Laman

The Squid and the Elephant


A seriously long line at the Post Office cut into my outside time at lunch, which adversely affected my tattoo-spotting on Wednesday.

However, I took advantage of the long line at the Philatelic Window and introduced myself to Barrett, who offered up the tattoo above.

He has four tattoos, but this was the only one visible. It was inked about 13 years ago in his home in Colorado by a free-lance artist named Bryan Saren.

Mr. Saren is mentioned in several Durango, Colorado newspaper articles as a local artist and sculptor. I will assume its the same guy.

Barrett designed this piece himself and, although he acknowledges that it resembles the "tribal" category, he doesn't consider it a tribal tattoo.

He was just playing with the design and liked the end result, which is comprised of a melding of a squid and an elephant.

Look again:


The squid is at the tail end, or top of the piece. And the elephant is at the front. A closer look shows the center axis is comprised of the elephantine trunk, surrounded by two shorter, curving tusks.

No special significance to squid and elephant, just part of the design elements.

Thanks to Barrett for sharing his work with us here at Tattoosday!
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Two for Tattoosday: A Break-Up Tattoo and Some European Tribals

Sure I'm posting Wednesday but both of these volunteers were MSG plaza-dwellers on Tuesday and, rather than save then for separate days, I thought I'd put them together.

First up is Erik:

Sorry I cut this off, but I couldn't see the screen in the sun's glare. Erik has a 3/4 sleeve (left arm), his mother and grandmother's names inked on, a small back piece, a leg piece, and a diamond on his chest, but we went with this design, on his left forearm, because it is more recent.

Tattooed by Eric Newman at Silk City Tattoo in Hawthorne, New Jersey (the shop was credited previously only two days ago here), this piece, a dagger through a flaming skull, was purchased for Erik by an ex-girlfriend, after she broke up with him. It is meant to represent a new beginning.

At the end of the day I met Cesar, also in front of the Garden. This is the tattoo that caught my eye:


I'm not a huge fan of tribal pieces, but this one on his right calf is one of the nicer pieces I have seen in a while. I especially like how it is not a solid black design, but resembles a textured wood. Cesar, who is from Italy, is in New York for only two days, and we had some difficulty communicating. This tattoo was inked in Brescia, in Northern Italy, and cost $40. (He offered, I have decided asking is not polite.)

He then showed me a tiki piece on his inner right bicep:


There are two faces, one representing good, one representing bad, juxtaposed on the tattoo, which was inked on the island of Ibiza, which is part of Spain.

Cesar told me the name of the shop was Sara, but I couldn't find a listing. However, considering the type of tattoo he received, I am going to go out on a limb and guess he got this piece at Tahiti Tiki Tattoo.

Thanks to Erik and Cesar for making Tattoosday a true Tat-twos-day!
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Joe's Astrological Ink



I ran into Joe outside of Nino's Pizza in Bay Ridge, at 92nd and 3rd Avenue.

His two forearm tattoos represent his belief in astrology.

Both are relatively recent inkings. The dragon is about a year old. On his left arm, the piece was inked at Hypnotic Designs in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. He believes by Angel. Hypnotic Designs work has appeared on Tattoosday twice before, here and here (Angel credited there too). Joe was born in 1976, the Year of the Dragon in the Chinese Zodiac.

The bull was inked at a shop in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. Joe is a Taurus, astrologically, and the two pieces complement each other nicely.

Joe is currently having a chest piece done at Kings County Tattoo Company. He couldn't show me the piece entirely, and it isn't colored yet, but he was absolutely raving about the quality of their work. Kings County tattoos have appeared previously on Tattoosday here.

Thanks to Joe for chatting and sharing his astrological tattoos!
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Grace's Tattoo: Anita Berber, in the Service of Poetry


On Wednesday, April 23, New York City simmered in pre-summer warmth and, while my camera was at the park with the wife and kids, I was stuck at work.

Co-worker Cecelia (tattoo-less, as far as I know) was kind enough to lend me her Canon and, during lunch, I met a young woman named Grace who had the extremely interesting piece (above) on the back of her neck.

Grace explained: the woman is Anita Berber, who was, in her words, "a cabaret whore lady in the '20's".

The quote, "life in the service of poetry" is an abbreviated version of the fuller quote "life in the service of poetry is a life not wasted". Grace attributed the quote to Berber, who came across it in an interview with Jack Terricloth, lead singer of the cabaret/punk band The World/Inferno Friendship Society. My research is unable to come up with the exact quote in the context of the interview, but that's beside the point. The sentiment is dead on.

Grace, a student at Fashion Institute of Technology, explained further that the quote is not literally interpreted by her, but that she regards it more generally: "Living for whatever you think is beautiful," whether it be poetry, or some other form of artistic expression.

This tattoo (one of Grace's two pieces) was inked by Nick Males at Silk City Tattoo in Hawthorne, New Jersey.

Thanks to Grace for sharing Ms. Berber with Tattosday!
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