The Return of Sal's Ink - A Teacher's Inspiring Words

Once in a while I check in with old Tattoosday contributors and I recently revisited Sal, who works at a video store (Mr. Video III) in Brooklyn Heights. You may recall his Guns 'N Roses tattoo (here).

Earlier this year, he had this inscription tattooed on his inner right forearm:


The phrase "not a moment for granted" is inked in tribute to his late acting teacher Fred Kareman, who inspired and taught Sal, not to mention countless others.

Sal explained that Kareman instructed in the Meisner Technique, which he described as an "in the moment" method.

This phrase can be further applied to life, in general, reminding Sal and anyone who sees the tattoo that every moment is precious, and should be savored like a treasure.

The design and tattooing was done by the incomparable Mark Harada at East Side Ink. You can see other pieces by Harada featured here on Tattoosday. Similarly, clicking the East Side Ink tag reveals other fine work done at the shop.

Thanks to Sal for once again sharing a part of his body's canvas with us here on Tattoosday!

Camila's Salute to Her Heritage and Her Home Town of Rio

Back in August, I met Camila in Penn Station after spotting an amazing tattoo wrapping around her lower left calf.

The piece was still in progress, however, so we posted this tattoo instead.

Over this past weekend I was pleasantly surprised when Camila sent me photos of her finished leg piece. Behold:




Camila's tattoo celebrates her Brazilian heritage. The woman is holding two guns and represents female empowerment. The cityscape behind is a Brazilian favela, or tenement, representing her homeland, in addition to the Christ the Redeemer statue, perched high above Rio de Janeiro.



It's completely black and gray, save for the red in the lips of the woman and the lone kite flying above the favela. The red represents the colors of the carioca, or the greater metropolitan area of Rio.

Truly a marvelous tribute to one's homeland and culture!

The tattoo was done by Camila's friend Daniel.

Thanks to Camila for sending me the updated photos!

The Tattoosday Book Review: The Missing Ink

As tattooing has skyrocketed in popularity, the number of ink-related books hitting the shelves has multiplied like rabbits. I picked up a copy of Kat Von D.'s book at Borders the other day (read my review here) and was astonished to see it was in its eighth printing.

A fresh tattoo-related title emerged earlier this year, and it wasn't in the Health/Beauty/Appearance category, as you would expect. Rather, it's jumping out in the Mystery category.


Karen E. Olson released The Missing Ink, introducing a new protagonist to the literary world. Brett Kavanaugh is a Las Vegas-based tattoo artist who gets caught up in a murder mystery. Behold: a new series is born.

Ms. Olson is currently at work on book three in the series. The second title, Pretty in Ink, is due out in March.


And I can hardly wait.

All judging of books by their covers jokes aside, don't let the art gracing The Missing Ink fool you: this is not "chick lit". Brett Kavanaugh is not looking for love, Manolo Blahniks, or the man of her dreams. She's a career-driven tattooist committed to her art and running her business respectably, as much as can be expected in a Vegas casino.

I'm not saying it doesn't have a feminine touch, Brett is still a beautiful woman, with a soft spot for nice clothing and a blazing crush on one of the mysterious characters in the narrative, but she also wolfs down In-N-Out burgers and doesn't back down from her role in a profession that has been traditionally male-dominated. There are notable exceptions to this, of course, but it has only been in the last ten years that we have seen the elevation of the female tattoo artist joining the ranks of their male peers as acknowledged masters of the art form.

What The Missing Ink has is a plot that keeps us interested, with characters that are believable and entertaining. Her hefty sidekick, Joel, and diminutive employee, Bitsy, are just two of my favorite characters who are a pleasure to behold on the page.

The story wends its way through a maze of a murder that links Brett by virtue of a tattoo she designed but never inked. We get a taste of Vegas that takes us behind the scenes at a casino and even brings us to a wonderfully evocative setting of an Elvis karaoke bar.

I can see tattoo purists rolling their eyes at this book because it is a whimsical murder mystery that doesn't necessarily put the art at the forefront of the action. But it's not intended to. Ink is discussed and we often see Bret at work, but the plot often pulls her away from the job.

But this, after all, is fiction: a creation of the author that has been carefully researched and presented respectfully in regard to the tattoo industry. For more realism, I'd recommend Jeff Johnson's Tattoo Machine: Tall Tales, True Stories, and My Life in Ink, which also came out this summer (a review is forthcoming).

It's fun to dive into a murder mystery every so often and even more fun to do so when you're interested in ink and the main character is an artist. It's refreshing to read a work of fiction that is centered around the modern tattoo industry and just doesn't use tattoos as clues or signifiers on a character's body.

Ms. Olson has created a character that is believable and entertaining. Although I am unlikely to fly off to Vegas and seek out a tattoo at the hotel, I certainly look forward to the Spring when Bret Kavanaugh returns to further grace us with her presence!

Here's another review, and another, if you'd like some more opinions.

Derek Shares a Tattoo, Inspired by Snake Eyes

I met Derek Ostrander earlier this week outside of Macy*s flagship store on 34th Street.

Derek is an illustrator who also works on visual installations for the department store.

It was this tattoo that prompted me stop and ask what it was about:



Derek explained that he was 19 or 20 when his friend Jay Ferrara, who is also an illustrator, inked this on a kitchen table.

The tattoo in question is based primarily on those that are sported by the Arashikage clan of ninjas and, more famously, a character named Snake Eyes, from G.I. Joe.


At the age that he got this, he thought it was particularly cool.

On a deeper level, the symbols represent hexagram #64 in the I Ching. A simple meaning is translated as thus:

Fire over water:
The image of the condition before transition.
Thus the superior man is careful
In the differentiation of things,
So that each finds its place.

A fuller explanation, from which this was excerpted, is here. Earlier this year I posted another I Ching tattoo here.

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

An Aries Neck Tattoo

I met Stephen walking south on Sixth Avenue this week and I asked him about his neck tattoo:


This is a symbol for the astrological sign Aries. Check out another Aries tattoo on the blog here.

He had this done at Tattoo Nation in the Willowbrook Mall in Wayne, New Jersey.

Stay tuned, he may be sending us more ink in the future. He has six tattoos in all.

Thanks to Stephen for sharing his tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

No Hope But Home

I met Matthew walking through Penn Station last week. He has several tattoos, and shared this one with me:


On his right arm, this traditional nautical star has been embellished with several design elements that personalize the tattoo.

The banner "No Hope but Home" refers to lyrics from a song by a New Jersey band called Scream Hello.

The nautical star is accompanied by a knitting needle and a fountain pen. These two objects refer to his parents. The knitting needle speaks to his mother who is a homemaker and also knits as a hobby. The fountain pen alludes to his father, who is a writer professionally, and also
writes for pleasure.

The nautical star, traditionally worn by sailors to serve as a talisman to find a way home, serves a figurative purpose here, pointing toward, while also emphasizing the hopefulness of home, but also the importance of Matthew's parents in his life.

This cool tattoo was inked by John Reardon at Saved Tattoo, in Brooklyn. Work from Saved has appeared previously on Tattoosday here.

Thanks to Matthew for sharing this amazing tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

Tattoos I Know: Paul, Part 4, or, The Great Cover-Up of 2008, continued...

Late last December, we posted about our friend Paul getting some cover-up work done on his upper right arm. Revisit the report here.

We recently checked in with Paul to see how things were going, and he updated us with the latest efforts by Horisei, who is about a session away from finishing this beautiful work:




Horisei tattoos out of the Chelsea Tattoo Company, formerly the home of Rising Dragon.

Thanks again to Paul for sharing. I'm guessing we'll see the finished product some time in 2010!