silenciadoelviento: July 2011

Sunday, July 31, 2011

Fabric butterfly

Hm, not sure about the kind of lace thing. Not much inspiration lately, I promise, I'll try to do better next Sunday ^^'.

fabric butterfly

This work by tattoos-and-doodles.blogspot.com is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.

Happy Blogiversary To Me! A Re-Post Celebration

Today marks Tattoosday's fourth anniversary, when we first started off here on BillyBlog as a once a week feature, before spinning off into a stand-alone site little over a month later.

To celebrate, I'll be sharing favorite posts from the past four years throughout the day. Just a little celebratory break before we resume our normally-scheduled programming.

I also encourage readers to comment below or email me (tattoosday@gmail.com) and I will attempt to re-post reader favorites throughout the day.

Thanks to all of my readers for supporting me throughout the years! Here's to at least four more years!

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.

Anniversary Re-Post - Julie's Crazy Tattoo

As part of our fourth anniversary, we are re-posting some of our favorite Tattoosday moments. This post is one of my all-time favorites, from June 15, 2010:

Inkspotting can be impulsive, but I also like to approach each volunteer after some consideration.

Rather than rush up on someone and barrage them with questions, I like to make sure the tattoo(s) in question are not only interesting to me, but will be interesting to others.

When I spotted Julie's back in Penn Station, for example, I hesitated:

It wasn't initially clear what her tattoo said and I was struck by its uniqueness. A huge fan of word and type tattoos, I couldn't recall ever seeing anything quite like it.

So my curiosity got the best of me and I introduced myself to Julie.

The tattoo "Loufoque," which is a slang term in butcher jargon for "crazy person". Julie explained that she apprenticed with a butcher shop for six months and it was a word she often heard tossed about by the staff, occasionally used when referring to a customer who might be difficult or, let's say, insane.

The term Loufuque derived from 19th Century butcher slang and it became part of the vernacular. Julie thought that this tattoo would be a great way to commemorate her experience.

The tattoo was done by Ryoko at Brooklyn Tattoo. I asked the artist where she came up with the letter design and she kindly gave me a little more perspective:

"I recall Julie requesting the letters themselves to express lunacy. The final design in the photo is my own interpretation of what she had asked for and I think my intention here was to make the phrase look chaotic and disorderly, yet somewhat maintaining it's legibility. It's what I was able to put together by trying to depict what she might have been imagining in her head at the time."

So, this post was written and prepped and I was online doing some final research when I stumbled upon this tidbit of information from "Of Meat and Men" by Rachel Kramer Bussel over on The Daily Beast:

Her goodbye present from the Fleisher’s staff is a set of knives inscribed with her name and “Loufoque,” French-butcher Pig Latin for “Crazy Lady,” a term she now has permanently tattooed across her back. Yet Powell now sounds much surer of herself than the lost woman whom we find in the early pages of Cleaving. Next up is a stab at a novel: “I’ve written quite enough memoirs for a 36-year-old.”

Was this coincidence? Or were we talking about the same person?

Scrolling back in the article, I discovered that the Powell here and the Julie that I met in Penn Station were one and the same person.

The same person who crafted The Julie/Julia Project, in which the author blogged her way through Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking, which became a book, which in turn became the film Julie and Julia. All of this Julie never once mentioned. Then again, I never asked. And it is all about the tattoo, after all.

That being said, thanks to Ryoko for sharing her thoughts about creating this tattoo, and a hearty thanks to Julie Powell for sharing this interesting tattoo. I'm glad my curiosity got the better of me!

This entry is ©2010, 2011 Tattoosday.

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.

Saturday, July 30, 2011

Better Late Than Never

Back in April, I ran into John in Herald Square (34th and 6th) who had some pretty amazing work. He estimates he is about 25% covered in tattoos, which includes both arms, hands to shoulders, and both sides of his neck.

I stopped him and handed him a flier, but he was in a hurry, so we went our separate ways.

A month or so later, he e-mailed me a couple of photos:

John "loved Popeye growing up" and "love[s] the way [tattoos] look".

Not a lot more to tell, other than this was done by Rodrigo Melo, when he was at Rising Dragon Tattoos on 23rd Street (now on 14th). Rodrigo has since left Rising Dragon and co-founded North Star Tattoo in the East Village.

John is a photographer whose work can be seen here.

Thanks to John for sharing his ink with us here on Tattoosday!

Friday, July 29, 2011

The Quotable Tom Ford

As a new season of Project Runway premiered last night, I thought I'd share a fashion-related tattoo. Working on "Fashion Avenue," I see a lot of ink on people in the industry. Here's one from Megan:

This is a quote by the fashion designer Tom Ford:

"Beauty is an illusion/It is here only for a moment/Then it fades/But in the brief moment of existence/It has forever/impacted the world"

Megan read these words in one of Ford's books, in a section about evening wear.

"I love Tom Ford," she told me, "and I think he's a very smart man."

The tattoo was done about 2-3 years ago at Ink Candy in Hollywood by an artist named Angel.

Thanks to Megan for sharing this inspirational quote with us here on Tattoosday!

Thursday, July 28, 2011

Katie's Bouquet

I spotted this lovely tattoo on the Broadway-Lafayette subway platform last month, while switching trains:

This floral piece, on Katie's calf, is one of her eight tattoos.

The larger flower is an iris and the smaller flowers are Narcissus papyraceus or, as they are commonly known, Paperwhites.

She added these paperwhites specifically because they were her Nan's favorite flower.

The tattoo was done by an artist named Ron Hotte in San Diego. Rob is currently back in New York, more specifically on Long Island, at Solid Gold Tattoo.

Thanks to Katie for sharing this beautiful tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

This entry is ©2011 Tattoosday.

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

A Skull in Penn Station

Last week, I was passing through Penn Station when I spotted a woman with a bunch of interesting tattoos. I introduced myself, and had taken a picture of one of her tattoos, when the loudspeaker announced her train was boarding. Having learned nothing about the tattoo I had just photographed, I gave her my card and asked her to e-mail me the details.

When this happens, I am often left with a tattoo and no story. But fortunately for all of us here at Tattoosday, Stephanie e-mailed me a few days later, and this is what she had to say:

"You stopped me in Penn Station ... and took a picture of my tattoo. Its a skull on my forearm, pink with green flowers and a backwards jaw :)

I got the tattoo years ago now and the color is still incredibly vibrant. I got it at Chameleon Tattoo & Body Piercing in Harvard Sq, Cambridge Massachusetts. The artist's name is Rueben Kayden. He does amazing traditional work and I've had him work on me several other times. At the time he had been working on two pin-up girls I have on the backs of my arms. I went in for my appointment and Rueben showed me a design he had been doodling. It was a strange skull with its jaw on the back of its head, and flowers all around. I immediately loved it. So, we ended up just tattooing that on me instead. I'm very random and I love random pieces of work. What's better than a random story?"

Work from Chameleon Tattoo and Body Piercing has appeared previously on the site here and here.

Thanks to Stephanie for sharing this tattoo and story with us here on Tattoosday!

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Two for Tattoosday - Dave's Scalpflower and Bethany's Lonely Whale

A couple weeks back, I met Dave and Bethany outside of the Borders Penn Plaza in Manhattan. Both had amazing ink and shared some tattoos with us. Let's start with Dave's "scalpflower":

Dave explained that this floral tattoo on his scalp was inked by Mike Adams, who was doing a guest spot at Thicker Than Water in Manhattan.

Dave elaborated:

"We had talked about some ideas when I saw him [Mike Adams] at the Philadelphia Convention. We showed up [at Thicker than Water] and he just showed me some of the drawings of the tattoos he had recently done.

He had done another flower on someone else in the past week and I said 'Oh, let's do one of those.' He said, 'Yeah, that's awesome/ Let's do it.' "

Dave, who is approximately 70% covered in tattoos, had mostly been worked on by Tony Hundahl from Rock of Ages Tattoo in Austin, Texas. Hundahl has done both of Dave's sleeves (including the traditional segment pictured below), his chest, stomach, back, knees and one of his legs.

Dave added that, since moving to Washington D.C. recently, he started collecting work from other artists in the East.

Along with Dave, I met Bethany who, shared one of her more recent tattoos, this whale by Deno Jr.:

Deno Jr. works out of Circus Tattoo in Madrid, Spain, but had recently done a guest spot at Tattoo Paradise in D.C.

This tattoo is of this lonely whale, whose song is different from any other species, so it is an outcast, and she doesn't have a mate.

Thanks to Dave and Bethany for sharing their amazing tattoos with us here on Tattoosday!

Monday, July 25, 2011

Aisha's Stunning Back Piece

This incredible back piece belongs to Aisha, a former New Yorker who now resides in Florida.

I met her last month at the corner of 36th Street and Broadway in Manhattan.

The tattoo is an interpretation of the old adage, "See No Evil, Hear No Evil, Speak No Evil".

Inked over eleven years ago and representing about twenty hours of work, this huge piece was her second of eight tattoos.

She remembers only that the artist's name is Rodrigo, so it may have been Rodrigo Melo who currently owns and works at North Star Tattoo, but I am still working to confirm he was the tattooer behind this.

"I told him what I wanted," Aisha explained. "He just drew it on my back and I loved it and that was it."

The face is female, her eyes are closed and she has a mouth bit that represents her silence.

Despite the face's eyes being closed, she indicated that the "third eye" in the middle of the forehead is open. The third eye can be interpreted many ways, but often refers to looking inward and a greater consciousness.

Thanks to Aisha for sharing this amazing tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

Sunday, July 24, 2011

Rose heart

I have the feeling I already saw something like this somewhere (probably better, this was done without reference so the shading is a bit weird)

Rose heart

This work by tattoos-and-doodles.blogspot.com is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.

Amy Winehouse Will Live On in Andrea's Ink

Back in June, I met Andrea on Penn Plaza in Manhattan and she shared this tattoo:

This is, of course, Amy Winehouse, whose death was just announced yesterday. Andrea, who has this inked on her upper right arm, says she had this done "in the style of Monet". The artist was "Mad Dog" at Studio 33 Tattoo on St. Mark's in Manhattan.

When I asked Andrea why she got Winehouse tattooed on her, she replied, "she has such amazing talent" and professed her admiration for her as an artist.

The tattoo art is based on a painting she had found online, and she selected it to add to her collection of approximately twenty tattoos.

In hindsight, it seems almost haunting that I photographed this piece on June 22, a month and a day before she died. We here at Tattoosday are saddened by her passing and can only wonder what art will never be created because she died at such an early age, like so many other talented musicians whose struggles with addiction cut their lives short.

Thanks to Andrea for sharing this tattoo. I hope that her ink gives her strength as she bears this tribute to Amy Winehouse for everyone to see.

Saturday, July 23, 2011

Poppies for Poppy

These poppies are courtesy of Emma, who I met in Penn Station last week.

She got poppies because, she told me, "My grandfather passed away a couple years ago and I used to call him Poppy".

This is one her five tattoos, and represents about four and a half hours of work by Gus Espinoza at La Familia Tattoo, in Fort Collins, Colorado.

Thanks to Emma for sharing "Poppy's Poppies" with us here on Tattoosday!

Friday, July 22, 2011

It Was A Very Good Year for Some

I was passing through Penn Station earlier this month, when I spotted a young lady with this tattoo:

Being a baseball fan, I guessed what the meaning of this tattoo was, but I had to ask, just to confirm. The young woman, who wished only to be identified as "Passenger Jane Doe," confirmed, this tattoo refers to the last year that the Chicago Cubs won the World Series.

A self-described "huge Cubs fan," she elaborated:

"My dad would take me to games. I ... grew up keeping score when I was 6 years old. I was the little girl with the scorecard. I moved to D.C. five years ago. Being a transplant made me cling to my home identity more ... whenever the Cubs come to D.C., I go to the whole series at Nats Park."

She designed the tattoo herself, using a few different fonts for inspiration. The tattoo was inked at Ambrotos Tattoo. She told me it was in D.C., but they have two locations in Bethesda and Silver Spring, Maryland, so I'm not sure which shop did the work.

Thank you, Passenger Jane Doe, for sharing your love of baseball, the Chicago Cubs, and this tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

Thursday, July 21, 2011

Chris and His Empirical Pin-up

Well, little did I know, but yesterday, when I posted some of Fernando's tattoos, the R2-D2 and Megatron pieces in particular, it was coinciding with the opening of Comic-Con 2011 in San Diego.

Since I am not traveling to the big convention to inkspot (maybe some day, when I have the wherewithal), let's continue the Comic-Con theme over the next few days with some material I have encountered over the past few days.

Cue Chris, who I met at the end of June on Seventh Avenue and 32nd Street, and offered up this killer tattoo:

Chris credited this tattoo to Mike Ski, an artist who works in Philadelphia.

According to Chris, Mike is well known for his Old School style of tattooing, which includes that classic pin-up girl look.

Chris said that the tattoo was also influenced by the work of Alphonse Mucha from the late 1800's. This, Chris told me, is "an Old School take on that. We just thought it's be fun to do and," he added, "I've always loved Star Wars."

For those of you not in the know, this pin-up is sporting the garb of the Imperial Stormtroopers.

And, just so to sate our taste for the Empire, the inner part of Chris' arm has a portrait of Darth Vader:

Thanks to Chris for sharing his love of Star Wars with us here on Tattoosday!

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Fernando's Trio of Whimsical Ink

I met Fernando a while back outside of Penn Station and he had a lot of work to share. He estimated that he had around thirty tattoos on his canvas, but we picked three to spotlight here on Tattoosday.

As a Star Wars fan, he couldn't resist this portrait of R2-D2:

The banner "YOU'RE MY ONLY HOPE" refers to the scene in the first movie, when Princess Leia sends a holographic distress message to Obi-Wan Kenobi via R2-D2 that ends, "Help me Obi-Wan Kenobi, you're my only hope."

Both the tattoo of R2-D2 and this one, were done by Evan at Revolver Tattoo in New Burnswick, New Jersey:

That is Megatron, the leader of the Decepticons in the Transformers franchise.

And thirdly, Fernando shared this take on a sugar skull:

This piece was tattooed by Mike Rivelry at Immortal Ink.

Thanks to Fernando for sharing a few of his dozens of tattoos with us here on Tattoosday!

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Panic in New York - A Visit from Victor

I always like visits from old friends of the site, but when I bumped into Victor in the Penn Plaza Borders back in May, I realized I hadn't seen him in a while. Turns out he had moved out of New York and has been residing in Pennsylvania.

Before we go further, perhaps you should reacquaint yourselves with Victor's "tat-alog". He first appeared here, showing off eight tattoos, then we checked out five more cinematic tattoos here, and then, last year, an iconic piece here.This will mark the fourth consecutive year Victor has appeared on the site, so we'll make it a good, no, great one:

This incredible David Bowie tattoo was inked by Victor's brother, Eddie Bonacore, at 5-7-0 Tattooing Co. in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.

The image above, of course, is from the iconic Bowie album Aladdin Sane.

Victor told me that Eddie's Bowie portrait had garnered three awards at a recent tattoo convention.

It was a pleasure seeing our old friend Victor after a year, and we thank him, and his brother Eddie, for sharing this amazing tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

Monday, July 18, 2011

Lori Shares Some Peonies, and a Fairy Mermaid

When I post here at Tattoosday, there is no definite chronological order. I tend to follow a variety of factors, which can often result in older encounters waiting in the wings for a very long time.

Take Lori, for example. At the beginning of May, while my wife was at Maimonides Hospital in Brooklyn, fighting a bout of appendicitis, I walked over to a pizzeria on 50^th Street and Fort Hamilton Parkway for a quick bite for lunch. On my way out, I noticed two women at a table, one of whom, Lori, had some pretty nice ink. Generally, one of my unwritten rules is not to bother people while they are eating, so I handed the woman my card and asked her to contact me if she was interested in contributing to Tattoosday.

Lori e-mailed me shortly thereafter, and a few weeks later, she sent me some photos. Since then, she has been patiently waiting for the post. E-mailed submissions tend to get a little lost in the shuffle but, finally, thanks to a little nudge on our Facebook page, we’re finally seeing them here on the site.

I’ll let Lori explain what we’re seeing:

“Here are 2 peonies, one is a flash stencil, done by Mike B. at Studio Enigma on Avenue U [in Brooklyn] .... the other peony (my favorite), was hand drawn by Pablo Barada, who is from Argentina [also at Studio Enigma] …

The Fairy mermaid was a picture I found just surfing the internet, so I printed it out. I wish I still had the black and white photo before Mike B. colored it in. Now that I look at it, I think the B&W was much prettier. By the way, she took 18 hours to do, six three-hour sittings.”

Thanks to Lori for sharing some of her tattoos with us here on Tattoosday!

Sunday, July 17, 2011

Engraved stone

Hmm, a pocket sized Newgrange stone? :)
And in case you wondered, the last doodles on coloured background were actually done on some coloured note paper, the small (9x9cm) kind. It's nice for small designs.

Engraved stone

This work by tattoos-and-doodles.blogspot.com is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.

A Rose for Emily (Laugh Now, Cry Later)

I ran into Emily at the beginning of the month on the 36th Street subway platform in Brooklyn.

She shared this awesome tattoo on her left thigh:

Emily credits Tazz at Aztlan Tattoo in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, with this cool ink.

"I just like roses," Emily told me, explaining that she had an idea and then Tazz expanded on the concept, which is a spin on the traditional "Laugh Now, Cry Later" theme.

Thanks to Emily for sharing this great tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

Friday, July 15, 2011

A Chance to Cover Up, Reality-Style

Considering that some of the best tattoos I have seen over the years (check some of them out here), the following casting call would seem to me certainly compelling for anyone looking to cover up an old, unwanted tattoo:

Spike TV - Open Casting Call For Tattoo Competition Reality Series!

Are you sick of your faded, old tattoo and ready to cover it up with something brand new?

If so...try Spike TV!

Our new tattoo show, “InkMaster," is looking for people who want to be a human canvas for the top-notch artists competing on our show...and we NEED PEOPLE WHO WANT COVER UPS!

We are bringing together some of the BEST tattoo artists in the game for “InkMaster,” and we’re looking for people who want to be their next canvas! If you’re 23+, in the tri-state area (New York/New Jersey/Connecticut), email us at inkcastingNYC@gmail.com with a description and a recent photo of yourself, along with an idea of the tattoo you want and why. You must be a New York area local, as interviews and filming will take place July & August in the NYC area.

“InkMaster” is produced by Original Media, the production company behind “LA Ink,” “NY Ink,” “Miami Ink.”

~ ~ ~ ~

I say, what have you got to lose? The concept of the show is certainly intriguing and, if you're unhappy with that old tattoo, why not try and improve it?

Thursday, July 14, 2011

Jenna Shares Two - A Lionfish and a Gustav Klimt

I met Jenna last month outside of Penn Station last month and took a few pictures of her tattoos, one of which is based on the work of the Austrian painter Gustav Klimt.

As today is the anniversary of Klimt's birthday, 149 years ago in 1862, I felt it would be a good day to share Jenna's work.

This tattoo is on her upper left arm:

This is based on a work called "The Blood of Fish" (1898):

Jenna explains:

"...The print is a pen and ink done by Klimt called The Blood of Fish. I've always been a very big fan of Klimt's work but alot of it has all been done before in terms of tattoos. When I saw The Blood of Fish I just kind of knew that it was for me, there was something very beautiful and fluid about it and I knew I wanted it to be a part of me ...

...The only adjustments added were the little feet at the bottom and I opted out of nipples on the women, I babysit and am around kids alot I'd rather keep things PG. Either way my mother and grandmother had a heart attack, supposedly women arent supposed to get naked women tattoos, I didn't get that memo."

She credits Dan Trocchio at Three Kings in Brooklyn with this incredible tattoo.

Jenna also shared another phenomenal piece, on the upper right portion of her back:

This lionfish tattoo was inked by Grez at Kings Avenue Tattoo in Massapequa, New York.

Again, I'll let Jenna explain:

"The Lion Fish was my first real tattoo. For years I had wanted a Lion Fish. I used to sit the marine biology lab during middle and high school and just draw and paint fish. Like all of the creatures on the earth, saltwater fish are really remarkable and incredibly beautiful. My father (who originally got me into salt water tanks) used to tell me that god hand painted every stripe on the lion fish. While I'm not a very religious person, it doesn't change just how much of a miracle that the oceans and the beauty they hold are. I just feel like sometimes people don't stop and look at how amazing these creatures are. My lion fish isn't only a symbol of my passion for marine life but also a piece of art that was originally hand painted by god."

Thanks again to Jenna for sharing her amazing tattoos with us here on Tattoosday, and for taking the time to share her thoughts about the work. And a happy 149th birthday to Gustav Klimt!

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Charles - Art and Science, Together in Ink

Last month, on a journey to the Fairway market in Red Hook, Brooklyn, my daughter Jolee was begging me for a couple of Snapples. "Only if you find me a cool tattoo," I teased her. She dashed off and, within seconds, it seemed, she was back, beckoning me to the next aisle.

There, I met Charles, who shared this interesting tattoo on his left arm:

I find this piece fascinating. I asked Charles to describe what went into its creation. He said it represents

"that rare occurrence when art can meet science ... The dancers are the expressive artist part of it and then this is the anatomical heart at the bottom ... this kind of green foliage-looking stuff behind the dancers is a representation of a brain neuron. I'm not a scientist by trade, but I'm a scientist by heart."

This "intersection of when expression can meet science" was inked in two sessions of two to two and a half hours each by an artist named Guido Baldini. Guido's work has appeared on Tattoosday before, here and here. Guido is based out of Santa Fe, New Mexico, but also spends quite a bit of time in New York doing guest stints at local shops.

Thanks to Charles for sharing this fascinating tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

(And yes, Jolee got her two Snapples).

Monday, July 11, 2011

Musician Monday: A Trio of Tattoos from Justin Y. of Everyone Dies in Utah

Back in May, I met Justin in the Borders at Penn Plaza and he shared his three tattoos. Justin had recently been signed to a band from Texas called Everyone Dies in Utah and he was moving out from Maryland. He offered up his knuckle tattoos:

Justin has been playing drums for about eleven years and loves drums, which explains these knuckles. Of course, I would be remiss if I mentioned knuckle tattoos and didn't direct you to KnuckleTattoos.com to see more, courtesy of my friend Nathan.

The most compelling tattoo Justin shared was this piece, on his right forearm:

He explained:

"I have a little sister, she's ten now, but it was last year, so she was nine, and she was all bummed that I was moving really far and touring and stuff, so I told her I would get a tattoo for her ... I was trying to think of what would be absolutely unique, and the only thing I could think of was fingerprints. So, I decided it would be cool to get her hand print, so I went out and got a big old ink pad and did her hand print on a piece of paper, took it in, and he [Jason Kramer at Positive Image Tattoos in Baltimore] did all of his magic and got it done."

Justin's third tattoo was this piece on his left forearm:

He told me

"I love Jesus ... simple as that. I was thinking about doing a whole arm, faith-based kind of thing, and I ike the ides of just being able to walk into a room and people know exactly like, well, that guy's definitely a Christina and he's for serious ... It's a good starting piece to talk to people."

All of Justin's work is by Jason Kramer at Positive Image Tattoos in Baltimore.

Be sure to check out Everyone Dies in Utah on Facebook here.

Thanks to Justin for sharing his cool ink with us here on Tattoosday!

Sunday, July 10, 2011

Steamoboros

So, if you mix the steampunk cogwheels and the Ouroboros symbol, you get...

Steampunk ouroboros

This work by tattoos-and-doodles.blogspot.com is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.

Matthew Shares Two Tattoo, from Thailand and French Polynesia (by way of Biarritz, France)

I generally do not ask people about tribal designs because they are not particularly interesting to me. That is not to say they are not good, just that thy are not my cup of tea. But occasionally, an exception will come along, and I will be more than pleasantly surprised.

Take Matthew, for example. I spotted him sitting on Penn Plaza early last month, and something about his tribal piece on his left calf intrigued me:

Matthew, who is French, explained:

"I got it in Thailand in Ko Chang, which is an island at the frontier of Cambodia and Thailand ... it was done by a guy named 'Chung' - it was done in the old way of traditional Thai tattoo, which is with bamboo. So, basically, it lasts four hours and ... he put the bamboo in the ink ... between the thumb and the index [finger and] ... just tattooed ... three, four hours, all traditional.

I went there and I already had the symbol in my head. I wanted a little rooster face here (because I'm French, I like the rooster) ... then he first designed it with a pen and we agreed on the drawing ... then he began it and four hours later I had it and I don't regret it."

Then, Matthew totally blew me away when he raised his shirt to show me his other tattoo:

Matthew explained this amazing piece of tattoo craftsmanship:

"It was done in France just a few months ago by a guy who is from Wallis and Futuna, which is islands in ~~French Polynesia~~ l’Océanie polynésienne... So, it's a symbol of a family, so here you see too little men [at center]:

that's my brother and my sister ... This is the symbol of the god ...

...which represents the man's strength. This is a ... lizard:

which, in the Polynesian culture, is a messenger of God, which looks behind you, in case of any danger."

Matthew also noted that the top section of the tattoo is in the shape of a silver fern, which is symbolic of New Zealand, and Maori tattoo traditions:

He also pointed out the traditional shark's teeth, which is a popular element in traditional Polynesian tattoo:

The Polynesian artist credited by Matthew for this tattoo is Soane Paninia, who works out of Polynesian Cultural in Biarritz, France.

Matthew also told me that "normally, the traditional Polynesian tattoo are much more thicker, but through the Western influence, they now are very thin ... I asked for a thinner one, because I preferred this way."

A very special "merci beaucoup" to Matthew for taking the time to show and explain his tattoos to me. I may have missed an element of two, but nonetheless, both pieces are spectacular in their own ways.