Tattoosday: March 2015

Tuesday, March 31, 2015

The Tattooed Poets Project: Lisa Marie Basile Launches Our Seventh Annual Installment

We are launching our seventh annual Tattooed Poets Project with Lisa Marie Basile. Lisa and I have been talking about her participating since the fall of 2012, so I was delighted when we were finally able to get a post together for Tattoosday this year.

Lisa Marie has six tattoos, and shared four with us, starting with this one:

The tattoo on her forearm reads "recuerdo la eternidad," which roughly translates to "remember eternity," comes from a line out of a Marosa Di Giorgio poem. "She's my favorite poet," Lisa Marie explains, "and I find the way she talks of nostalgia and good/evil so beautiful." She adds,"This line immediately hit me, and I wanted to always have it with me, in its original language."

Her other arm has a couple tattoos:

Lisa Marie's ampersand (&) sits on her wrist and she explains, "I not only love the shape of this little one, but I think the idea of the ampersand connecting this and that is beautiful."

As for the phrase, "le soleil et la mer," translated as "the sun and the sea," Lisa Marie elaborates:

"[It] comes from The Stranger by Camus. This is one of my favorite books, and I felt very connected to the rage and fear and sorrow the protagonist felt when he was on the beach, under the sun and near the sea. This was my second tattoo and I feel closest to it."

Then there's this word on the back of her upper arm:

Lisa Marie explains:

"witch is a playful one that I got with a friend at midnight in Miami on Friday the 13th. It was all very kismet, actually. We both have the same tattoo (poet Joanna C. Valente) and it, for me, represents the idea of women living through being hunted, scarlet-lettered and hated. It was an impulse tattoo."

She believes that the "&" and "le soleil et la mer" pieces were inked at Whatever Tattoo in Manhattan. The "recuerdo la eternidad" tattoo was done at Eight of Swords in Brooklyn.

The "witch" tattoo was from Salvation Tattoo Lounge in Miami.

By way of a poem, Lisa Marie sent us this work, which first appeared in Stone Highway Review:

Lisa Marie Basile is the author of APOCRYPHAL (Noctuary Press, 2014) and a chapbook, Andalucia. She is the editor-in-chief of Luna Luna Magazine and her poetry and other work can be read in PANK, Tin House's blog, Coldfront, The Nervous Breakdown, The Huffington Post, Best American Poetry, PEN American Center, Dusie, and the Ampersand Review, among others. She’s recently been profiled in The New York Daily News, Amy Poehler’s Smart Girls, Poets & Artists Magazine, Relapse Magazine and others. She’s been nominated for the Best Small Fiction 2015 and Best American Experimental Writing 2015 anthologies, and she holds an MFA from The New School.

Lisa Marie's first full-length just came out: Apocryphal can be purchased on Amazon or at Small Press Distribution.

Thanks to Lisa Marie Basile for helping launch the seventh annual Tattooed Poets Project 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.

National Poetry Month Starts Tomorrow!

As I write this, I am perched on the lip of the canyon that has become the Tattooed Poets Project.

What started as an exercise in wondering if I could fill 30 days with 30 tattooed poets, is now a major endeavor. This is our seventh annual celebration of poets with ink, as they say, and these pages will be dominated by verse for the month of April. We certainly had more submissions than we have days in this, the cruelest month, and as accommodating as I had been in years past, double-posting in 2014, I just am unable to swing the same ambition this year.

That said, what will make the April cut will be what I am inspired to share. There are wonderful poems and tattoos that may make the overflow – last year we continued once-weekly, into June. I anticipate that this year, the stretch may go farther into the summer.

I want to thank everyone who submitted and beg pardon of those who may not have made it into April.

Once again I would like to thank Stacey and David at the Best American Poetry Blog for their continued support and cheers. They continue to inspire and motivate me to achieve this task every year, and for that I am eternally grateful.

Enjoy the tattoos, enjoy the poems, enjoy the month!

If you are seeing this on another website 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.

Monday, March 30, 2015

Not a Tattooed Poet, But a Poet's Tattooed Daughter

In our pre-April anticipation of the Tattooed Poet's Project, I look to Rebecca Foust.

"I don't have any tattoos," she informed me in response to my inquiry about her ink status, "but my daughter Finlay has the name of my book (and its titular poem), All That Gorgeous Pitiless Song tattooed on her head, shaved in order to raise money for research for childhood cancers."

Well, that suits me just fine, so check out Finlay's head tattoo:

Rebecca also shared the poem from which the title and, hence, the tattoo, originated:

Altoona to anywhere

Go ahead, aspire to transcend

your hardscrabble roots, bootstrap

the life you dream on,

escape the small-minded tyranny

of your small-minded Midwestern

coalmining town.

But when you’ve left it behind, you

may find it still there, in your dreams,

your syntax, the smell of your hair,

its real smell, under the shampoo.

Beware DNA; it will out or be outed,

and you’ll find yourself back

where you started, back home,

unable to refute the logic of blood and bone

you’ll slip, and pick up Velveeta

instead of brie. It’s inexorable.

Kansas one day will turn out to be Oz

and Oz Kansas,

with the same back porch weeping,

the same husbands sleeping around,

addiction, cancer, babies born wrong;

the same siren nights pierced

with stars seeping light, all that

gorgeous, pitiless song.

[first published in Margie, nominated for a 2008 Pushcart Prize.)

~ ~ ~

Rebecca Foust was the 2014 Dartmouth Poet in Residence and is the recipient of fellowships from the Frost Place and the MacDowell Colony. New poems are in the HudsonReview, Massachusetts Review, Mid-American Review, North American Review, Omniverse, and other journals, and an essay that won the 2014 Constance Rooke Creative Nonfiction Award in the Winter 2015 issue of the Malahat Review. Foust’s most recent book, Paradise Drive, won the 2015 Press 53 Award for Poetry and can be ordered at http://www.press53.com/Award_for_Poetry.html. For more information visit http://rebeccafoust.com/.

Thanks to Rebecca for sharing her poem and to Finlay for sharing her tattoo!

Sunday, March 29, 2015

Gearing Up for the Tattooed Poets Project - Sholeh Wolpe

Every April, for the last six years, we've featured tattooed poets here on Tattoosday, in what has become The Tattooed Poets Project.

Although many of these poets find me, I have written to hundreds of poets over the last six years and asked the, "Do you have a tattoo?"

Many do not reply, but many do, even those who have not felt the tattooist's needle. Sometimes thy're replies are memorable.

In advance of the seventh (!) installation of the Tattooed Poet's Project, I thought I'd share a few responses.

On February 9 of this year, Sholeh Wolpe responded to my inquiry in a lovely way sending this photo:

and these words:

"Dear Bill,

What an interesting solicitation.
Years ago I was marked by glass.
A scar is an inkless tattoo.
Skin poetry.

Here is a poem, from Keeping Time With Blue Hyacinths (University of Arkansas Press, 2013):

We are drinking scotch on Sunset Blvd.,a block from the Scientology church,the tourist trinket shops and the sex parlors.
I tell him I’m an alien, lift my arm to show my scar,
the way I flash my passport at immigration.
He bends across the narrow table, pushing aside plates,squints, then runs a finger along the carved hairlineand whispers, yes, yes."

~ ~ ~

Sholeh Wolpé is a poet, writer, editor, and literary translator. She was born in Iran and spent most of her teen years in Trinidad and the UK before settling in the United States.

A recipient of the 2013 Midwest Book Award and 2010 Lois Roth Persian Translation prize, Wolpé is the author of three collections of poetry and two books of translations, and is the editor of three anthologies.

Thanks to Sholeh for sharing. It is not a tattoo, in the traditional sense, but it makes one think. And the words are wonderful. Please visit Ms. Wolpe's page here to read more.

Friday, March 27, 2015

Tina, Illuminated

Back in September, I met Tina on the subway platform, headed uptown.

She had this beautiful half-sleeve, which she kindly shared with me:

Tina credit this to Woodz (Todd Woodward) at Magic Cobra Tattoo Society in Brooklyn.

The piece is inspired by a Medieval illuminated manuscript. Tina told me that the central figures are two saints, that is early Christian in origin, and that it is has a feminist influence.

Thanks to Tina for sharing this work with us here on Tattoosday!

Wednesday, March 25, 2015

Ina's Tattoo is Swinging and Hopping

Back in September, near Wall Street, I met Ina, who was visiting from Sweden. She had this fun tattoo on her upper right arm and agreed to share it with us:

These cool swing dancers are really getting down!

Ina explained, "I always had a thing for swing dancing and jitterbug, that kind of thing, and I thought it was cool to do this couple that [are] Lindy Hop dancers."

She credited her work to an artist named Jenny at Stockholm Classic Tattoo, in Stockholm, Sweden.

Thanks to Ina for sharing her swinging tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

Tuesday, March 24, 2015

Mike Displays A Watch for His Son, Thomas

Back in August, I met a guy named Mike outside of the American Indian Museum at Bowling Green in Lower Manhattan. He shared this tattoo with me:

Mike credited this wonderful work to Jimbo Fortier from Horseshoes and Hand Grenades in Chicopee, Massachusetts. Jimbo is his artist of choice, clocking over 125 hours of work from him on a full leg sleeve (when Jimbo was more local to NYC at Lark Tattoo in Westbury on Long Island), and counting!

He explained:

"My son Thomas Michael was born on November 7th at 9:36 in the morning ... so I did an old-fashioned pocket watch, opened up to the time and the day that he was born ... and just as a little commemorative piece, I put his name in what would have been the top of the pocket watch if it's opened."

This tattoo is on the inside of Mike's left forearm.

Thanks to Mike for sharing this cool tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

Sunday, March 22, 2015

Maurianne's Filipino Tribal Tattoo

I spotted Maurianne last summer on the corner of Broad and Wall Streets. I was fascinated by her tattoo and had to ask her about it. Check it out:

Maurianne credited this to Nicholas, the owner at K42 Tattoo in Tucson, Arizona.

"These are from the tribal days, so like these parts right here [in the top circle] are to ward off bad spirits. When I pass on, these [vertical] lines indicate that I can go to the next ... to the land of the ancestors. Eyes of god. There's a lot of adornments....from the Philippines."

Thanks to Maurianne for sharing her awesome piece with us here on Tattoosday!

Friday, March 20, 2015

Tattoosday Walks Into a Bar: Flowers in Phoenix

On a recent trip to Southern California, my connecting flight in Arizona had mechanical difficulties and I got bumped to another plane, two hours later.

As luck would have it, there is a fabulous bar in the Phoenix Sky Harbor airport – Four Peaks Brewing Company.

So while I whiled away my time, chatting with the bartender and other patrons, I caught up on email, gobbled up some delicious quesadillas and enjoyed Four Peaks’ Oatmeal Stout and their ¡Odelay!

Mexican Chocolate Ale.

The Stout was cold, dark and delicious, and the Odelay was one of the best beers I’ve had. It had the full body of a dark beer, with the delicious chocolaty taste, punctuated with a kick of spiciness. I knew it was what I’d be ordering when I stopped back on my return.

I also chatted with one of the servers, named Katie, who was kind enough to share this floral half-sleeve:

The arrangement includes orchids, lilies, cherry blossoms and daisies. “I love orchids and lilies,” she told me, adding “I have a fresh orchid in my apartment at all times.”

When I spotted the text on her inner arm, she allowed me take a photo of that, as well:

It reads “We accept the love we think we deserve,” which is a quote from Stephen Chbosky's The Perks of Being a Wallflower one of Katie’s favorite books.

She credited her work to Miguel at Body Canvas Tattoo in Phoenix.

I enjoyed my brief respite at Four Peaks and looked forward to stopping back in on my way back to New York. Alas, my return brought me in at the height of the lunch hour. The place was mobbed and I only had a brief layover.

Thanks to Katie and the staff at Four Peaks Brewing Company! Katie, for sharing her awesome tattoos, and Four Peaks, for making a delay in my travels significantly more delicious!

Tuesday, March 17, 2015

Happy St. Patrick's Day from Tattoosday!

Our friend Tommy snapped this shot of an anonymous tattooed reveler at the Staten Island St. Patrick's Day Parade:

And yes, that's snow. The parade was March 1, and winter was still holding strong.

Thanks to Tommy for sharing!

Here's wishing everyone a happy St. Patrick's Day!

Monday, March 16, 2015

Melanie's Birthday Rose

When my wife said she wanted a new tattoo for her birthday, which fell on Friday the 13th this year, I was eager to help. She was born on s Friday the 13th and, after her father counted all her fingers and toes and determined she had the correct amount, 13 became her lucky number.

The last time her birthday fell on Friday the 13th was back in 2009 and I documented it here. I'm guessing she will be getting another one the next time it rolls around in 2020.

Anyway, I wanted to surprise her, because spending an entire day getting one of the typical Friday the 13th specials is worth doing once (or maybe twice), but it can be tiring. I also knew that she would prefer to get inked by a good artist, one that she was familiar with, and not necessarily in the chaotic setting of a bargain flash frenzy.

So I reached out to Alex McWatt, from Three Kings Tattoo, a shop that has stopped doing these events, but had churned out some of the better Friday the 13th designs in the past.

Alex tattooed my second Friday the 13th piece back in 2012 (documented here) and I loved it. Melanie met him at the time, as well, so she was familiar with him and his top-notch work.

So I contacted Alex and he had me coordinate with Antonio, from their new Manhattan shop, and the plans were set in motion. I gave some general ideas to Antonio to pass on to Alex, and we set up a time to come by on the 13th.

After a birthday dinner with our daughter and one of her college friends on 1st Avenue, we strolled around the East Village and Melanie wondered where we were headed. Since Three Kings opened up last summer in Manhattan, she had no idea where we were headed. When we walked past East Side Ink, I said "Nope, not there."

As we neared the shop, I realized why the address was familiar - they had taken over the space where Thicker Than Water had been, Melanie and I had both been tattooed there when it was under different management.

When we reached the shop, she saw it was Three Kings, and then saw that Alex was there, she was grinning. She knew she was going to get something good, and from an artist she knew.

Alex brought out a sheet with 4 designs on it - a traditional skull with Friday the 13th themes, an osprey, a fierce tiger exhaling a 13 of smoke, and a rose.

After some wavering between two of the designs, Melanie decided on the rose for her outside left ankle (she has another flower on her right ankle).

So, Alex set to work, laying on the stencil:

and then outlining it:

Alex was great, working quickly and efficiently:

Until we had the finished product:

Wait, you may be wondering, what makes this a Friday the 13th tattoo?

This lovely rose has thirteen leaves.

Melanie was extremely pleased with her birthday rose and we loved the atmosphere in the shop. She's already talking about going back to Alex for more work, and I don't think she wants to wait until 2020.

Thanks to Alex and all the staff at Three Kings in Manhattan for helping make Melanie's tattoo birthday surprise a great one!

Wednesday, March 4, 2015

Twiggy Electric's Lines

One night back in September, I was headed home from a poetry reading (and tattooed poets), when I met a woman on the 59th Street Platform in Brooklyn. She let me photograph her tattoo:

She called herself Twiggy Electric, and this is how our conversation went:

Tattoosday (BC): Is there any significance...

Twiggy Electric (TE): There is, um, it's more about what you see, so...

BC: Okay

TE: What do you see?

BC: Well, when you say Twiggy, then I think twigs.

TE: Okay, obviously, but that has more to do with the model, so I'm actually curious what you see...

BC: Oh, lines and cracks and fissures and, there's some structure in there. Barbed wire, but not really like in that tacky, like '80s, '90s barbed wire arm band type of thing

TE: Okay

BC: Concentric circles around the lower part of the arm. Um, so I... I don't see...they're just fissures and cracks in your arm

TE: Right, okay

BC: Is that okay?

TE: Yeah, no it's cool. My vision between the entire thing [notices the phone out] You're recording, I see

BC: Is that okay? [Train pulls into station slowly, noisily]

TE: Yeah, that's cool. You didn't ask me first...

BC: Sorry, Sorry [Thinks to self, I though it was obvious, I was holding my phone out.]

TE: But I see that you are, so but my vision

BC: I don't put the recording up there

TE: is to force people to view things artistically

BC: So you force people to view things artistically?

TE: Yeah, so um, they're just lines. That's it.

BC: just lines, that's it?

TE:No other structure, that's it.

BC: Okay

TE: The way I view it is, ordered chaos, in a way.

BC: Okay

TE: The first circle is closed and all the other ones are open That's something you're gonna see if you look very closely, but the whole point behind seeing things artistically is, you pick up on your own vision.

Here's another shot of Twiggy Electric's tattoos, much more artistic, copied from a public photo on her Instagram:

Thanks to Twiggy Electric for sharing her tattoo, and for engaging me in a discussion about the work.

Sunday, March 1, 2015

Shayna's Docs, Inspired by Japanese Tattoo Design

We've all seen tattoo-themed clothing, led by the societal onslaught of the "Ed Hardy" clothing line, which was hijacked by fashion designers and turned the brand into a stereotypical joke.

But there's a right way to appropriate the design aesthetic and make it stylish and hip. Check out this new pair of Doc Martens my 16-year old just got for her birthday:

Photo by Melanie Cohen

Take a closer look:

The Doc Martens website says about these boots:

"Our 1460 8-Eye boot has been a counter-culture classic since it first came out in 1960. Inspired by the iconology and styling of US Hardcore bands and their fans, we've wrapped this iconic style in Japanese-influenced tattoo art-- including koi fish, cherry blossoms, peacocks and clouds (plus a red 1460 hidden away in the pattern). The intricate design is printed in muted tones on tan full grain leather, set off by a strong-and-simple black welt and grooved sole."

You can order them online here.

I'd get a pair for myself, but my teenager would kill me.