Tattoosday #5: Dolphins, Shackles and Skulls, oh My!

So last week, BillyBlog received its first unsolicited tattoo submission. I had no specific policy on this, but decided that, due to a gloomy week in NYC, I could use all the help I could get. Tat number one is blogged by proxy, courtesy of The Ancient One, Blessed Be He. He is, after all, Dear Old Dad, so I couldn't possibly refuse. Well, I could, but that would just be silly.

Dad wrote:

If you are willing to accept photos from others, I have attached a tattoo photo taken ... of the lower leg ...[of] one Suze Campagna, an extraordinary stage manager whom I featured on the blog a month or so ago. I have seen this tattoo often but yesterday I asked to take a picture of it and have her permission to send it to you. I can't offer too much back story. Suze turned 40 recently (like you) and when I asked about the little dolphin, she said it was her first tattoo and that she got it in celebration of her 30th birthday.

Thanks, Ancient One!

So, as mentioned, it was a cool, rainy week and the preponderance of flesh, let alone inked flesh, was atypical of August in the Big Apple. However....

The sun came out late Thursday, followed Friday by a slew of tattoos.

I discovered early on that my old reluctance had returned. I saw some nice ink, but everyone seemed to be heading somewhere in a hurry. Imagine that, in New York City!

But late Friday I was headed to a Cyclones game (thanks, Atlantis Health Plan, for the free tickets!) and the prospect of heading to Coney Island excited the tattoo aficionado in me.

But on my way to the ATM before hitting the subway, I saw a guy standing in front of The Garden, smoking a cigarette. He appeared to be covered with tattoos. Without hesitation, I ambled up and introduced myself and he obliged to be the first participant in Tattoosday, part V.

The guy I met was in his 20's, maybe early 30's and said his name was John Adams. He has an even dozen tattoos. He offered me up two tattoos, with the following tales...

He said he was most proud of this one, around his left ankle. It is a shackle with a broken chain.

He elaborated on this piece's history (forgive me, I am paraphrasing):

I got married in Vegas and it was the worst mistake of my life....the marriage lasted about 2 weeks...the divorce is still going on....after the marriage ended, one of my friends suggested I get this, showing that I had been chained down by a bad mistake, but I had managed to break free....the more I thought about it, the better the idea seemed, and it's one of my favorite tattoos because it reminds me how I escaped from a bad situation.

Again, I paraphrased there. John, if you're reading this, feel free to correct any details.

John's shackles were inked at Chris P. Tooles Tattoo Incorporated in Vacaville, California. He is originally from Vacaville and he seemed delighted not only to learn I knew where Vacaville was, but also that I had stayed there on numerous occasions with old college friends.

John also offered up a second piece, on his right elbow.

Through a seres of events, John here had been living in Slidell, Louisiana two years ago, right before the birth of BillyBlog. A weather disturbance known as Hurricane Katrina rolled through town and like so many Louisiana denizens, John found himself relocated elsewhere.

He found himself in Fort Walton Beach, Florida, and ran into a tattoo artist at a shop called Tattoo Zoo. According to John, the tattooer had designed the skull, but no one wanted it. It was an orphan design, looking for a host. The artist felt bad for John after Katrina, and offered to ink him for free. John requested he add a jester hat to the design, and the rest was history.


John noted that the piece was particularly sentimental because it had come on the heels of Katrina and it had been a generous gift from a sympathetic artist.

John was in New York just visiting. He was very cool.

Thanks John for your tattoos and accompanying stories!

Finally, as I headed home on the R train on Monday, I spotted a young lady with a nice koi tattoo on her left biceps. This was the first person I ever asked on the train to participate, and my luck has continued. No one has declined my invitation yet to be on BillyBlog, and this individual, although tentative at first, agreed once the train stopped at 95th Street, to let me take a picture of her arm above ground.

This piece, which is a part of a theme for her, is a carp, or koi, representing the element water. Her right biceps has a dragon on it, representing wind, and her back boasts a phoenix tattoo representing fire. She understandably told me that it would not be appropriate to show me the back tattoo, not that I was forward enough to ask, I figured as much.

Her carp, if not all of her art, was inked at Rising Dragon Tattoos, a shop only 7 blocks from my office, situated just downstairs from the Chelsea Hotel on 23rd Street. I imagine that this will not be the first tattoo I find from this famous shop.

We talked briefly about how I was lucky I caught her on a good day (I did, after all, interrupt her while she was reading). She acknowledged that she is occasionally annoyed by people asking her about her tattoos. I was surprised, as I have not seen a lot of people going out of their way to ask about tattoos. She thinks that women get asked about their tattoos more because it is more accepted for men to have tattoos, and because hers are so large on her arms, people tend to ask about them more than one would think.

I gave this nameless, yet friendly, subject a printout of a prior Tattoosday post and invited her to e-mail me when she had some color added, as she is thinking of doing.

That wraps it up for this week's Tattoosday. Have a great Labor Day weekend!

How wonderful to Henna Twins!

I had a wonderful time at Midnight Sun today, and met many wonderful people. I wish I could have taken photos of all the henna, but I was busy.. and we are all happy.

I did maange to take this photo of sisters, who were twins and chose similar, almost identical tattoos. Ok. They chose the same basic design, but henna has a way of negotiating with a human canvas. Here are the results.

I will not be working on Saturday, September first, but will be back on the 8th. See you soon.

Tattoosday #4: Ozzfest Edition

Well I had this all worked out. This week's Tattoosday was going to kick butt. I went to Ozzfest last Thursday and figured it would be a piece of cake to get a cavalcade of awesome tattoo shots. Hmmm.

One problem: I'm a dork. Going up to people twenty years younger than me and asking them if I can take pictures of their tattoos for my blog, Sephora and I agreed, would be the pinnacle of dorkiness. Not quite, we later acknowledged, when we saw a young metalhead going to his seat with his mother, who looked like she was there to chaperone, rather than enjoy the show.

The scale of body art was unfathomable. I imagined I would see an incredible range of tattoos, and I was not disappointed. We arrived around 3:30, and I decided around 5:00 that most of my tattoo shots would be candids, without the hosts knowing they were being photographed.

Here are some of the folks I shot whose tattoos didn't come out so well:







Snap enough random pictures of passers-by, and you'll get a few good candid shots:



A closer view reveals a pretty nice "Don't Tread on Me" tattoo:


But ultimately, I did get some fairly nice pictures, especially of one back piece after the concert when everyone was reeling homeward.

First, there was this cool tattoo from someone sitting a few rows ahead of me:


Then, there was this one on the shoulder of someone sitting a few seats over from me:

The detail and coloring of this Aztec piece is quite impressive:


There were so many amazing back pieces and sleeves that it would have been impossible to catch them all. As mentioned before, this guy was ahead of me as we exited after the show. The eyes are amazing. Not anything I would do myself, but still a bit awe-inspiring. Note his friends Misfits tattoo on the right:


I can only assume he meant to spell Alligator with an "e" instead of an "o".

Ultimately, though, I really missed the Tattoosday theme, which is to get back story on the pieces I photograph. Wouldn't you like to know who this guy is? And why did he do his back like this? How long did it take? Whose eyes are those? And did he mean to spell Alligater the way he did?

For those shortcomings, I offer my heartfelt apologies. Nonetheless, I hope you enjoy this week's edition of Tattoosday.

Thirty Minute Henna Hand

I must thank Cindy for the "loan" of her hand. She made it possible for me to practice a new design, as fast as I could.

The tip of the cone was cut very small, which made it easy to do her fingers, and all the fine lines on the back of her hand. To get the heavier lines I had to double some of the fine lines, which took a bit longer than I wanted it to.

I started at the fingertips and worked backward from there. I wanted to be sure that the ribbon that "draped" the back of the hand was in the proper place & the easiest was was backwards.

Of course I now have my super portable, very comfortable, ne,w drum chairs which make the henna process so much easier.

I got them at Midnight Sun of course! They are little round bamboo stools that look like djembes colorful, water-proof and very steady to sit on.

Cindy's hand is resting on the top of the stool (they make great photo backdrops as well.)

Henna Tattoo FAQ

Mehndi, or henna tattoo, is a natural form of temporary body decoration. Henna Tattoo will always be some shade of reddish brown. The finished color depends on your skin type & how long you let the paste stay on your skin. The longer the paste remains the deeper the finished color. Your design will darken over the first 48 hours.

To prepare your skin for Mehndi, please wash the skin surface to remove any oils, lotions and dry skin. Mehndi works best on the palm of the hands, the feet & the tender skin of the inner arm. Designs on the back of the hands, arms, or other parts of the body do not last as long, nor does the color take as well. After your design is completed, a glaze of lemon-sugar may be applied at regular intervals to secure the paste to the skin and enhance the final color.

Please try to leave the paste in place for at least three hours. For best results leave the paste in place for 6 hours, or overnight. To remove, scrape the hardened paste off the skin. Use a vegetable oil to remove any remaining paste before washing the design.

Aftercare: If possible, avoid wetting the design area for at least 12 hours. Moisturizing the design twice daily with a vegetable oil will help make the design last. The design can remain visible on the skin for one to 3 weeks. This is a photo of henna paste On the skin. The finished color will be a shade of red to reddish brown.

Om Armband - from Catherine Cartwright Jones

Here is a fun little Om arm band tattoo. Traditionally, henna is applied to the palms of the hands, back of the hands, forearms, feet and ankles. The deep red to brown color of premium henna is best in these places.

Most drop-in customers choose patterns for the back of the hands, belly and the lower back.... similar to where one might put ink.

If you choose to put your henna in one of these locations, please remember to leave the paste on as long as possible & to get as warm as you can. You will get the best finished color if you Do Not wear moisturizer, sun block or other body lotions on henna day.

Tips for successful henna tattoo on the feet

These are photos of henna paste on the skin. The natural dye in the henna is staining the skin UNDER the black paste you see in the photo. When the paste is removed, the stain is visible and will darken over the next 48 hours. The quality of finished color depends in part on how you care for your design.

The peacock pattern is very popular, and is one that works great with flip flops! Of course, it's best to leave your shoe on when getting your henna so we can be sure the flip won't flop into your paste.

The second design is great for henna parties where you are free to wander barefoot in your home or other party venue. Bare feet enable the artist to get creative, make henna sandal designs, and all sorts of wonderful art.

There are more photos of henna designs for the feet in this blog, and on my new henna website. I am sure I have a good link to some bridal henna on myspace!

Here are a few tips for good color and a successful henna design on the feet:

• Have your pedicure before you come for henna.
• Wear flip flops or shoes that leave lots of room for your new tattoo.
• Leave the paste on as long as possible.
• Avoid air conditioning (really.. henna gives the best color in hot weather).
• Be sure to protect your finished tattoo with olive oil before getting it wet.
• It is best to stay out of the pool for a day or two so that your henna has time to darken.

If you are feeling really relaxed & indulgent, you can always have henna on the soles of your feet. I will have a few photos of this fabulous art online in my new galleries soon.

Of course there are lots of wonderful artists publishing all kinds of pattern books. Some are available online at Amazon.com, but be sure to visit Tap Dancing Lizard for more great ideas.