Carl Zimmer's Science Tattoo Emporium

A visitor recently chimed in about a blog similar to Tattoosday, but with a more specialized slant. It is called Carl Zimmer's Science Tattoo Emporium, and it's pretty cool. Check it out when you get a chance. If you forget, I added it to the sidebar for future reference.

Diablo Shows Off Her Tattoo on Hollywood's Biggest Night

Ok, so this is out of the theme, in that I am in no way involved with the photography of this tattoo. But it is a big story and so I thought I'd throw out some ink news.

Diablo Cody won the Oscar for best original screenplay last night, and she made the New York Post front page, along with her pin-up tattoo.

But there's more to this than meets the eye...

Click here to read about Diablo Cody's tattoo "drama".


She actually just recently had "Jonny's Girl" covered up. Actually quite a fine job...you'd never know it's a cover-up.

A little plug, here's her book:



You can buy it here.

Tattoos I Know: Paul's First Tattoo

One of my co-workers, Paul, has been and still is, one of my subject matter experts when it comes to the tattoo. As far as I am aware, he is the only one at my company with a full sleeve.

In addition, he has a leg done as well. I've been keeping him in the loop on Tattoosday matters since I started blogging about ink last summer. We have talked about featuring his work for a while now and, with the meat of winter sending shorts and sleeveless apparel into hiding, it seemed like a good time to get his Tattoosday feet wet.

So, we are starting with the beginning, the dragon on the inside of his right forearm:


Many people may not realize, but tattooing was illegal in New York City until 1997. (More on that here.) Paul's first tattoo dates from "the Dark Ages," circa 1983.

As Paul relates, when he was 16, he went with his father to a tattooist in Alphabet City in Manhattan. The artist lived in an attic apartment, and one had to a) make an appointment to see him and b) know the password to gain admittance.

So while a young Paul was watching his father get tattooed, he realized that he wanted one, too.

His father agreed, as long as he thought long and hard about it and paid for it himself.

He found a dragon design he liked and returned with the money at a later date.

He told the tattooer, whose name he remembers as Davita, that he wanted it on his chest, but the artist looked at his slight frame (at 16, Paul estimates, he weighed 140 or so) and refused, saying Paul wouldn't be able to take the pain.

So it went on his arm. And he remembers that he paid $30 for the piece.

There was no significance to the dragon, other than Paul liked the aesthetics of it and had always liked dragons. Paul's left arm and leg are done in a Japanese style. He also has another tattoo on his chest and one on his back, perhaps the subjects of later posts.

Thanks to Paul for joining us on Tattoosday!

Update: After this posted, Paul remembered why he had the dragon done on his inner arm. He recalls an episode of Kung Fu, starring David Carradine, in which the main character lifts a barrel that is very hot. As a result (and I am certainly oversimplifying), he has a dragon burned onto his inner forearm. To the sixteen-year old Paul, this was way cool, so he chose that particular tattoo in that particular location after being told by the tattoo artist that a chest tattoo was out of the question.

The Henna Cone - Easy to use - Fine Lines - No hand cramps.

I was browsing to see see what sorts of henna kits are available for sale now (and of course to see where my page was in the engines) and I notice alot of kits offer the jaquard squeeze bottle, and some offer different tips.

I still use the plastic cone for henna, and the the cellophane cone for gilding. I make my own cones these days using 1 mil. plastic & a heat sealer. This way I can make the cone as wide or narrow as I prefer... and I know the seal will last. This method does create a seamed edge, but when filled with henna, twisted shut & sealed with a rubber band, I just turn the cone so that the seamed edge faces away from my client. The closeup photo below shows this.

I like it that I can roll the rubber band down the cone as I run low on henna. This helps me keep an even pressure on the paste, draw faster, cleaner lines and best of all... no hand cramps!

An extra advantage is that if I make too many cones, or just have a bit of great paste left over, I can wrap the henna cone in plastic wrap, tuck it into a freezer bag, freeze it, and then have henna for that "Oh I just need a quick design" moment that seems to happen in the summer.

Currently I offer two cones in each of my Artists Henna Kits. The cones are washable and reusable. I cut a very littel bit off the tip of one cone for finest lines, and cut more off the second cone to have the broad tip for tribal patterns & bold henna tattoo.

If you would like to see more photos of a henna artist at work.. visit this slide show from a Saturday at the Midnight Sun.