So even though I was supposed to work sales yesterday, and I did.... but Mike was awesome enough to throw me these two...
This couple walked in and wanted an outline of this stick figure dude in a canoe.... I think they drew it up or printed it out not really sure, but it was a cute idea and they each got the same thing. She got hers on her wrist much smaller and he got his on back of the calf. Super fun!
For some reason the wrist image won't upload so once I figure that out I'll post that too.
After these two, a small logo of an eagle walked in and I was able to do that too, but I totally forgot to take a picture! She will be back with her husband so I'll be sure to snap a pic next time!
Off work today heading to the print shop to print out the stuff I've done since they left town. They come back today so I would like to be prepared.
After a long week of doing sales and not tattooing, I was excited for Mike to throw me a few tattoos yesterday. This butterfly walked in a few days ago and her, along with her husband came back to get their tattoos. This woman was super nice and I enjoyed tattooing her. This was challenging because not only was the design super tight, but her skin was SUPER stretchy, and aged.... and THIN. Definitely a test in stretching skills! Overall I was happy with it and hope it heals well.
These next few pictures are a bracelet made of honus and plumeria on a woman's wrist. After I finished the butterfly she walked in and after 15 minutes of drawing we settled on this. I was really happy with this and she let me design it for her. We alerternated pink flowers with orange and yellow ones. She was really laid back and despite her conservative appearance, she had a gorgeous polynesian rib piece done on the island at a different studio. It's funny how some people surprise you.
She comes here alot for vacation so I hope to see this again, see how it heals.
Unfortunately I don't have any tattoos today, probably won't tattoo again until next week. Hopefully it will pick up a bit more...
Anyway, Bill and Anna come home tomorrow so I'm stoked to show them what I've done and do some more projects with them. I'll post a drawing I'm working on soon of a dragon that Bill and I are sketching together.
I can't believe that I have been here two months already! It went by so fast. Although I love it here, I'm ready to go home, take care of business, tattoo some friends and come back here with a clean slate. I feel like I'm living two lives, one in Hawaii and one in Philly. I miss Philly alot and get homesick here and there. Sounds lame but being away from everything you have been used to for the past 3 yrs can take a toll on you.
Blah blah blah Gotta get back to work now, Mike is tattooing a sweet backpiece of wings so I should get to cleaning.
Last month I was trying to figure out why so many interesting people were walking around the Penn Station area when a trio of tattooed guys enlightened me: it was the Friday commencement of the New York Comic Con.
Now, I realize, I could go to one of these events and have a field day with some amazing tattoos on some very committed fans, but then I'd also be writing up posts for another month or two, as well, so I was content to chat with Rob and his two friends (who will appear in subsequent posts - stay tuned-).
Rob offered us one of his three tattoos, this animated creature on his inner right forearm:
This is, I'm sure many of you may know, a character from Sonic the Hedgehog, an iconic video game series that appeared in the early 1990's and has since sold, according to Wikipedia, 70 million units worldwide.
Rob explained that he grew up playing Sonic games and his favorite character was Knuckles the Echidna, who first appeared in Sonic the Hedgehog 3. "He was the only one I wanted to be," Rob told me. An echidna, by the way, is another name for a spiny anteater.
Let's take a moment and pause from our regularly-scheduled programming this Veteran's Day to remember the men and women who serve our country bravely. I've dug into the archives and reposted a friend's tattoo, which appeared originally here on best-tatto-design in January 2008. Be sure to thank a Veteran today, and to appreciate not only our soldiers at home and abroad, but their families who support and inspire them to serve our country courageously.
Tracy is a friend of mine who lives in Fort Drum, New York. She was in town last weekend, visiting family, and this was the first time I have seen her since best-tatto-design was born over the summer.
I knew Tracy had at least one tattoo, because she and my wife have talked ink before. So when I saw her on Saturday, unexpectedly, I was happy that I had a couple of best-tatto-design printouts in my pocket.
I explained the blog and asked if she'd like to participate. She was happy to oblige and, as fortune would have it, she was coming to an indoor soccer game the following day. Her nephew plays on the same team as my daughter Shayna.
After the game Sunday, I asked if she was ready. She lifted the back of her shirt to reveal:
I was surprised, honestly. I was not expecting butterflies, but expecting the one above it which, as fate would have it, is later in this post. But I wasn't about to pass up a cool tattoo, so I took a picture of this one as well.
Tracy is a mother of two boys, Matthew and Danny, and these butterflies represent each of them, as they flutter and transform, as ones children are apt to do, growing from infants into people. Tracy had these inked three years ago in Victorville, when she was living at Ft. Irwin. She said that they had been done at "Victorville Designs," which has either changed names or gone out of business, based on this link.
These butterflies are nicely inked and really seem to float over the skin. Definitely a nice tattoo, from design to execution.
Above the butterflies is the tattoo that I had heard about:
A simple, basic script. The arced triad of three pillars of strength in many people's lives: "Faith. Family. Friends."
In order to understand this tattoo, we have to take a little side journey.
Whatever one's politics may be, or however one feels about what we are doing in Asia and the Middle East, one thing must be acknowledged: the men and women in our military are there to do a job, to serve our country, and to fight to not only protect the people there, but here as well. Thousands of American men and women have given their lives and their souls to serve our country.
As one may have guessed by two prior references (Ft. Drum and Ft. Irwin), Tracy is closely tied to the United States Army, as she is married to Pete, who is a soldier with the 10th Mountain Division, Light Infantry.
On October 31, 2006, Pete's friend and fellow soldier, Major Douglas E. Sloan, was killed in the line of duty in the Wygal Valley in Afghanistan, while serving with Company B, 1st Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment. You can read more about Doug here at the Arlington National Cemetary website.
As every drop of spilled blood in the line of duty hits home, the loss of Major Sloan was devastating to his family and friends back in the States. The community of Fort Drum mourned Doug's passing and hearts went out to his wife Kerry and their children.
In December 2006, to pay tribute to Doug's memory, Tracy and three friends, including Kerry, went to Tattoos Forever in Evans Mills, NY, and each had the same inscription inked. In hindsight, Tracy recalls how funny it must have appeared, for four moms in minivans to drive up to the shop and collectively get tattooed.
It is a recurring theme on tattoo shows. Memorial tattoos are among the most popular types of body art. People mourn, heal, and remember through the art of the tattoo. And a piece of the loved one lives on, for years, in the flesh of the survivors, who gain strength and hold on to the memory of the departed.
The alliterative mantra of "Faith, Family, and Friends" reminds not only the tattooed, but those around them, of the most important things in life.
I want to thank Tracy for sharing her tattoos, and the stories behind them. I would add a special nod of gratitude to the memory of Major Douglas Sloan, who I never knew. Yet, by virtue of this tattoo, helped remind me of the sacrifice that our soldiers make day in, day out, and their families they leave behind.
Tracy's husband Pete subsequently returned from Afghanistan, but has since returned to duty overseas. On behalf of all of our best-tatto-design readers, I want to thank Tracy and Pete, for their commitment and sacrifice, and for sharing this one story among thousands, with us here at best-tatto-design.
