a Hy-rail or HiRail. They are normally converted rubber-tired road vehicles that have additional steel wheels for running on rails. Because only one set of wheels would logically be used at a time, a pneumatic, or hydraulic system is employed to lower and raise the rail wheels.

Such vehicles are normally used for permanent way maintenance during engineering possessions of the line. They can be driven on roads to near the site and then convert to rail vehicle for the final journey to the worksite. This avoids both the complex manoeuvres that would be associated with a rail vehicle, and the problem with a road vehicle of accessing the worksite if the worksite is not near a road. Since they are normally converted road vehicles, they would not fare well in a collision with a heavy rolling stock and therefore can only drive on railways under an engineering possession. Their light weight also means they may not correctly operate track circuits for signaling.

Mike's Quintet of Tattoos

Last week, in front of Madison Square Garden, I met a guy named Mike who had several tattoos.

I have found the most success with people in this area because, generally, people are loitering in the fresh air while waiting to head into Penn Station and catch a train.

That's what Mike was doing and I must give him kudos not only for being open to talking with me, but for proudly showing me all of his tattoos (5 in all) and for being forthcoming about his life, more than others may have been.

This is the tattoo that first drew my attention:

This piece was designed and inked by an artist in Miami at a shop called Art Attack, which is now known as Merlin's Tattoo.

Mike's ex-fiancee's pet name was "Jellybean," because, he said, "she was sweet". The name was merged with the express train logo by the artist.

Mike was a first for Tattoosday, as when I asked him what shop his tattoos came from, he hesitated briefly, but then stated matter-of-factly, "State Penitentiary".

So, four of his tattoos were credited to an incarcerated artist named "Kenny V." I must say, in my opinion, considering that these were not done in a shop, per se, the work is superb.

Below the "Jellybean Express" tattoo on his right arm, there was this dragon (because he likes dragons):

What was particularly cool about this dragon was that its rudimentary spine-like body wrapped around Mike's arm from the biceps down toward the wrist. It's hard to really capture the effect, but I did the best that I could.