Guided Missile Girl Tattoo
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Magie's Unique Sugar Skull, Inked by Big Ant (1978-2008)
I was a happy little inkblogger last Friday night when I made it to the 4th anniversary group art show at Tattoo Culture in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.
Happy, because I got to meet the awesome Marisa Kakoulas from the fabulous Needles and Sins tattoo blog, along with the equally-cool Brian Grosz, who is also a major creative force behind the site.
And happy because I was in a bright room with art on the walls, created by talented tattooists, and I was surrounded by people with incredible body art.
But therein lies the conundrum: great tattoos, in a hip tattoo setting, are top quality and, despite Tattoosday's success, I am still reluctant to whip out the Polaroid digital camera when, for all I know, the ink around me may have been professionally photographed and featured in glossy tattoo magazines.
So I had resigned myself to leave sans photos, knowing I had a groovy time and was able to meet other tattoo writers, when I noticed a very interesting sugar skull on the back of a young woman's right arm. Voila:
Of course I chatted a long time with Magie before I asked her if I could snap a picture, so I learned a bit about the tattoo before I asked.
Magie Serpica is an artist and tattooist who works at the newly-opened Bound for Glory Tattoo Studio in Staten Island.
The shop was co-founded by Nick Caruso who also tattoos at Flyrite Studio in Brooklyn. One of Nick's tattoos appeared here back in July on Tattoosday.
One of Magie's paintings was hanging on the wall at Tattoo Culture:
(reprinted with permission of the artist)
We talked at length about tattoos, what she called an under-served market on Staten Island (they are the first full-custom shop) in the borough (no flash on the walls, please) and have a promising future ahead.
We also discussed how difficult it has been in the past to be a female tattoo artist, how frustrating it is not to be taken seriously, and how Kat Von D. and the multitude of tattoo reality shows have helped break down the stereotypes and allowed Magie, as a female artist, to receive more respect as an artist.
Like most tattoo artists, Magie is covered in ink, with no idea how many tattoos she has ("If you can still see skin, it's not enough").
The sugar skull in question was tattooed by Anthony Gregory, aka Big Ant, a Staten Island artist who tragically passed away last year after falling ill in Las Vegas (see the sad news reported here).
She had asked him to give her a sugar skull and she had a general idea about his style, so she gave him total artistic freedom. The end result was fascinating - a unique, almost post-modern interpretation of a classic tattoo design. The angled perspective and the depth to the eyes give this tattoo a greater three-dimensional feel than your standard sugar skull.
I also like how the rose is just as important as the skull, its stem wrapping around it and adding another layer of depth.
I thank the good people at Tattoo Culture for opening their doors and allowing me the opportunity to meet some great people.
A special thanks to Magie for sharing her awesome tattoo with us here on Tattoosday. Be sure to visit her in the new shop, Bound for Glory, in Staten Island.
Here's hoping we'll see more of their work in the future!
READ MORE - Magie's Unique Sugar Skull, Inked by Big Ant (1978-2008)
Happy, because I got to meet the awesome Marisa Kakoulas from the fabulous Needles and Sins tattoo blog, along with the equally-cool Brian Grosz, who is also a major creative force behind the site.
And happy because I was in a bright room with art on the walls, created by talented tattooists, and I was surrounded by people with incredible body art.
But therein lies the conundrum: great tattoos, in a hip tattoo setting, are top quality and, despite Tattoosday's success, I am still reluctant to whip out the Polaroid digital camera when, for all I know, the ink around me may have been professionally photographed and featured in glossy tattoo magazines.
So I had resigned myself to leave sans photos, knowing I had a groovy time and was able to meet other tattoo writers, when I noticed a very interesting sugar skull on the back of a young woman's right arm. Voila:
Of course I chatted a long time with Magie before I asked her if I could snap a picture, so I learned a bit about the tattoo before I asked.
Magie Serpica is an artist and tattooist who works at the newly-opened Bound for Glory Tattoo Studio in Staten Island.
The shop was co-founded by Nick Caruso who also tattoos at Flyrite Studio in Brooklyn. One of Nick's tattoos appeared here back in July on Tattoosday.
One of Magie's paintings was hanging on the wall at Tattoo Culture:
(reprinted with permission of the artist)We talked at length about tattoos, what she called an under-served market on Staten Island (they are the first full-custom shop) in the borough (no flash on the walls, please) and have a promising future ahead.
We also discussed how difficult it has been in the past to be a female tattoo artist, how frustrating it is not to be taken seriously, and how Kat Von D. and the multitude of tattoo reality shows have helped break down the stereotypes and allowed Magie, as a female artist, to receive more respect as an artist.
Like most tattoo artists, Magie is covered in ink, with no idea how many tattoos she has ("If you can still see skin, it's not enough").
The sugar skull in question was tattooed by Anthony Gregory, aka Big Ant, a Staten Island artist who tragically passed away last year after falling ill in Las Vegas (see the sad news reported here).
She had asked him to give her a sugar skull and she had a general idea about his style, so she gave him total artistic freedom. The end result was fascinating - a unique, almost post-modern interpretation of a classic tattoo design. The angled perspective and the depth to the eyes give this tattoo a greater three-dimensional feel than your standard sugar skull.
I also like how the rose is just as important as the skull, its stem wrapping around it and adding another layer of depth.
I thank the good people at Tattoo Culture for opening their doors and allowing me the opportunity to meet some great people.
A special thanks to Magie for sharing her awesome tattoo with us here on Tattoosday. Be sure to visit her in the new shop, Bound for Glory, in Staten Island.
Here's hoping we'll see more of their work in the future!
Japanese Tattoos - Design Options
So you've decided that you want a Japanese tattoo. Congratulations. You've chosen a style of body art that's rich with symbolism and has links to ancient Japanese traditions. The majority of Japanese tattoos consist heavily of written symbols which can be divided into three main categories.1) Kanji
Of the three types of Japanese tattoo symbols, Kanji is the most popular because it is so expressive and artistic. Each different Kanji symbol (of which there are reported to be more than 40,000) represents a specific idea or meaning. So by combining a number of different Kanji symbols in your tattoo design it's possible to create a stylish and unique tattoo that expresses an unlimited number of ideas and messages.
2) Hiragana
Unlike Kanji symbols, which represent various ideas or meanings, Hiragana is a style of writing that's used in everyday Japanese life. You'll find it used in media such as newspapers and magazines, so it's much more amenable to literal translation than Kanji.
In terms of design, the hiragana characters are more rounded than Kanji symbols, which is worth bearing in mind depending upon your artistic tastes. Hiragana writing is also known as cursive, so don't get confused if you hear someone speaking about a cursive tattoo.
3) Katakana
The system of Katakana is similar to Hiragana. Together they're known as Kana and were originally based on the Kanji symbols which existed more than one thousand years ago. Since than they've developed into their present form and both Hiragana and Katakana each have their own set of 46 symbols with which to form their words.
The system of Katakana symbols is used almost exclusively to represent words that are non Japanese in origin. These symbols are similar to the system of hiragana with the main difference being that words in Katakana have sharper edges and are much more angular in appearance.
And that concludes the three types of Japanese tattoo symbols that are available. However, there's no rule that says you have to choose one style and stick to it. You could have your tattoo designed so that it includes more than one of these styles. For example, you could have a sentence written using Hiragana that includes various Kanji symbols to enrich it with greater meaning.
But whatever option you select, it's important to take one additional safety precaution before you go anywhere near a tattoo studio with your design. As you can see from this brief explanation of different character types, the system of Japanese writing is extremely complicated and subtle.
So unless you want to walk around wearing a Japanese tattoo that looks like a bad practical joke, if you don't speak Japanese fluently, it's vital to get an accurate translation of your design from a Japanese language expert.
It's also a good idea to make sure that you find a tattoo artist who has experience forming the various Japanese characters and symbols.
The best way to find your perfect Japanese tattoo is to do your research and then think long and hard about it before you make your final decision.
Use the internet to look at as many different types and styles of Japanese tattoos as possible. Do some research on the culture and learn how the language operates. After that, spent time thinking about what ideas and meanings you want to express through your tattoo design.
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Women image Permanent TattoosTemporary
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Tattoo Mask Women Permanent Temporary
Brooke Shows Off Her Zombie Ninja Poo
On a sunny September afternoon, I met Brooke outside of Penn Station.
She had several interesting tattoos, and she offered this one:
She referred to it as "Zombie Ninja Poo".
On the inside of her right wrist, this tattoo was inspired by the goofy video droppings of the ninja characters in one of her son's video games, Ninjatown.
She exercised a little creative license and zombified the design. The result was an undead mass of animated, um, turds.
Thanks to Brooke for sharing this unusual tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!
READ MORE - Brooke Shows Off Her Zombie Ninja Poo
She had several interesting tattoos, and she offered this one:
She referred to it as "Zombie Ninja Poo".
On the inside of her right wrist, this tattoo was inspired by the goofy video droppings of the ninja characters in one of her son's video games, Ninjatown.
She exercised a little creative license and zombified the design. The result was an undead mass of animated, um, turds.Thanks to Brooke for sharing this unusual tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!
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