Tattoosday Boxcars: A Leonine Tattoo and Wearing One's Heart on One's Sleeve

I met Jeff and Jeanie in Penn Station as they were about to board an Amtrak train out of the city.I've been trying to come up with clever terms for different inkspotting phenomenon, basically creating my own lexicon.I'll call Jeff and Jeanie "boxcars". Meaning, I approached the two of them and gambled, asking them both to participate, and they came through. Like rolling two sixes on the dice (

Ashley's Trio of Tattoos

I've always said that Tattoosday is 50% about the tattoos and 50% about finding them. But once in a while, tattoos just present themselves and I can't contain myself.Ashley is a case in point. She was at the laundromat the same time as I was, and she had two small tattoos inked on her feet. Out on the street, I likely would have let her walk by without stopping her, but there, as we stood around

Matt Wears His Heart (of Bacon) on His Sleeve

I first met Matt a year or so ago when he and his wife Allison opened the gourmet grocery Robicelli's in our neighborhood of Bay Ridge, Brooklyn (there's more on Robicelli's here).It was only recently, however, when I popped in to pick up some of their incredible gourmet cupcakes (the "Irish Car Bomb" is my favorite), when I spotted this amazing tattoo on the inside of his left forearm:So it

The Tattooed Poets Project: Raffaella Ciavatta's Trio of Amazing Tattoos

Today's tattoos were submitted by Brazilian-born, New York-based poet Raffaella Ciavatta. She heard about the Tattooed Poet's Project earlier this month from Jackie Sheeler at a local reading. Jackie's tattoos were featured earlier this month here.Raffaela sent three photos:Raffaela says that this is "my own design mixing a Chinese dragon, representing strength, and the lizard, for the soul's

The Tattooed Poets Project: Malaika King Albrecht Shares Her "Unambitious," Yet Meaningful, Tattoo

Today's tattoo was submitted by Malaika King Albrecht:I contacted Malaika on Facebook when I saw her profile photo, and that she had a visible tattoo. She was kind enough to not only accept my friend request, but also to submit the photo above, along with one of her poems, over on BillyBlog.Malaika filled me in on this piece:I may have gotten this tattoo, my second one, at Shaw’s [Tattoo Studio]

Happy Valentine's from Tattoosday!

Lacking any new material for this holiday o' love, I'm re-posting an old favorite that seems to be in the theme. Well, at least there's a heart in it.I just love the way, in this photo, that Cait's hand is positioned as she is pulling her blouse back to reveal the whole tattoo..."I asked her if she'd be willing to share, and she did. She peeled back a little of her top to reveal this beautiful

Vicki's Shamrock Tattoo

Earlier this month, I posted this tattoo which was a tribute to Olivia Rose, a new daughter born to Vicki. I mentioned in the post that it was Vicki's tattoo below her neck which first grabbed my attention, but that Vicki offered up her newer piece for us here at Tattoosday.Vicki has recently sent me a photo of the original tattoo I saw on her. It's a nice, simple shamrock and hearts.This, like

Michele's First Tattoo: Beautiful Can Also Be Dangerous

I met Michele in the middle of the day last Wednesday. I was riding my bike on a vacation day and she was sitting on the Shore Promenade while on a lunch break.The tattoo above is small, but I liked how Michele described it. The piece is about sixteen years old and was done by an artist named Vinnie.This was the first of her three tattoos and she picked it off of the flash art on the walls in