A Bright Spot in December: A Phoenix and a Pin-Up

As one would expect, inkspotting is tough during December. Here we are at the end of the month, and I have only interviewed three people since the 1st. There were a few times over the summer when I interviewed three contributors during my lunch hour!

The last person whose work I photographed was Megan, who I found upstairs at the Penn Plaza Borders store.

Megan has seventeen tattoos, but it was this one that caught my eye:


This is a phoenix, of course, but fewer people may recognize it as Fawkes, the phoenix of Professor Albus Dumbledore, in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.


The artwork is based on the illustration by Jason Cockcroft on the cover of the UK edition of the aforementioned book.


The tattooist Jamie Nichols at Gargoyle Tattoo in Aberdeen, Washington, completed this piece in about eight hours over two sittings.

Megan also has this pinup on her upper left arm:


The use of negative space for the bombs is pretty cool.

Marcus was the artist at Gargoyle that Megan credited for creating this piece..

Thanks to Megan for taking the time to speak to me about her cool tattoos!
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Two-for-Tattoosday, Brazilian-Style

Sometimes, due to a) a language barrier and b) the passage of time, we're not always able to give you the most in-depth story about our subjects' tattoos.

Such is the case with Celso and Reginaldo, who I met back in September outside of Madison Square Garden.

Both gentlemen were visiting from São Paolo, Brazil and one of Celso's tattoos caught my eye:


That was on his right arm. He also had this one on his left arm:


Celso's friend Reginaldo pulled his shirt off so I could get the full view of his koi tattoo:


Celso credited Artur at True Love Tattoo in São Paolo for inking his dragon and his mermaid.

Artur also was the artists who did Reginaldo's koi.

Thanks to Celso and Reginaldo for sharing their tattoos with us here on Tattoosday!
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Christmas House Cleaning

Regular readers of Tattoosday will notice that, although I generally follow a chronological order when I share tattoos I have encountered.

However, certain pieces, for various and sundry reasons, have been bypassed, and haven't made it to the blog, until now.

I was originally going to post a dozen to represent the Twelve Days of Christmas, but I settled for eight. For the nights of Chanukah, perhaps?

Without intending to offend anyone for not receiving a post all to themselves, I have lumped these tattoos, spanning from late August to late October, in one post.

These are the neglected tattoo pictures that are just a little off, some not through the fault of the contributor, but for reasons beyond their control.

The quality of the photo may not be ideal, or the host and I faced a language barrier that prevented a good back story from emerging, or I didn't find the story behind the tattoo especially compelling. And then
there's what is likely one of the poorest tattoos I have seen, but the story behind it is somewhat compelling.

So, without further ado, here is a Christmas cleaning, eight posts rolled together into one gigantic one.

~~~

First up, we have Esteban, who shared his sleeve when I met him in September, at Fairway in Red Hook:

Alas, I was still using a borrowed camera, and several shots were over-exposed and/or blurry, but I was able to salvage this one:



The artwork is pre-Colombian in its inspiration, and is part of a larger tropical motif.

Next up we have Dave, who I met in Penn Station. He has over 25 tattoos and selected this one to share:


The phrase "Uniting the Strong" is the title of a song from Victim in Pain, the second album from the band Agnostic Front. This is a friendship tattoo that stresses unity and the host's nod to the hardcore punk scene.

Dave credits Jelena at Lone Wolf Tattoo in Bellmore, New York with this piece.

~~~

Next we have Orlando, a Fine Arts student at FIT, where I met him outside while walking toward 23rd Street on my lunch break, also in September.

This ship tattoo is an homage to his father, who served in the navy for thirty years. He wanted a "classic look" in the Sailor Jerry style.


Orlando confirmed for me that his dad loves the tattoo.

It was inked at Crazy Fantasy Tattoo in Manhattan by an artist named Antonio.

[Update: I got a better, crisper picture from Orlando of the ship tattoo in May 2011:]


Orlando has seven tattoos in all [in May 2011, he updated this number to ten], and shared this one, as well, inked at Dare Devil Tattoo on the Lower East Side.


The quote, "This my excavation and today is Kumran" is from a song called "re: Stacks" by Bon Iver.

Orlando explained that he interprets this quote as a reminder that "every day has the ability to make you or break you. It just depends on what you do with it." Other interpretations are here.

For the record, I did email Orlando to ask for an opportunity to get clearer pictures, but I did not hear back from him.

~~~

I met Farkas in Union Square back in October. He had this wolf on his right arm:


He explained that his name means "wolf" in Hungarian, and that one of his friends in Hungary did this tattoo for him.

~~~

A couple days after meeting Farkas, I met an Israeli named Ran on 34th Street across from Macy*s. He shared this iguana on his right leg:



It's a pretty nice tattoo, but he hasn't sent me any further details about it.

~~~

A couple weeks later, I was in the West Village before a concert, and met Carlos, a manager at the Qdoba Mexican Grill where we were having a quick bite before the show. He shared this intricate tattoo on his right arm:



He and friend collaborated on this tattoo together. He told me that, when he was little, he did jigsaw puzzles with his mother a lot. The tattoo reminds him of those fun times growing up.

~~~

The following week, I ran into Iancu in Penn Station, and he shared this piece on his upper left arm:


Iancu told me he came to the artist, Rico, formerly of Rising Dragon in Manhattan, who was initially unwilling to do the tattoo. However, he convinced him to do it. It's basically a Guns N' Roses tribute although, he
noted, the guns were added about a year and a half after the original design was inked.

~~~

And finally, I must first say that  it is very rare that I ever criticize the quality of a tattoo.

Even if it is inferior to the work of much better artists, I always like to believe there are some redeeming qualities in a tattoo.

Which is why I struggled with this next tattoo, which I photographer back in August, and which I have included in this odds and ends post in December.

I approached a guy named Danny who had a lot of interestingly-tattooed words and such on his arms.

However, he offered to remove his shirt in Penn Station so I could photograph this:



Um, yeah.

If this was done by an experienced artist, I would likely not have posted it. Despite its obvious flaws, it is compelling, in my opinion, because Danny told me, like all his tattoos (15 or 16, he told me), this one was
self-inked. Now, I can see tattooing one's arm or leg, but I cannot even fathom how challenging it would be to self-tattoo your chest. He estimated this took one and a half hours to do.

The message is "Diamonds Aren't Forever," or, in  Danny's words, "don't take what you have for granted".

~~~

So there you have it, a Spring Cleaning for Christmas.

I do sincerely thank the individuals who shared their tattoos in this entry. Happy Holidays, y'all!
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Home Sweet Home for the Holidays

The saying is, "you can't take it with you," but there is a way to carry your home with you when you move somewhere else.

Take, Adam, for example, who I stopped on Seventh Avenue between 29th and 30th Streets.

He currently resides in Pittsburgh, but he has lived in Miami and New York City.

His tattoos are a work in progress and he has had about eight hours done so far.

Adam says he has lived all over the United States and he wants, ideally, to tattoo a "piece of everywhere I've lived".

Check this out:



The Statue of Liberty clearly represents New York, and the palm trees recall Miami. All the bridges and a few of the buildings are Pittsburgh landmarks, like PPG Place


and the Highmark Building.


The "Home Sweet Home" sentiment is anchored by the multiple locations, echoing the idea that home is where the heart is.

Adam's work is done by Michael Patrick at Jester's Court Tattoos in Pittsburgh.

Thanks to Adam for sharing his wonderful sleeve with us here on Tattoosday!
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HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

2010 has been a great year with a lot of new beginnings and changes for the Exotix Crew. We would like to thank Toronto for standing by us and your continued support. A special thanks goes out to all of our clients, without you we would not be able to produce the work work we love creating. Exotix wishes everyone a Happy Holiday season and we look forward to seeing all of you in 2011.

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Get to work!

Recent tattoo bangin'. Que pics...

Steven Turner

Ben Siebert

Heath Leffel
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Panoramic!

Check out this sweet panoramic view of the tat shack! Technology is worderful.




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COVER UP DONE BY SEUNGWON!!

Koi fish shoulder piece cover-up done by Seungwon!

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NEW WORK FROM LEMUR!!

Lemur is back from Asia and back in action!!!


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Silicone Implants

NEW silicone implants in stock! If you are interested in having any of these pieces done please let me know.
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It's a sign.

Mr. Wathke working his magic. Nuff said.
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CHRISTMAS ORDERS!!

Christmas is LESS than a month away! Anyone looking to purchase custom jewellery as a gift for someone special please have your orders in no later than December 10th. As always, we have Gift Certificates available and TONS of gorgeous jewellery in stock from ANATOMETAL, GORILLA GLASS, and TAWAPA!!
Nothing says "You're awesome!!" like a pair of teardrop blings!! ;)


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Gift Cards... Come get some.


It's been an excellent week here at the shop! A lot of people have been using their holiday time wisely and coming down to the shop to get tattooed. Black Friday is upon us and we are very grateful to work in a non-retail environment.

Speaking of holiday cheer, we have gift certificates available at the shop! Tattoos, the gift that keeps on giving. Werd up!


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Untitled...

Wow! Someone getting a tattoo without 25 words and banners obviously explaining the tattoo? WTF?!! Oh wait, it's Jordon our counter guy... that's why. If only everyone got "tattoo style" tattoos. I hear a picture is worth a thousand words. Now, with all smarminess aside, que pics.


Oh, Mr. Wathke, what style you have sir.
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Pootie Tang Fever


Us folks here at Hell Bomb Tattoo are taking our web presence to the next level... the Pootie Tang level that is. Smackin' it in the ass with a belt and letting you know, no matter how ridiculous, the tomfoolery that occurs here at our lovely establishment! At the very least, we'll try to keep you entertained, and hopefully keep you informed of our work related efforts as well.

Jordon May, our counter guy extraordinaire, will be taking over this blog! It may be a disaster, but the blood will be on his hands from now on. Wish him luck... it's gonna get weird.



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MORE SCARIFICATION PHOTOS!!

We got some more photos of the collaborative scarification work done by Efix Roy and Six from earlier this week! Here's some pics of the magic in the making! (Photos are courtesy of Gwyneth Fischer)

The planning stages






The finished piece!




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EFIX & SIX COLLABORATIONS!

Thanks to our guest Efix Roy ("D-Markation" - Quebec City) for coming by the studio and doing some work these past few days! Some AMAZING collaborative scarification pieces were done by him and Six! Check back soon, we have more pictures of their work coming!

(L to R): Efix Roy, Six & Needles.

Fresh cutting and removal on chest by Efix & Six.
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TOBIAS SCHAFER EXCLUSIVE APPOINTMENTS

Tobias Schafer from Germany will be doing some exclusive appointments here at Exotix from Nov 17th - Dec 4th contact the studio if you would like to book with him.

Check out some of his work (click image)

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New Work in Progress from Seungwon

Seungwon keeping it Traditional, here is his newest work in progress!
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ZOA PLUGS!!

NEW Zoa Plugs from Gorilla Glass now in stock! Super Awesome!
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Indelible Tattoo Art Show... Success!!!

Thanks to everyone who made it out for the Indelible show last weekend! The turnout was amazing and we had a great time. A special thanks to Brad Ruder at Tangent Lab for hosting the show making it a grand success! We'd also like to thank Ian Stewart and all the contributing artist for their submissions, we wouldn't have a show without you. We are throwing around the idea of making this an annual event, so be on the lookout next year. Here's a few pics of the opening reception.

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