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LOVERS IN JAPAN

Just a quick post with some random pictures I found on my computer. Loads of metal jewelry, hats, sunglasses, blue and sand.
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Process: Phoenix.


Started off drawing some parts and REAL rough shapes.
I was using 19th century Hokusai paintings for inspiration.
Then when I had a layout I liked,
I enlarged it and made some rough stencils.

I drew everything else on with a pen.





Rassier's own thang

Jeff started his own blog cause he is a lone wolf. Its pretty rad so far. He's been doing a drawing a day. Here are a few of the drawings...


Jeff Rassier's Blog Bitch

January 2011 In Progress.


On the way...2 sets of designs for late spring...
12 sheets total.




Try as I might... I can't keep this one a secret. Here's a sneek peak of our Naked City Magazine advertisment. It was just too hilarious and awesome to keep it under wraps. Thanks to Jordon for being such a good sport. Our plan is to have a new "model" each month. This is going to get raw.


my wife,cover of tattoos for women!!!!!




Tattoo conventions and professionalism.

So this year, PennyBlack will be representing at the Lethbridge Windy City Tattoo Weekend.
Last year was a ton of fun, and that was just before the studio actually came into being, so this year should be even better with our full crew.

We are also trying to sort out the logistics of getting a booth at the Capital City Tattoo Convention in Victoria.

What we will -not- be doing is supporting the West Coast Tattoo Culture Show. The reasons for this are multi-fold:

-The pricing for booths is, in my opinion, fairly exorbitant. I understand that these events are anything but cheap to put on, but making the artists pay as much as this convention is asking strikes me as unfair. As with so many other aspects of life in Vancouver, these booth rental fees are more a reflection of what people will pay, not what its worth.

-The convention promoters decided to offer half-price booth rental to any studio from the USA, and free booths to anyone from overseas. This strikes us as completely unfair. We're sure the promoters intention was to be more inviting to studios from far and wide. However, its also a fairly blunt statement- "You locals aren't good enough, you don't have enough draw, so you can pay full price." In short, there's nothing fair and equal about such a multi-tiered pricing structure.

-Professionalism. More importantly, the complete and utter lack thereof. Consider the massive banner that loads upon visitation of the West Coast Tattoo Culture Show. Second image down, the 'douchebag alert'. Now, folks, we don't know what has happened between the promoters of this convention and the West Coast Piercing and Ink Den, nor do we particularly care. As it stands, we don't actually even know anyone from either camp.

What we -do- care about is the shockingly unprofessional behavior of the promoters. A banner such as this makes all of the team assembling this look like children. It's infantile, unnecessary, and serves only to reinforce negative stereotypes that we as tattoo industry professionals are trying to overcome. Well, some of us are, at least.
Thus- to the un-informed observer, this is what 'tattoo culture' is- petty name calling.

So. Yes. This is why we at PennyBlack won't be representing at this convention, opting instead to travel out of town to where I know we will have fun and where we know we'll be avoiding the playground politics so willfully engaged in locally.

-Keith

"First Taste" Art Show at Bound for Glory Tomorrow Night!

In case you're wondering where I'll be on Friday night, the plan is for me to attend the opening of Bound for Glory's first art show.


Now, I'm not a big fan of Staten Island (nothing against the people, just my least fave borough), but the fact that the show is curated by Friend of Tattoosday, Magie Serpica, makes it worth the effort. Magie originally appeared on Tattoosday here.

Here is the spiel from the show's Facebook page:

"First Taste"

This is our first art show at Bound For Glory! It will feature the art of many awesome local Staten Island artists, as well as select works from some tattooers nationwide.


The art will be for sale and a portion of the proceeds will go towards Project Hospitality, a local charity which feeds the hungry, shelters the homeless and cares for people with HIV/AIDS.

...The opening reception will be on Friday Jan 28th at 8pm. There will be refreshments, which will be generously donated by local businesses such as Starbucks, Jeans Fine Wine & Spirits, and The CupCake Bar NYC.

Everyone is invited!

This show is curated by Bound For Glory's lady tattooer Magie Serpica

Participating Artists:

Mike Shane
Richie Clarke
Kev/psyn of RobotsWillKill
Chris of RobotsWillKill
Ethan Morgan
Cynthia Von Buhler
Dave Borjes
Brendan Coyle
Amanda Curtis
Chris Sorrentino
Lauren Monardo
Terry Lee Chandler
Charles Tagle
Marina Inoue
Frank Kempo
Chelsea Bunn
Danny Loveridge
Justine Lordo
Veng of RobotsWillKill
Vinny Rega
Tara Anne McCloskey Chillemi
Jennifer McMenemey
Magie Serpica
Nick Caruso
Emma Griffiths
Alexander Rivera
Tom Connors
Victor Modafferi
Sarah Smith (sas photos)
Scott Bakoss
Steve Lapcevic
Sweety
Miss Elvia
Demetrius Felder
Maya Ventura
Bert Krak
Gina Venosa
Mike Hooligan
Eric Perfect
Alex Sherker
Dennis Del Prete
Charlie Foos
Steven Huie

We will be selling raffle tickets for an awesome gift package including: a gift certificate from Comic Book Jones, Some T-Shirts from Robots Will Kill, & "An hour in the chair" with Magie Serpica!

Assuming I can dig my sister's car out from under a new foot of snow by tomorrow evening, I plan to attend and report on it next week, with a photo or two, to boot. Hope to see you there!

INOCENCE

El pasado lunes finalmente terminé los exámenes del primer semestre, y cuándo pensé que el día no podía ser mejor, llegué a casa y me encontré con un paquete sobre la cama: Conxita de Women' Secret me había enviado una muestra de la nueva colección 'New Year: Dreaming of Spring'! Abrí la cajita, muy orginal por cierto, y me encontré con un precioso camisón, el que podeis ver en la esquina inferior izquierda. Una prenda que encarna a la perfección el espíritu de la colección, ante todo muy femenina y sexy, que combina el negro y el rosa palo en delicadas prendas con encajes, transparencias y sofisticadas telas. Os recomiendo que os paseis por la tienda para comprobarlo por vosotras mismas!

Last monday I finally finished my first term university exams and when I thought the day couldn't be better, I arrived home and found a box on my bed: Conxita from the underwear spanish brand Women' Secret had sent me a piece from their new collection 'New Year: dremaing of spring'! I opened the box, a very original one by the way, and I found a extremely nice nightdress (the one you can see on the down left corner). A piece that represent perfectly the spirit of the full collection, a very sexy and feminine one that combines black and pale pink in delicated pieces with lace, transparencies and sofisticated fabrics.

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individial images form ws, collage made by me

PD: Miriam y Marina sortean dos preciosos accesorios en su blog. Pasate, descúbrelos y por qué no? participa tu también!

Tattoorism: Sean Returns, Part 2

Last week, I shared more of reader Sean's vast tat-alog here. It's time to finish off our inventory of this very generous fan o' the site. Let's see what we have:

...I got a clipper ship on my upper arm.  The ship is navigating through a background of clouds and lightning bolts and has a banner underneath reading “Hope.”  Its meaning follows the same idea behind my anchor tattoo.  Hope is a huge part of having a positive mental attitude, which I try (sometimes with little luck, of course) to hold at all times.  It’s a reminder that you can make it through stormy parts of your life, no matter how bad they get.  It’s also done in the traditional style I love so much.  The tattoo was done by Mike Schweigert at Electric Tattoo in Bradley Beach, NJ.

While attending [the 2010] Philadelphia Tattoo Arts Convention, I decided to get a tattoo to commemorate my first convention.  For as many years as tattoos have been a part of my life, this was my first convention...I got a blue rose with a candle spouting out of it in between my sparrows and flower on my outer elbow. 

I’m a firm believer in everyone having a different reasoning for getting tattoos.  Some are used as place markers in one’s life, some are used to remember an event, some have deep profound meanings and some are just aesthetically pleasing. I could probably come up with some in depth meaning behind the tattoo, but in the end, I got it to commemorate my first tattoo convention and that’s pretty much the only reason.  Done by Rocco at Death or Glory Tattoos in Westbrook, Maine.

Finally, I got my outer elbow to forearm done with a snake coiling through a skull and dagger and impaling itself on the dagger’s blade.  


I usually try to go out of my way to ensure that my friends/family/other people in general are happy, more often than I would like to admit, putting their happiness before my well-being.  This tattoo serves as a reminder for me not to do that so much, and to focus on myself sometimes.  The snake can be viewed as a protection figure, coiling around and through the rest of the tattoo, but has also caused injury to itself by doing so.  Basically, its my reminder that as much as I would like to help others, I need to keep my own happiness and well being in mind before I choose which action to take or I’ll end up injuring myself in the process.  Done by Mike Schweigert at Electric Tattoo in Bradley Beach, NJ.

A hearty thanks to Sean for continuing to share his tattoos with us over the years!
It's a rainy day in Vancouver- but then again, when is it not?
Progress is being made on this blog, but as with everything besides actual tattooing, it's taking some time. Biographies will be placed sooner than later, and photos are still being resized for suitable uploading.

We're still a little confused regarding how busy we've been. Typically, slow season for tattooing lasts from mid-November to late February, but we've been almost as busy in January as we were through the summer. Must be our sunny disposition, hmm?

-K.

Keith
















Newsday on Tuesday?

Newsday on Tattoosday?

So winter makes me consider desperate measures. As I've trickled down to two or three posts a week (believe me, it hurts me more than it hurts you), I've occasionally toyed with the idea of reporting on other things in the tattoo community, other than the Bill-o-centric encounters I have in the City That Never Sleeps. I've even gone so far as to write a few posts and then never published them. The reality is, however, I am facing a scarcity of inkspotting occurrences, and I'm just going with the flow.

So, here we go.....

I recently got an email from someone representing a Guide to Art Schools website, listing Tattoosday among the top 45 tattoo blogs. Considering how specific the site is, I'm honored to be included, especially among some of my favorite tattoo cyber-destinations. You check out the list here:
http://www.guidetoartschools.com/library/best-tattoo-blogs.

And since we're throwing around the work "Best, " I received word about a  new tattoo reality show currently in production for the Oxygen Network. Its working title is "Best Ink" and it sounds rather compelling. Check it out:

Capturing the drama and culture of the tattoo scene, "Best Ink"(WT) will feature approximately 12 top tattoo artists as they compete for a cash prize and bragging rights. These unique artists will produce bona fide masterpieces on skin -- something rarely seen in the competition world. The permanent artwork will be created for -- and on -- real people in a variety of challenges to showcase the artists' talents. Only one artist will win the ultimate prize of BEST INK (WT)

Casting details are here.



And, finally, in a creepy news story, but one that certainly nipped at my curiosity, the artists at Sacred Art Tattoo Studio in Tucson are getting some publicity, as they had the dubious distinction of tattooing Jared Loughner last fall. Not to feed into the media frenzy surrounding this guy, but I was curious, so I just had to look into it. Read all about it here.

So what do you think? Should Tattoosday Newsday becoming a regular feature? Feel free to comment below.

Tattoos I Know: Paul's Taíno Ink

Last summer, my friend Paul had some new work done by Pierre at The Fort Apache Tattoo Studio near Penn Station. You can see some of his old work here and here and here and here (yes, he's a regular!).

Fort Apache is up several flights of stairs, but it is conveniently close to my day job, which makes up for the aerobic ascension to the shop on 31st Street.

This is what Paul had tattooed on his right forearm:


These four symbols are petroglyphs from the Taíno culture in Puerto Rico. They are one way Paul has chosen to acknowledging his and his ancestors' culture, in ink.

From top to bottom, the symbols each have literal meanings, and then personal meanings for Paul. The triangular piece is a zemis, pointing in three directions - to the sky and the Creator, to the underworld and the realm of the dead, and to the world of the living.

The second petroglyph is Sol, or the sun and the fourth design is the coqui, or frog.

Thanks once again to Paul for sharing his latest installment of ink here with us on Tattoosday!

Shayla


The quest for legitimacy

|Our dot-com has been registered for awhile, but it's just been hovering in development hell. Slapping a blog up is better than the default placeholder that bluehost gives us. We'll be putting up more content as it occurs to us.

DOWN IN THE PAST

Nunca me he declarado fan de Missoni, y menos de sus campañas por mucha Leighton Meester que ahora aparezca en ellas. Encuentro sus característicos estampados demasiado recargados para mi gusto, soy más minimal digamos, y eso que, como dice la portada de Harper's Bazaar España de este mes, ahora minimal es más. Sin embargo siempre hay una excepción que se salta la regla, e indagando en campañas y editoriales antiguas me encontré con ésto:

I've never been fan of Missoni and neither of its campaigns even if Leighton Meester appears on them. I really find their characteristic patterns so overelaborated, let's say I'm more minimal for that, and as Harper's Bazaar Spain cover from this month says, now minimal is more. Anyway, there's always a exception that breaks the rule and inquiring into old campaigns and editorial I came across this:

Fall 1997 / Tanga Moreau by Mario TestinoImage and video hosting by TinyPic

Shop Trip to Las Vegas, Good Timin'

GO FOR IT

Primero fue el hecho de llevar múltiples anillos lo que inundó la blogosfera. Ahora le ha llegado el turno a los anillos múltiples o anillos dobles (aunque admitámoslo, como muchas otras veces, en inglés suena mejor: double finger ring) y en especial a aquellos con forma de cruz o de hoja. Originalidad sin duda no le falta a este nuevo accesorio que se alza como un nuevo must de la temporada. Yo ya tengo el mio!

First ,the fact of wearing a lot rings on both hands flooded the blogosphere. Now it's time for multiple or double rings and specially for that one with a cross or a feather shape. There no doubt that this original new accessory has been crowned as a must for this season. I have just got mine form Asos and I absolutely love it!

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credit of the individual images
.
Si quereis haceros con el vuestro os recomiendo que le echeis un vistazo a los modelos de Urban Outfitters  pues ahora, y sólo hasta el día 23, obtendreis un descuento de 15€ por compras superiores a 65€ introduciendo el código de promoción HAPPYEU al realizar tu pedido!

If you want to get yours, I recommend you to have a look around  Urban Outfitters website because they not only have nice ones, but also and just untill the 23rd January, you will get a 15€ discount introducing de promo code HAPPYEU at checkout, if you spend more than 65€. What are you waiting for?

Niki's Memorial Foot

Alas, with winter setting in, spotting tattoos in public is seasonably challenging. Thank goodness for ink on uncovered extremities, like hands and the occasional foot!

Case in point, earlier this month I met Niki in Penn Station after spotting this dagger on her foot:


She had this, one of her three tattoos, done three or four years ago a couple of years after her father had passed away.

It is a memorial that is based on a necklace her dad wore. When I asked her, after the fact, if she still had the necklace, she said she didn't, but said it was a lot like this one. She added "my dad bought it the Christmas before he passed away and it really showed off his sarcasm and style because he was very much into motorcycles and whatnot".

Wisely, in my opinion, she kept the design, but excised the words on the necklace from the tattoo!

Niki had this done by Marc at Ink Link Tattoos & Piercings in West Palm Beach, Florida.

Thanks to Niki for sharing her tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

Eagle vs. Snake study #3

A Working Man's Car and Chop Show


HF at love party








HEARTS BURST INTO FIRE

Today's inspiration is...
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Elin Kling, who, by the way has designed a very nice and softly colored 11 pieces limited collection for H&M that will be launched next 3rd february. Unfortunatly, just on sale on Sweden.

Tattoorism: Sean Returns, Part 1

Back in 2009, one of our loyal readers, Sean, submitted a whole slew of his work for our viewing pleasure. You can read the original posts, here and here.

Why do I bring this up now? Last summer, Sean sent us more of his tat-alog of work and I had been saving it for a rainy day. Since it's a rainy, sleety, snowy day, I thought I should share more of what Sean sent along. And since he sent a lot, I'm splitting it into two posts. What follows is the first installment. Italics represent direct quotes from Sean.


I got the ditch of my elbow done probably about a year or so ago.  It is a flower of sorts, of my own design, made up of various geometrical shapes.  The tattoo represents two parts of our world, nature (the floral shape itself, petals, leaves, etc.) and science (the geometric shapes making up the flower).  I believe that one should not base their ideals solely on nature or science/technology, but on a mixture of the two.  It represents my appreciation for both nature and science.  Basically, I am fascinated by technology and the sciences that are its basis, but at the same time do not feel that science should trump nature all together but rather, have the two working together in harmony.  It was done by Robert “Binky” Ryan at Electric Tattoo in Bradley Beach, NJ.


The sparrows circling my outer elbow were my next pieces done.  I had attended a Marine museum in Philadelphia which had a great exhibit on the tattoo culture surrounding the Navy and sailors in general throughout history.  According to the exhibit, sailors would earn the right to a single sparrow tattoo after traveling 5,000 miles at sea and a second sparrow after 10,000 miles.  I am not much for sailing, but the idea of the sparrow representing travel and all the hardships, journeys, and successes that surround that travel appealed to me.  Further, I have a general appreciation for American Traditional tattoos and their overall aesthetics.  These were done by Rich Heller at Electric Tattoo in Bradley Beach, NJ. 


Don’t quite remember when I got my feet finished up, but it was sometime within the last year and a half or so.  My feet are tattooed with a sun and moon, which I drew myself about 6 years ago.  The duality of the sun and moon, and various meanings that these two symbols hold are why I had them tattooed.  The idea that each represents night and day, or two opposites that work together to make up a whole, are what drew me to having the designs placed on my feet.  Further, it represents the two sides that I have to myself, a lighter, happy, and caring side and a darker, selfish side.  I feel a person cannot fully understand themselves without acknowledging and accepting all parts of their personalities.  I also gave the sun and moon, a dark, kind of macabre, look as I am a huge horror fan and have always been attracted to the darker side of things.  Originally, I had them inked by Robert “Binky” Ryan (then at Body Art World in Pt. Pleasant, NJ but now Electric Tattoo in Bradley Beach, NJ) in 2004.  They were done in grey wash and I was happy with them for about 5 years, in which point I decided to have them colored in, and had some background added.  The color and background were added by Brody Longo at Slingin’ Ink in Pt. Pleasant Beach, NJ.


The next piece I got was an anchor on my inner forearm.  The anchor represents all the things that drag me down in life.  Across the anchor is a banner that reads “P.M.A.” the abbreviation for positive mental attitude.  I feel the first step in pushing through any kind of hardship in life is to have a positive attitude, and the rest will follow.  I want to say the original use of PMA was in a Bad Brains song, but I pulled it from its use in the Glassjaw song “Piano.”  This tattoo is also a throwback to the band Glassjaw, as they have been my favorite band for I would have to say at least 10 years now and I have experienced just about every emotion possible while listening to their albums.  So as an added bonus, the tattoo brings me back to all those memories.  The tattoo was done by Rich Heller at Electric Tattoo in Bradley Beach, NJ.


Thanks to Sean for sharing all of this with us here on Tattoosday, and for patiently waiting for me to post it!

Stay tuned for part 2.....