Tattoo Tool: 2010-03-28

The Tattooed Poets Project: Nikoletta Nousiopoulos

Today's tattooed poet is Nikoletta Nousiopoulos:

This tattoo is on Nikoletta's left bicep. At the time she got it, she was researching the Tarot and she felt especially connected to the card representing The Lovers. She explains that "the original card had a giant angel in place of the Eyes of Ra. I preferred the eyes over the angel."

This was her second tattoo and was inked at Skin Grafix in Groton, Connecticut.

Nikoletta Nousiopoulos holds a MFA in Poetry from New England College. Her poems have appeared in elimae, South Jersey Underground, 2River, and Harpur Palate. She was a 2010 finalist for the Philbrick Poetry Award, and was a winner of the 2009 Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Poetry Prize. Her first book all the dead goats was released in 2010 from Little Red Tree Publishing.

Check out one of her poems over on BillyBlog here.

The Tattooed Poets Project: Adam Deutsch

Although the plan is to introduce new poets in this year's Tattooed Poets Project, there will be a few return visitors from last year. Adam Deutsch is one of those exceptions.

In last year's post, in which Adam shared some incredible Miltonian work, he alluded to the fact that he also had a full sleeve inspired by Ralph Waldo Emerson's Transcendental Man. I mean, how could we not bring Adam back to share that?

Here's the sleeve:

A closer look shows the mountains wrapping around the upper arm:

Adam explains more fully:

"That moment where 'the currents of the Universal Being circulate through me' is too important to forget. Rather than have the text tattooed, I went with this image--which is an adaptation of a caricature by Christopher Cranch of the transparent eyeball.

I was moved by the image. Beside Emerson, I was reading the Bhagavad-Gita and Bashō. It seemed fitting to have the sky above 'the lover uncontained and immortal beauty' blend into the water at the base of a mountain that peaks at the shoulder.

Like Adam's other work, this piece was done by Sunday Dawne-Marie at Lark Tattoo in Westbury, New York. Adam elaborates on the process:

"We decided that the simple line-art style make it seem less like art on the body, and more like art in the body. The red is a mixture of colors. I had just the red for about 3 years, and went back for the shading in late 2008--everyone would see it peeking out of a sleeve, and they thought I either cut myself, or had a scar from some kind of accident. When I came in and said 'I think we can use some shading. A little depth,' she said, 'That's what I told you 3 years ago.' So, it was two sittings, about 3 hours apiece. Because it's an uncommon style, I booked the last appointment of the day so she could take her time with it. I trust Sunday to no end with ink."

Work from Lark Tattoo has appeared previously on Tattoosday here.

Adam Deutsch was born on Long Island, New York and has his M.A. from Hofstra University (2005) and M.F.A. from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (2008). He's been on the editorial staff of a number of presses and journals, including Ninth Letter and Barn Owl Review. He presently works in higher education all over San Diego, and is the editor of Cooper Dillon Books.

Check out a poem from Adam over at BillyBlog here.

Minnie Driver Tattoos

Minnie Driver is a delightfully talented English actress and singer-songwriter, best known for her role in the movie Good Will Hunting and Hard Rain.

Minnie Driver has a couple of tattoos on her body, one of which is a heart and dagger design located on her left arm.

The lovely actress also has a rose tattoo on her left butt cheek.

Taye Diggs Tattoos

Taye Diggs is a fantastic American actor, known for such movies as How Stella Got Her Groove Back and Go.

Taye Diggs currently has three tattoos which we know about, including a Chinese Dao symbol on his right shoulder, plus an unknown tattoo design of a circle and symbol on his left shoulder.

The actor also has an Egyptian ankh tattoo located on his inner right ankle.

Robert Downey Jr. Tattoos

Robert Downey Jr. is a spectacular American actor, known for his role in such movies as Air America and Iron Man, among a slew of numerous other hit movies.

Robert Downey Jr has a few tattoos to mention, including the name of his wife "Suzie" on his left bicep, plus the name of his son "Indio" along with a picture frame type design located on his right shoulder.

It has been said that the actor also has a tattoo design which resembles himself with a chiseled body, located on his left arm.

He also has been pictured with a United states flag with the letter U.S.A, however this tattoo is believed to be fake.

Stephen Dorff Tattoos

Stephen Dorff is a marvelous American movie actor, best known for his role in the movie Backbeat and Blade.

Stephen Dorff has a handful of tattoos which we have spotted on him, including a tiny heart on the back of his right elbow, and the name of his mother "Nancy" on his right forearm.

The actor also has an unknown tattoo design on his right bicep area, and another tattoo design just above his left armpit.

Stephen Dorff Tattoos.

The Tattooed Poets Project, Volume II

April is National Poetry Month!

Last April, I launched, with the cooperation of poets across the country (and one across the Pond), the "Tattooed Poets Project".

In addition to the "regular" Tattoosday features, every day in April we featured the tattoos of poets. Each post featured poet-contributed photos, with a link back to BillyBlog, where one of their poems was posted on the corresponding day.

Not all the poems were tattoo-related, but many were.

This year, we are resuming the project again, featuring more poets, and a few returning ones.

I enjoyed this adventure last year and am looking forward to another successful April!

Tom's Sleeve is Based on Faith

I don't know what it was about March, but this final post of the month is the third featuring ink from a member of our Armed Forces.

Tom is eventually going to have a full sleeve that accentuates his faith. The top of the arm is done, with the main focus on the guardian angel on his bicep:

His grandfather passed before he was born and he has always thought of him as the guardian angel that watched over him.

This piece was inked at Aces & Eights Tattoo in Augusta, Georgia.

He also has a couple of tattoos featuring angels on the inside of his bicep and on the outer section of his upper arm as well:

These were done at Third Dimension Tattoos in Marshalls Creek, Pennsylvania

Tom is a member of HHC 1st Battalion, 109th Infantry Regiment, 28th Infantry Division.

Thanks to Tom for sharing his tattoos with us here on Tattoosday!

Pete Doherty Tattoos

Pete Doherty is an English singer songwriter, known as the frontman for the band entitled Baby Shambles and The Libertines.

Pete Doherty has several tattoos which seem to be a bit random in nature and location, including a tattoo design on his neck of his sons name "Estile" which appears to be "Astile".

Some of his other tattoos include, a heart with an arrow and the letter "K" which stands for "Kate" Moss, who is his ex girlfriend.

He has a mermaid on his right forearm, plus a skull and crossbones tattoo on his inner left forearm, along with "Baby Shambles" on his chest.

Pete Doherty also has a few other tattoos, however they are difficult to see clearly.

Two Tattoos from Taylor

I met Taylor where she works at Kaleidoscope, a toy store in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn.

I gave her a flier after admiring her really cool feather tattoo that was inked behind her right ear.

A week later, I was zipping by on my bike and saw her on a break outside the store. That was when I had a chance to speak to her about her tattoos and take the photos for this post.

This is one of her nine tattoos, and was done by an artist named Chris who works out of Puncture Tattoo in neighboring Dyker Heights, Brooklyn.

Taylor says the tattoo is inspired by the fact that she feels free-spirited, like a bird, and that her aunt, who died in a plane crash, used to call her a "little Indian girl". The dangling feathers behind her ear seem to capture both sentiments nicely.

Unlike the first time I met Taylor, on this occasion she was wearing a shirt that showed off this cool tattoo at the top of her back:

Taylor explained that she loves cats and her sister's gray cat Dusty passed away from breast cancer, which has also been a disease that has run in her family, as well. She had the tattoo artist, Peter Cavorsi, of Body Art Studios, model this piece based on Dusty's eyes.

As always, Peter did a superb job. He is no stranger to Tattoosday, having inked one of my tattoos (seen at the bottom of the page) and several of my wife, Melanie's. This link will show you all of Peter Cavorsi's work that has appeared on the site over the last two-and-a-half years.

Thanks again to Taylor for sharing her two beautiful tattoos on Tattoosday!

Mike's Incredible Aquatic Sleeve (and More!)

I had the good fortune of meeting Mike outside of Penn Station last week and, despite first noticing him because of his leg tattoos, he was extremely generous and unveiled an incredible sleeve that covered his right arm:

Mike is a fisherman and a loves the brightness, color and variety of oceanic life. Such things translate well to the body's canvas and make for some amazing tattoo work...

The giant octopus actually curls up over his shoulder and onto his chest, with one tentacle moving down his arm....

The deep sea diver punctuates the middle of his arm...

At the bottom of the arm are tropical motifs including a huge tiki god and a hibiscus....

On the inside of his inner bicep is this fish which is a cross between an anglerfish and a razorfish:

And we ended with this piece that was so fresh at the time, that Mike had to peel back the protective plastic covering this amazing blowfish:

The artist behind this amazing work is Steve Woison formerly of Electric Tiki Tattoo in Patchogue, and now at Studio 520 in Oakdale, on Long Island.

Thanks again to Mike for taking the time to share his amazing aquatic sleeve with us here on Tattoosday!

Earl's Tattoo Honors the Fallen

It was the ring of bullets that first grabbed my attention when I spotted him in Penn Station:

As a soldier in New York City's 69th Infantry Regiment in the New York Army National Guard, Earl has had the honor and privilege of serving in our armed forces overseas.

But, like any one of these brave men and women can tell you, they have seen their share of sorrow when they have lost fellow soldiers in the war in Iraq and Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan.

Earl's way to honor them has been to inscribe on his flesh "For the Fallen," and the initials of those that have died for their country, each bullet representing someone he knew.

On his right arm, he has this tribal piece with a military inscription:

The phrase "Mess with the Best, Die like the Rest" is one of those military slogans that is designed to inspire the soldier and intimidate the enemy.

All work was by Mark Madden at Madd Grafix Tattoo Shop in Buffalo, New York.

Thanks to Earl for his duty to this country and for sharing his memorial ink with us here on Tattoosday!

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