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Sunday, May 15, 2011

Dispatch from the 2011 New York City Tattoo Convention (A Recap)

Yesterday I spent a half dozen hours at the Roseland Ballroom, where the New York City Tattoo Convention was holding court. This was my third trip to the show, and each year, I have a different experience, as Tattoosday has evolved as a site (read about 2009 here and 2010 here).

In years past, I have only highlighted one or two pieces, as I go into sensory overload. What, outside of a convention's setting, would normally pique my interest, seems commonplace and ordinary. This year, however, I took many more photos, and actually interviewed four people, so this will be Convention Recap Week.

I do want to say the best part of the show was hanging and chatting with Marisa and Brian from Needles and Sins, as well as with Nathan from Knuckle Tattoos. It's not a portrait of future world domination, yet, but here's the three of us, masterminds of three of the best tattoo sites around, and hands and above, the best three inkbloggers at the show:

Nathan, Marisa and Me (photo by Brian Grosz)

That moment of self-adulation aside, I spent the first few hours talking to vendors about advertising, chatting with colleagues, and saying hello to people I've met in years past, like Greg who was the high point of last year's show for me.

I also like to introduce myself to artists whose work has appeared on the Site before, so I said hi to Adam Rosenthal of Th'Ink Tank in Denver, and Vinny Romanelli at Red Rocket in NYC.

I also took a slew of photos of people I didn't interview, so I will just throw them up here. Unfortunately I can't credit any of the amazing artists responsible. However, if you see your work here, shoot me an email and I can give you your proper due. Many of these shots were taken during the first round of the contest, which centered around black and gray work:

This one was one of my favorites, especially considering the woman's reflection in the blade of the knife:

And this Star Wars leg was totally cool:

Finally, through social media, my friend Ben in Hawai'i requested a shot of "80s West Coast punk rock logos." I thought I had failed in my quest until, as I was leaving, I captured this tiny Black Flag tattoo on a guy named Crash, who works for Tattoo Artist Magazine:

Mini-Black Flag Bars Tattoo by Oliver Peck

and this incredible Misfits piece to boot:

Tattoo by Frank Lee at Tattoo Blues in Ft. Lauderdale

Yes, we know, Misfits are an East Coast band. But it was too nice a tattoo to not photograph. Can you blame me?

Check out the Tattoo Artist Magazine blog here.

Check back throughout the week to see what four tattoos I found most blogworthy for us here on Tattoosday!

If you are reading this on another web site other than Tattoosday, without attribution, please note that it has been copied without the author's permission and is in violation of copyright laws. Please feel free to visit http://tattoosday.blogspot.com and read our original content. Please let me know if you saw this elsewhere so I contact the webmaster of the offending site and advise them of this violation in their Terms of Use Agreement.

Saturday, May 14, 2011

Tribal Heart Tattoo

Tattoo like this is more appropriate if placed in the lower back or in the abdomen and also above the breast, but not the least is also the woman who put it on the arm with a smaller size

Tova's Mockingbird Takes Wing

Late last month, I met Tova at my local Borders store. She was sporting this incredible tattoo on her upper left arm:

When she told me she had it recently inked at New York Adorned, I guessed correctly that Virginia Elwood had been the artist. Virginia in incredibly talented, and seems to especially excel at bird tattoos (her work has been seen previously on Tattoosday here, here and here).

Tova explained that she loves birds, and that this mockingbird reflects a turn of events that occurred in Southern California. She described to me how, the night before she had to take ~~defend~~ her Ph.D. exams ~~dissertation~~, her husband had a guest staying with them, and this individual seemed particular insensitive to the momentous occasion Tova was facing the next day, as he was playing loud music well into the night.

Tova recalled how her anxiety and displeasure over this guest’s inconsiderate activity forced her from her home in search of a little peace and quiet. As she circled her block, she was struck by the large number of mockingbirds that were flying around.

She successfully passed her exams ~~defended her dissertation~~ and associates the mockingbird with this landmark event in her life.

As her Ph.D. Is in English, I asked her if she was familiar with one of my favorite poems, Charles Bukowski’s “The Mockingbird”. She wasn’t, so I suggested she check it out and I thought it appropriate to share here:

the mockingbird

the mockingbird had been following the cat
all summer
mocking mocking mocking
teasing and cocksure;
the cat crawled under rockers on porches
tail flashing
and said something angry to the mockingbird
which I didn't understand.

yesterday the cat walked calmly up the driveway
with the mockingbird alive in its mouth,
wings fanned, beautiful wings fanned and flopping,
feathers parted like a woman's legs,
and the bird was no longer mocking,
it was asking, it was praying
but the cat
striding down through centuries
would not listen.

I saw it crawl under a yellow car
with the bird
to bargain it to another place.

summer was over.

Thanks to Tova for sharing her stunning tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Enter to Win a T-Shirt from Kings Avenue Tattoo, Now Open in Manhattan!

We here at Tattoosday have had the pleasure of encountering work from Kings Avenue Tattoo on only one occasion. We featured work by Grez here.

Nonetheless, their shop, located out in Massapequa on Long Island, has a sterling reputation, and I know at least one loyal client, Brian Grosz, over at Needles & Sins, who sings high praise to the shop owner and artist extraordinaire, Mike Rubendall.

It was from Brian that I first learned that Kings Avenue was opening a new location here in New York City. Lucky for those of us here in the Five Boroughs who don’t have cars!

We here at Tattoosday want to help spread the word about the new location, in Manhattan on the Bowery (188 Bowery, at Spring Street) to be more exact. Located on the second floor, the new shop location will be open Monday - Saturday 12-9 and Sundays from 12-6).

In fact, Kings Ave NYC would like to cordially invite you to join in the celebration of the opening of their Manhattan location tomorrow, Thursday, May 12th, at 8:00 p.m. Please join the Kings Ave crew for drinks, friends and family for this proud moment for their shop, and for the addition of some great talent to our teeming metropolis.

And to generate a little more buzz, we put our collective heads together and came up with an idea where one of our lucky Tattoosday readers can win a cool Kings Avenue Tattoo original t-shirt, like this one, perhaps:

All you have to do is head on over to their site and check out the merchandise here. Then, in the comments section of this post, tell us which shirt design you like best and why you deserve to win it. Please note, if you don’t have a blogger ID that links you to an email where I can contact you if you win, make sure you e-mail tattoosdaycontests@gmail.com as well so we can notify you if you win.

And, dear readers, while checking out those shirts, you’ll be losing out if you don’t check out the Kings Ave site, clink on the “Artists” tab, and then get lost in the hundreds of photos of top-notch tattoo art from Mike Rubendall, Grez, Justin Weatherholtz, Brian Paul, and Matt Beckerich. Not to mention the shots from such illustrious guest artists like Chris O’Donnell, Tim Hendricks, and Kat Von D, to name only a few.

We here at Tattoosday welcome the newest branch of Kings Avenue into our fair city and hope this means we’ll be seeing a lot more of their phenomenal work on the streets and, subsequently, here on the site!

More about Kings Avenue NYC:

KINGS AVENUE NYC was founded by tattooist and international award-winner, MIKE RUBENDALL, with his associate, GREZ, a well-respected tattooist in his own right. While people have traveled from all over the world to visit their Long Island location for everything from a full-scale Japanese body-suit to a modestly-sized, classic nod to Americana flash, RUBENDALL explains that they opted to open a second shop on Bowery, "for the simple fact of wanting to be a part of the energy, life, and creativity that Manhattan possesses."

KINGS AVENUE NYC will also feature the work of resident artists MATT BECKERICH, JUSTIN WEATHERHOLTZ, BRIAN PAUL, SHAUN NEL, KEVIN LEBLANC and SARAH SCHOR - a talented collective that has adorned the bodies of notables like actress EVAN RACHEL WOOD, hip-hop impresario DAMON DASH and rocker PETE WENTZ of FALL OUT BOY. The public can also expect to see guest appearances from renowned artists like CHRIS O'DONNELL, TIM HENDRICKS and Denmark's HENNING JORGENSON as well as "celebrity" tattooists such as CHRIS NUÑEZ (Miami Ink) and KAT VON D (L.A. Ink).

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Tattoosday in Kentucky: Headphones at CVG

On my recent whirlwind trip to Kentucky, I spotted some interesting tattoos at CGY, also known as the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport.

Check this out:

The young lady that was sporting these headphones, identified herself as "E" and has "ten or eleven" tattoos. She wanted headphones that looked like they were spray-painted on. Note the "drips" and spots of splattered paint.

Unfortunately I didn't get much more information. She credited the artist "Slevin" at a shop on Main Street in Cincinnati. However, I can't seem to find any information on this artist or the shop she mentioned.

Thanks to "E" for sharing this cool and super original headphones tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

Monday, May 9, 2011

Musician Monday: Meaghan Farrell

Over the past several years on Tattoosday, we've run into several musicians in our travels, many of whom have generously shared their tattoos with us. We've decided to post tattoos from these talented folks on the first day of the work week, and call them "Musician Mondays."

We got a sneak peek at our first Monday Musician yesterday, as we shared a couple of Meaghan Farrell's tattoos in recognition of mother's day. The tattoos she has honoring her grandmother (here) are truly wonderful.

I was fortunate to run into Meaghan, who loved sharing her ink with me. Her enthusiasm for body art was evident in her excitement. "My tattoos mean the world to me," she beamed, and added that "there is no greater commitment to art." Considering that a tattoo is a permanent installation on one's body, I totally understood what she meant.

Aside from the two of Meghan's tattoos we posted yesterday, she shared a couple of more. Here's a wonderful piece on her left wrist that symbolizes her craft:

Of course the central object in the tattoo is the old-style microphone. As a resident of Queens, she pointed out that the skyline of Manhattan that serves as the tattoo's background is inked from the perspective of her borough, looking west toward the city.

Meaghan also shared this stunning monarch butterfly:

Meaghan explained that the monarch represents her sister, who she spoke of with great admiration. She called her the "matriarch of the family" and acknowledged that she was a solid presence that, despite huge challenges (she was widowed, a single mother, and is now remarried to a man who is wheelchair-bound), she retains the strength and grace of a butterfly.

I love how the artist created the shadow below the monarch's wings:

Like the work we saw yesterday, the artist responsible for these tattoos is Mr. Beans, at Fat Cat Tattoos NYC in Astoria, Queens.

Meaghan is a singer and she shared her debut CD, "Waitress," with me and let me tell you, it's a wonderful album. She has a very distinct voice and her songs are well-written and catchy. You can visit her website here to listen to her songs and see where you can hear her perform. In fact, she has a show this coming Saturday, May 14th, at the UC Lounge in New York City.

Check out her video for "Lost in My Life":

Thanks again to Meaghan for sharing her music and tattoos with us here at Tattoosday!

Sunday, May 8, 2011

Happy Mother's Day from Tattoosday

I wanted to celebrate Mother's Day with something new, but didn't have a lot in the backlog that was specifically motherly.

Then I remembered Meaghan Farrell.

I met Meaghan last month in Penn Station and approached her when I saw her tattoos. Turns out, Meaghan is a singer-songwriter with 15 tattoos, more of which will appear here tomorrow.

One of the tattoos we talked about was this one on her inner right forearm:

Madge Gassaway was Meaghan's grandmother, who passed away when Meaghan was only nine. Madge, she told me, was a "strong, independent woman," who had a huge impact on her life.

The quote, words of wisdom that have significant meaning for Meaghan, was worthy of inscribing them on her flesh.

Of course, right after I left Meaghan I realized, I forgot to take a picture of the quote from her grandmother, and she kindly sent me one she took herself.

In addition, Meaghan also has this stunning rose on her right shoulder:

Meaghan explained that her grandmother had an amazing rose garden, and that this tattoo represents not only the memory of her.

The artist responsible for these tattoos is Mr. Beans, at Fat Cat Tattoos NYC in Astoria, Queens.

Tune in tomorrow for two more of Meaghan's tattoos. I wanted to share these today in honor of mothers and grandmothers everywhere, who have such a great impact on all of our lives.

Thanks to Meaghan for sharing her tattoos with us here at Tattoosday! Happy Mother's Day to All!