Tattoo Coomments: 2008-08-24

Under the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge

As mentioned in the previous post, I was having some luck spotting some tattoos while riding my bike along the path that runs along the southern tip of Brooklyn.

Last weekend, I was riding north and passed a woman sunbathing in a bikini in the grass along the bike path. I noticed she had some sort of intricate pattern inked on her foot. Yes, I am that committed to Tattoosday that when I see a woman in a bikini, I notice her foot!

However, I chose not to stop and disturb her and kept riding. Yet, the image of her tattooed foot hounded me, and by the time I had reached the 69th Street Pier and grabbed some water at a local store, I had decided to head back a couple of miles and see if she was still there.

Of course, she was gone. I stopped my bike and looked at the spot where she had been and thought of what might have been. I checked the time on my phone and was getting ready to head home when a guy named Danny walked by on the path. He has 12 tattoos. I approached him and we started talking about his ink.

Danny offered up this lower back piece:

This seemed the most appropriate tattoo to discuss as we were standing under the Verrazano Bridge. This long shot gives a better idea of the appropriateness of the tattoo:

Danny is Brooklyn-born and raised, and a lot of his friends growing up were graffiti artists. This street-style tattoo is true to his upbringing and a key element of his roots in South Brooklyn.

The piece was inked by Mr. Kaves at Brooklyn Ink. Danny explained that Kaves ran Brooklyn Ink before the current owner Joe had the shop (he has work by Joe as well). There's a nice piece about Mr. Kaves in Prick Magazine here.

Kaves is a founding member of The Lordz , a well-known rock-rap band. They were featured in five episodes of a show called "The Brooklyn Way" which aired on FUSE. The show website is here.

As an added bonus, here's a clip of the Lordz, featuring Everlast, performing their song "The Brooklyn Way":

Thanks to Danny for sharing his Brooklyn ink with us here on Tattoosday!

Last weekend, while riding my bike along the Shore Promenade at the southern tip of Brooklyn, I spotted the back piece above.

Although it is not completed, Chris, to whom the tattoo belongs, was more then happy to share it with us.

The story of this tattoo goes back a bit. Chris explained to me that, when he was seventeen, his father took him to get a tattoo. He got a piece on the left side of his back. He recalls his mother being beside herself over this, upset that he had gotten a tattoo at such an early age.

You can tell from the photo that, on the left side, one of the wings is covering the previous tattoo. Eventually, one won't be able to tell it was there.

Chris' mother passed away several years ago and he began this back piece to honor her memory. The central figure is the religious icon from Mexico Our Lady of Guadalupe.

Not only is it a spiritual tribute, but it is a practical one in that it is covering up the tattoo that Chris so vividly recalls upsetting his mother.

This grand design has been a work in progress for three and a half years. Renee at Memphis Tattoo has been the artist working on the piece. Work from Renee at Memphis Tattoo (now called Top Shelf Tattoo) appeared previously on Tattoosday here.

Thanks to Chris for sharing his tribute to the memory of his mother with us here at Tattoosday!

April's Tribal Piece

No offense to people with tribal tattoos, but they (the tattoos, not the people) generally don't generate much interest from me.

Unless they are incorporated into a bigger design concept (like this tiger lily piece), they don't seem particularly interesting. I know, I know, that's a sweeping generalization, and there will always be exceptions.

But tribal arm bands, anklets, or lower back designs are just that: designs. Often aesthetically pleasing, sometimes not. These tattoos (again, generally) are more about the look of the piece and the desire for a tattoo, than about a deep meaning about a specific person or event. Sure, you may have got that tribal piece to commemorate the time that your dog Lassie saved your son Timmy from a rattlesnake in the bottom of a well, but how does such a blogworthy event translate into an inked pattern?

But, I digress. The title of this post is "April's Tribal." On occasion, a tribal piece does call out to me, as April's did last Friday at the 86th Street subway platform in Bay Ridge. Again, there is no earth-shattering story behind it, and had it been smaller in scope on an ankle or lower back, I may have kept walking.

But April's tattoo is bold and striking:

She had this inked in Los Angeles in the early 1990s, by a friend with whom she has lost touch. He was just starting out as a tattooist.

She had initially envisioned having a short sleeve, but after the initial back piece was completed, she just never finished it off. April didn't seem too concerned, though: "It's on my back, so I never see it," she smiled.

Thanks to April for sharing her tribal piece with us here at Tattoosday!

Video Game Tattoos

Yes we all love games but some people go to the extent of having their favourite game characters tattooed on their body. Pretty cool I must say especially when you can show it off to your friends.

Convert your Old TV into a Fish Tank

Since we’re environmentally aware and we really want to recycle as much as we can, we thought we’d show you a little trick for your old TV set - how to turn it into an aquarium. Naturally, the tube will have to come out and replaced with the aquarium. Fish swimming are certainly more relaxing to see than some of the shitty shows and news we get fed on a daily basis. Kitty seems to like it too!

The Top 10 Best Attack Helicopter in the World

The Top 10 Best Attack Helicopter in the World.

Lego Vs. Real Life

Sometimes beautiful, sometimes strange, sometimes you wanna cry... This is real life photo gallery Vs. lego life. Everything is much prettier in unreal lego world. Enjoy viewing it!