A Tropical Tattoo on a Cold Winter's Day

While making a quick pass through Penn Station at lunch, I spotted this sweet tattoo on a guy waiting for his train:Steph is a student out on Long Island who designs and draws up his tattoos and then has them inked.The piece featured above was the first one that I spotted on him (he has eight in all), and he was willing to share it here.Perched on his left bicep, It depicts a tropical setting,

The EMC is the Only EMC

I met Eric in Penn Station as I was headed back to work during lunch.His sole tattoo on his right forearm reads "THE EMC". The EMC refers to his initals, his full name being Eric Manuel Concepcion.He prefaced his initials with the article "the" so he can set himself apart. It's an manifestation of his individuality.He wants to have "great significance in life" and has a larger piece in mind to

Renee's Expression of Hope and Joy In Ink: The Presidential Tattoo

Before I proceed with this tattoo, let me plaster a disclaimer on the wall. Although my politics are hardly a secret to people I know, I do my darnedest to keep them out of my blogs. People are passionate about politics, and I have seen rifts in friendships and other relationships turn into chasms of anger and resentment over a difference in politics.By posting the following, I am neither

A Weird Day

Here’s a new one for you. A straight narrative, speckled with ink references, which eventually resembled a “traditional” Tattoosday post. It certainly takes the cake as one of the most unusual encounters. I’ve significantly edited it down for space considerations. I've also waited a week (this is back-dated) to see how it would play out.Today was a gloomy, sleety, cold New York City day and I

Five Questions for the Unin(k)itiated: Nate's Hobbesian Dilemma

It was another cold day, so I cut through Penn Station on my way to the bank. It appeared as if it was going to be another tattoo-less sub-30-degree day in the Big City, so I stopped and chatted with a nice couple from Washington D.C. about their lack of tattoos. So begins another chapter of “Five Questions for the Unin(k)itiated.” Today’s installment was better than the premiere one on the

Introducing: The Unin(k)itiated

What’s a tattoo blogger to do? Or, more specifically, what’s a Northeastern tattoo blogger to do? Sure, this is a site dedicated to tattoos, but there’s a central character here, as well, which is the city of New York. And whereas there’s a vast array of visible ink from May through September, and occasional sightings in the late Fall and early Spring, December through February are tough times

Liz Presents a Cherry Tattoo

The winter in New York City has not been kind to us here at Tattoosday. Inkspotting is operating at minimum visibility, but we try not to let that discourage us.This afternoon, passing through Penn Station, I spotted some knuckle tattoos on Liz, who gladly complied with my request to photograph them. Check them out here over on KnuckleTattoos.com.The drawback of talking to people waiting for the

The Return of Eryn's Ink: Frankenstein's Monster and the Little Girl

At lunch, I ran into Eryn, whose yarn skull, was one of my favorite posts of 2008.We've been exchanging messages for a while, and I have been anticipating another sample of her work (she has a lot of tattoos).She has added to her yarn skull, and her whole right arm is a sleeve-in-progress. We decided to wait and showcase the whole limb when it's complete.Her January offering was this brilliant

On the Bookshelves: A Few More at Borders

On Tuesday, I stopped by the nearby Borders and ran into Jill, who referred to this post, about the books on the shelves that are tattoo-related.She showed me the photography section, where I found three more titles of interest.The first was this title, Suicide Girls: Beauty Redefined:For those unfamiliar with Suicide Girls, click the link on the sidebar to get a preview. It's basically a pin-up

Cat's Ink Pays Homage to Her Experience on the Ocean

Over the last few months, I have reconnected with old friends through Facebook, many of whom I haven't seen in years. In so doing, many have discovered my burgeoning interest in tattoos, and the manifestation of that in Tattoosday. Many of these old friends are inked and I've posted their work here (i.e. this one form Michael).Today's post comes to us from Catherine, the only person with whom I

Tattoos and Poetry: A Call

I received an e-mail today from Claire Askew, across the pond, who runs a publishing house over in the U.K.Among her many projects (Read the Miagazine and One Night Stanzas), she is working on an anthology of poems about tattoos and tattooing. They're seeking submissions from poets all over the world, and I encourage people to contribute.Check here for more information.

Just Added to the Blogroll.....

Check out A Tattooed Blog by Noel Boyd and a site for Free Tattoo Designs called Tattoos and Art.

Michael Has an Ear for Music

Coming out of Penn Station, I spotted a guy on the escalator with an inked hand. Of course, I stopped him to talk tattoo, and he was more than happy to oblige.Michael has eleven tattoos in all. Only four were visible, and he offered up this one:He had this musical symbol (the treble, or G Clef) tattooed in his left ear,because it made sense to him. He loves music, even music he doesn't understand

On the Bookshelves

Lacking new ink photos, I'd rather post something tattoo-related than nothing at all. So, here's a new feature on Tattoosday. An inventory of tattoo books currently on the shelves of a local New York City bookstore. Today's snapshot: my lunchtime haunt at the Borders in 2 Penn Plaza.The Tattoo Encyclopedia – A Guide to Choosing Your Tattoo by Terisa Green.Read a review here.~~~Tattoo: From Idea

Casey's Name Transcends Generations

I met Casey while passing through Penn Station. He was waiting for the Amtrak to his home in Rhode Island. I spotted his neck tattoo and asked him about it because it was not your typical neck piece. He was very enthusiastic about sharing it with Tattoosday,Simply, the ink, which begins on the left side of his neck and curves in a semi-circle to the right side of his neck, is his name (first,

The Literary Tattoo

I didn't spot a shred of ink today, so let's look elsewhere for a moment.A great site that I love to visit regularly is Contrariwise, an awesome blog devoted to literary tattoos.On a related matter, a friend sent me the link to the following article about literary tattoos that I thought I'd share with everyone here at Tattoosday.In 2003, the author Shelley Jackson announced that she would publish

Jerry's Sparrows Represent an Ocean Crossed

I met Jerry just outside of our local grocery store in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn.He was kind enough to let me photograph one of the sparrows flying on each side of his neck:Jerry estimates that 50% of his body is inked. Today being January 4, a lot of that was covered against the elements, so the sparrow it was.He has been getting tattoos since he was 17 years old.He went with the sparrow tattoos to

The Tattoosday That Wasn't

A trip to New Jersey included a stop at the very-crowded Garden State Plaza on the way to see relatives.Near a food court, I spotted an inked biker dude, and was going to approach him, but I balk at bothering people when they're eating or about to eat. And I used his SS belt buckle as an excuse to leave him alone.Moments later, I stopped a mall employee with an interesting horseshoe tattoo on his

Currently Reading: The Tattoo Artist by Jill Ciment

Winter is not conducive to good inkspotting in the big city, so I've got nothing for you today.Nothing, at least, in terms of tattoo photos.I will report, however, that I am reading the book The Tattoo Artist by Jill Ciment.A work of literary fiction, The Tattoo Artist tells the story of Sara Ehrenreich, who was born in the early part of the 20th Century, became an artist, went to the fictional

Turning the Page on a New Year, a New Month

One of my holiday gifts in 2008 was a cool tattoo calendar from my mother-in-law.I've decided that, on the first of each month in 2009, I'll post the photo that accompanies each month.The photo fpr January is credited to photographer Uli Niedersteiner at Mauritius Images.Happy New Year to all!