Tattoo Tool: 2010-09-12

Melinda's Medusa

Last month I met Melinda on the West 4th Street subway platform, a location I came to appreciate this past summer for its diversity of interesting tattoos.

Our conversation began on the platform in Manhattan and ended in Brooklyn after a trip on the D train.

Melinda has two tattoos and she shared this one, from her inner left forearm:

She explained that this tattoo is based on the shield of Minerva (in the Roman pantheon) and Athena (in the Greek pantheon).

The shield features the head of the serpentine-tressed Medusa who, if you didn't know, could turn creatures (men, mostly) to stone with a simple gaze.

Melinda loves the contrast between the Minerva and Medusa figures and the relationship between the two mythologies.

The tattoo was inked by Kelly Krantz, of the now defunct Hold Fast Tattoo in Brooklyn. Kelly now tattoos by appointment only, and more details can be found on his website here. Work by Kelly has appeared previously on Tattoosday here.

Thanks to Melinda for her good company on the D train back in August, and for sharing her tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

Shia LaBeouf Tattoos

Shia LaBeouf is a sensationally talented American actor, featured in the movie Transformers, Disturbia and Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps.

Shia LaBeouf is known to have 3 tattoos on his body, including the time span of 1986-2004 on his inner right wrist, he said "A lot of people who have been working a lot of their life, (I've been doing this for 10 years), a lot of people say, Oh, I forgot my childhood or I miss my childhood. 1986 to 2004, so that's just precautionary."

The actor also has an art piece on the left side of his torso, a hand with ball and chain attached, which symbolizes being tied down to your work.

Concerning this tattoo Shia has said "It's an art piece that I've seen many years ago. It's always been a cool visual for me. It's kind of how it feels too. You know you do put yourself. Because you always talk about the stardom or what not and the more you do this, then the more successful you are. You're entrapping yourself, you know, because regardless of if you want to be a personality or not, that's part of the game, so that sort of represents that to me a little bit."

And finally, Shia LaBeouf has a small dog paw print on his left shoulder, which is believed to represent a fallen four legged friend, his childhood dog.

Liz Flexes Her Tyrannosaurus Rex

I met Liz last month on the West 4th Street platform as we were waiting for the D train.

She has six tattoos, including a really cool Brooklyn Bridge tattoo that she designed and, she proudly told me, Exene Cervenka once complimented her on.

The tattoo she shared with us, however, is this design of a Tyrannosaurus Rex, inked on her upper right arm:

The piece was modeled after the fossil displayed prominently in The American Museum of Natural History, where her brother had worked for a period of time. The tattoo is an homage to the time she spent there.

The tattoo was inked by Christopher Depinto aka The Ink Shrink at Shotsie's Tattoo in Wayne, New Jersey. Work from Shotsie's has appeared previously on Tattoosday here.

Thanks to Liz for sharing her dinosaur tattoo with us here at Tattoosday!

Svetlana Kuznetsova Tiger Hip Tattoo

Svetlana Kuznetsova is a great Russian professional tennis player who is known for winning the 2004 US Open and the 2009 French Open singles titles.

Svetlana Kuznetsova has partially reveled a tattoo on her lower hip, which appears to be a rather small tiger design in all black ink.

Mila Kunis Tattoos

Mila Kunis is a fabulous American actress, featured in the television series, That '70s Show, as well as such films as Forgetting Sarah Marshall and Black Swan.

Mila Kunis was spotted with a lower back tattoo while filming, however this tattoo is believed to be fake. The actress is also rumored to have two small playing cards on her right wrist, but this hasn't been confirmed just yet.

Tyler's Bald Eagle

I spotted Tyler outside of my office building on Seventh Avenue last month.

Actually, the first thing I noticed was Tyler's eagle:

One of three tattoos he has, Tyler explained that he really likes traditional designs, and that eagles, in his opinion, are among the coolest animals.

He also likes the way feathers look in tattoo designs, and this eagle's plumage is inked exceptionally well.

He credits Jeremy at Imperial Tattoo in Portland, Oregon with this piece.

Thanks to Tyler for allowing his eagle to fly here on Tattoosday!

Flower Tattoos

Searching for a stunningly beautiful tattoo idea, or perhaps looking for a fabulous design to complement an existing art piece? Well its hard to go wrong with an elegantly placed flower tattoo.

Flower tattoos are probably the singles most common design among women, and with so many options to choose from, it can be difficult deciding which one is the best match for you.

With that being said, some of the most popular flower tattoos include the rose, lily, lotus, plus the beautiful array of Hawaiian species such as the orchid, anthurium and hibiscus are beloved by many art and beauty enthusiasts. Enjoy this picture gallery of helpful ideas.

More often than not we see lovely stand alone designs which are completely beautiful, however we personally love a colorful mixture of perhaps lilies, a rose and a smattering of daisies would be very appealing.

As for body location of flower tattoos, pretty much anything goes, however we love the shoulder artwork, both the upper arm and back shoulder area are excellent locations. Plus the ankle or foot is always a cute spot and the hip is becoming increasingly popular as well.

Flowers in general are said to symbolize peace, happiness and a overall sense of enlightenment, which stems from not only their pleasant appearance, but also the aroma they produce.

Unfortunately they haven't developed scented tattoos just yet, but its surly right around the corner...

Nick's AK-47

I met Nick outside of Penn Station and, of his "six or seven" tattoos, he offered up this one:

Nick had this AK-47 inked on his stomach to pay homage to his Russian heritage. He told me that this tattoo was done by Fernando Alvarez out in Los Angeles.

Thanks to Nick for sharing his ink with us here at Tattoosday!

Simona's Scripted Ink

I met Simona in Park Slope, Brooklyn, back at the end of July. At the corner of Prospect Avenue and Prospect Park West, just outside of the Holy Name Church.

Simona had an unusual script around her right bicep:

This is written in Tengwar, a script created by J.R.R. Tolkien to represent the Elvish tongue. The text displayed here is the beginning of Aragorn's coronation speech in The Lord of The Rings trilogy.

The line displayed is "Et Eärello Endorenna utúlien," which means "Out of the Great Sea to Middle-earth I am come".

This tattoo was inked by one of the best tattooers of script around, Stephanie Tamez at New York Adorned. Work from Stephanie has appeared previously on Tattoosday here.

Simona also had this on her inner left forearm:

That is Hebrew for "chai" or "life".

She placed the tattoo there because that is where Jews who were interned during the Holocaust had been tattooed by the Nazis. It's tattooed there as an expression of solidarity with her faith and, as a reminder to never forget the horror that was the Holocaust.

Thanks to Simona for sharing her tattoos with us here on Tattoosday!

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