Christina's Owl and Lighthouse

I met Christina one day after work while walking outside of Madison Square Garden.

She had this incredible tattoo, which she gladly shared with us here on Tattoosday:

This tattoo that covers her upper left arm was actually done in two segments by artist Orrin Hurley, who currently tattoos at Dare Devil Tattoo in Manhattan.

As for the source material behind this beautiful tattoo, Christina chose a piece of art by Frances Olive Esme Eve:

A closer look at the tattooed owl shows how it was changed, but you can still see that there is still a lot from the original design:

The lighthouse was inspired by the Portland Head Light on Cape Elizabeth, Maine.

Thanks to Christina for sharing her tattoo with us here on Tattoosday.

Stacy's Amigo Tugs Her Back to Milwaukee

At the end of July, I ran into Stacy waiting for the F train at West 4th Street in Manhattan.

She had a panther peeking out from under her shirt on her back, but we couldn't get the whole tattoo in a shot, so she offered up this piece on her right arm:

Stacy is a poet and the Artistic Director of The Poetry Project at St. Mark's Church in New York City. She has been here five years and originally hails from Milwaukee.

Living next to Lake Michigan has many benefits. Having always lived in a location near a large body of water, I can relate to her admiration for the beauty of a seascape, whether it be an ocean or a great lake.

Stacy told me she enjoyed watching the tugboats in her home town, and that these small vessels are a "connective image" that draws her back to her original home.

This tattoo was designed and inked by Stephanie Tamez at New York Adorned. Work from Stephanie on Tattoosday can be viewed here.

This is also the second tugboat of the summer. The first one is here.

Thanks to Stacy for sharing her tugboat with us here at Tattoosday. Perhaps we'll see her panther when the Tattooed Poets Project returns next April for its third year!

from: d.h.
to: tiangotlost@gmail.com
date: Sun, Sep 12, 2010 at 8:38 AM
subject: Here's one

This is supposed to mean passion. I don't think it does. In fact, i couldn't locate this configuration of radicals at all. What are your thoughts?



It means "hot, middle", which does not mean "passion".

This tattoo also reminded me the terrible hip-hop song by Nelly, Hot in Here.

from: Pb.
to: tiangotlost@gmail.com
date: Fri, Sep 17, 2010 at 8:42 AM
subject: My tattoo..

Hey hi Tian.. stumbled over ur blog so thought i should hav my tattoo meaning verified.. I asked the artist to put the my birth date that is 24..
I would appreciate ur feedback..

Thanks
Pb..



The bottom character does not exist in Chinese or Japanese vocabulary.

肆 is used as four (banker's anti-fraud numeral)

from: jeffrey f.
to: tiangotlost@gmail.com
date: Thu, Sep 9, 2010 at 12:16 PM

Can you tell me what these letters are? Supposedly they are the chinese letters m.a.w, intials not a word but I don't believe that's what they are. Thank you very much for your help.



Jeffrey is another sucker of this fake Alphabet-to-Chinese font.