Mark's Sleeve by SkullSugar

Yesterday, we enjoyed Maria's work by Fidel "SkullSugar" Quiñones at Lucky 13 Tattoo n Norwich, Great Britain. If you missed the post, revisit it here.

I only bring it up because, when I met Maria, she was accompanied by Mark, who had a full sleeve that was the handicraft of SkullSugar.

Check it out:

Of course you have the koi, swimming up the arm for good luck, with a phoenix on the opposite side of the forearm.

Mark noted that he works for the fire service, so the phoenix is a nod to that fiery vocation.

Mark also indicated that the green and yellow behind the carp is a subtle nod to the team colors of his favorite football club, Norwich City. "I would never put football emblems," he explained, "so I have a little bit of colour...that's the only personal bit to it."

As for the genesis of the sleeve, starting up top, Mark added, "It started off as a cover-up....I like Japanese work so I just let my artist just do his thing, really... he came up with the idea of a geisha..."

The colors of the work, speckled with the occasional cherry blossom, are really quite bright and vibrant. I don't generally like to photograph full sleeves, because it's hard to do them justice in two-dimensional venue, but I was impressed by this work enough to make an exception. I think we're able to see how nice this work is.
Thanks to Mark for sharing his tattoos with us here on Tattoosday!

This entry is ©2015 Tattoosday.

If you are seeing this on another website other than Tattoosday, without attribution, please note that it has been copied without the author's permission and is in violation of copyright laws. Please feel free to visit http://tattoosday.blogspot.com and read our original content. Please let me know if you saw this elsewhere so I contact the webmaster of the offending site and advise them of this violation in their Terms of Use Agreement.

The Tattooed Poets Project: Linda Ashok

As the span of time that marks the astrological sign Pisces comes to a close, Linda Ashok, our next tattooed poet, seemed like a fitting contributor, considering her work:

This tattoo is located on the nape of her neck, I'll let Linda elaborate:

"These are two nishikigoi depicting my Piscean zodiac. For me the design symbolizes the yin and yang, decision and indecision, joy and depression and other extreme characteristics of my personality. Come what may, I want to ensure that my poetry (Japanese Kanji ‘shi’) is safe and thus placed it at the centre of my guardian zodiac. Culturally, this tattoo is a tribute to Japan being such a closed culture of myth, science, fantasy and resilience. It is the Mushin.

My father is an artist. So, besides poetry, I paint as well and therefore it was easy for me to visually depict/design the tattoo the way my mind worded it. I thank Kishore Sanduptla of Get Inked Tattoo Studio in Hyderabad [India] who inked it desirably."

Linda sent us this poem:

DATED 9TH MARCH

when we try to forget something, we forget
as much of ourselves

when a tree tries to forget her snow
it forgets lessons learnt in snow
although
this soft dismissal does not bleed much

but the blue waits till someone opens the wooden hurt

natural light is mature. it doesn't name objects
the way we read letters from our daily alphabet
the way we strike off some... from our lives when we

do not mean any more business

without forgetting as much of myself
and also to not remember you
is like slipping into the mouth of a jubilant shark

~ ~ ~

Linda Ashok's poems appeared on the blog of Murphy Institute- CUNY, Poetry Kanto, Hark Magazine, The Lake, Visual Verse, Haiku News, The Linnet's Wings, Thumbprint Magazine, Bones Journal, Shot Glass Journal, etc. Her works are forthcoming in AXOLOTL and Friends Journal. Linda is the Founder & Managing Trustee of RædLeaf Foundation for Poetry & Allied Arts.

Thanks to Linda for her contribution to the Tattooed Poets Project on Tattoosday!

This entry is ©2015 Tattoosday. The poem and tattoo are reprinted with the poet's permission.

If you are reading this on another web site other than Tattoosday, without attribution, please note that it has been copied without the author's permission and is in violation of copyright laws. Please feel free to visit http://tattoosday.blogspot.com and read our original content. Please let me know if you saw this elsewhere so I contact the webmaster of the offending site and advise them of this violation in their Terms of Use Agreement.

Shayna's Docs, Inspired by Japanese Tattoo Design

We've all seen tattoo-themed clothing, led by the societal onslaught of the "Ed Hardy" clothing line, which was hijacked by fashion designers and turned the brand into a stereotypical joke.

But there's a right way to appropriate the design aesthetic and make it stylish and hip. Check out this new pair of Doc Martens my 16-year old just got for her birthday:

Photo by Melanie Cohen

Take a closer look:

The Doc Martens website says about these boots:

"Our 1460 8-Eye boot has been a counter-culture classic since it first came out in 1960. Inspired by the iconology and styling of US Hardcore bands and their fans, we've wrapped this iconic style in Japanese-influenced tattoo art-- including koi fish, cherry blossoms, peacocks and clouds (plus a red 1460 hidden away in the pattern). The intricate design is printed in muted tones on tan full grain leather, set off by a strong-and-simple black welt and grooved sole."

You can order them online here.

I'd get a pair for myself, but my teenager would kill me.

This entry is ©2015 Tattoosday.

If you are seeing this on another website other than Tattoosday, without attribution, please note that it has been copied without the author's permission and is in violation of copyright laws. Please feel free to visit http://tattoosday.blogspot.com and read our original content. Please let me know if you saw this elsewhere so I contact the webmaster of the offending site and advise them of this violation in their Terms of Use Agreement.

The Tattooed Poets Project: Michael Henry Lee

Michael Henry Lee is appearing on the Tattooed Poets Project for the fourth consecutive year, and it is always a pleasure to share his work.

First, his tattoo:

Photos by Chris Bodor

Michael tells us how this tattoo came to be:

“Koi have long been revered by the Samurai of Japan for their; courage, virility, and immortal character. Combine that with Joshua 1:9 from the old testament (Have I not commanded you to be strong and of good courage, neither be fearful or of doubting mind, for I the Lord God am with you wherever you go) and you have for me, the ultimate stay-strong tattoo. The composition was designed by [me], and inked by Tattoo Mike: owner of Tattoo Garden on Saint Augustine Beach in Florida. The wave design was done at The Lovely Pearl Studio by owner Krista Monahan in downtown Saint Augustine."

What I particularly love about Michael's contributions every year, aside from his tattoos, is the fact that he is the only poet who sends us haiku:

*

inchworm
little by little
the lengthening day

*

late winter frost
i do the talking
for both of us

*

fire storm
an absence of birdsong
fills the canyon

*

eye of the storm
a clear view of
the path ahead

*

wind shift
fires burning
inside and out

*

The preceding poems first appeared by their respective order in: Icebox, Haiku News and Mainichi Daily News.

You can check out Michael Henry Lee's previous contributions here, here and here.

Michael Henry Lee’s work continues to appear on or in: Frog Pond, Heron’s Nest, Modern Haiku, and Mainichi Daily News among numerous others. Lee is a husband; of over thirty years, father, and grandfather, animal welfare supporter, and bonsai artist. His work in maintenance, for a sprawling condominium complex on Florida’s intra-costal provides an abundance of inspiration for his Japanese haiku and senryu poems.

As always, many thanks to Michael Henry Lee for his contribution and continued support of the Tattooed Poets Project on Tattoosday!

This entry is ©2014 Tattoosday. The poems and tattoo are reprinted with the poet's permission.

If you are reading this on another web site other than Tattoosday, without attribution, please note that it has been copied without the author's permission and is in violation of copyright laws. Please feel free to visit http://tattoosday.blogspot.com and read our original content. Please let me know if you saw this elsewhere so I contact the webmaster of the offending site and advise them of this violation in their Terms of Use Agreement.

Chris and His Koi (at the NYC Tattoo Convention)

I'll be honest, koi tattoos are pretty popular, so I don't often post photos of them. But, every once in a while, I see an exceptional one, and feel compelled to share it here.

The photo above is of a stunning koi tattoo, courtesy of a guy named Chris, who I met last week at the NYC Tattoo Convention.

It's an exceptionally well-done piece, with the traditional Japanese carp, or koi, swimming upstream, along with a lotus flower at the bottom and cherry blossoms at the top. Note also the way water and movement is skillfully represented.

Chris credited Jeremy Miller from Screamin' Ink Tattoo in Fair Lawn, New Jersey. Note: this is a different Jeremy Miller than the one who competed on the first season of Ink Master.

I usually see something spectacular from the talented crew at Screamin' Ink every year at the convention, all of which can be seen in previous posts with their shop tagged here.

Thanks to Chris for sharing this great sleeve with us here on Tattoosday!

This entry is ©2013 Tattoosday.

If you are seeing this on another website other than Tattoosday, without attribution, please note that it has been copied without the author's permission and is in violation of copyright laws. Please feel free to visit http://tattoosday.blogspot.com and read our original content. Please let me know if you saw this elsewhere so I contact the webmaster of the offending site and advise them of this violation in their Terms of Use Agreement.

The Tattooed Poets Project: Laura Mullen

Our next tattooed poet is Laura Mullen, who sent us this photo of a koi on her ankle:.

Laura explains:

"The fish was a celebration of a book, early on (#2 maybe?)--somewhere before I realized how serious I was about this book stuff? I mean, these days, I think a bottle (or so) of champagne is fine now (I'm glad I don't have 7 or 8 tattoos!) (I have two); I'm more like, Okay that's awesome, another book, now let's get back to work.

(I'd like another tattoo at some point but the right place and occasion need to be clear.)
This Koi was done is San Francisco at a studio my friend Joshua Clover recommended: 222 Tattoo. [The shop closed in 2000, according to references here and here.]

Can't recall the name of the artist who did the work, sorry…there was some effort put in, as you can tell, and the fish--out of the sun mostly--is holding up well."

Laura was kind enough to send along the following poem which "is unpublished and newish":

The Plastic Wrapper

The war on drugs
The war on terror
The war on kids
The war on bullshit
The war on drugs
The war on guns
The war on health
The war on bacon
The war on drugs
The war on war
The GOP war on voting
The Left’s war on fertility
The war on Weed
The war on salt
The war on poverty
The war on women
The war on moms
The Republican war on Science
Why can’t the army win the war on suicide
The war on truth
The war on fun
Stop the war on Iran before it starts
The war on drugs
The war on terror
The war on coal
The war on Democracy
The war on sharing
The war on Terror
The war on Drugs
The war on free clicks
The war on health
The war on poverty
The war on cancer
The war on drugs
The war on drugs is a failure
The war on evil
The war on the war on coal
The war on drugs
The war on drugs is just plain crazy
The war on terror
House approves stop the war on coal bill
The war on work
War on terror the board game
The war on Islam
Iraq War
End the war on pubic hair
The war on cameras
The war on drugs
The war on success
The war on bacon
The war on cancer
The war on Christmas
Gulf war
The war on Choice
The war on bugs
The war against boys
The war on immigrants
The war on poverty
The war on Pellagra
The battle for the war on women
The war on terror
The war on coal is a myth
The war on drugs is a failure
The war on Children
The war on women
The war on silver
The war on wolves
The war on terror is over
The war on kids
The war on the middle class
The war on the poor
The war on animals
The war on cancer
The war on terror
The war on Christmas
The war on drugs
The war on drugs the war on drugs
The war on democracy
The war on bugs
The war on terror
Rupert Murdoch’s war on journalism
The Christian right and the war on America
The war on drugs
The war on women
The war on Iraq
The war on drugs the war on democracy
The war on the bill of rights
The war on baby boomers
The war on American jobs
The war on business
The war on success
The war on gays
The war against the weak
The war on doping
The war on wrong
An end to the war on drugs?
The war on terror is ‘over’
The war on cameras
The war on Syria
The war on drugs is lost
The war on women
The war on men
The war on teachers
The war on health
The war on finance
The war on margarine
The war on bagpipes
The war on Wisconsin
The war on Sexual Temptation
The war on crooked police
The war on pizza
The war on java
The war on Nixon
The war of art
The war on everything
Defend America

~ ~ ~

Laura Mullen is the author of seven books: Enduring Freedom: A Little Book of Mechanical Brides, just out from Otis Books / Seismicity Editions, and The Surface, After I Was Dead, Subject and Dark Archive (University of California Press, 2011), The Tales of Horror, and Murmur. Recognitions for her poetry include Ironwood’s Stanford Prize, two Board of Regents ATLAS grants, a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship and a Rona Jaffe Award, among other honors. She has had several MacDowell Fellowships and is a frequent visitor at the Summer Writing Program at the Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics at Naropa. Her work has been widely anthologized and is included in American Hybrid (Norton), and I'll Drown My Book: Conceptual Writing by Women (Les Figues). Undersong, the composer Jason Eckardt’s setting of “The Distance (This)” (from Subject) was released on Mode records in 2011. Mullen is the McElveen Professor in English at LSU and a special interest delegate in Creative Writing for the Modern Language Association. She is a contributing editor for the on-line poetry site The Volta.

Thanks to Laura for her contribution to the Tattooed Poets Project on Tattoosday!

This entry is ©2013 Tattoosday. The poem and tattoos are reprinted with the poet's permission.

If you are reading this on another web site other than Tattoosday, without attribution, please note that it has been copied without the author's permission and is in violation of copyright laws. Please feel free to visit http://tattoosday.blogspot.com and read our original content. Please let me know if you saw this elsewhere so I contact the webmaster of the offending site and advise them of this violation in their Terms of Use Agreement.