Jasmin's Phoenix Keeps Her Grounded

As the year winds down, I am clearing out the cobwebs - a hodgepodge of posts that just didn't make the grade. What causes an encounter from May to be delayed over seven months? Several things, like, in this case, a photo that just didn't make the grade. Further problematic is a subject's non-working e-mail address, and a credited artist who is not listed on the attributed shop's website.

Still, I hate to just totally abandon a piece, so we'll just go with what we have...

I met Jasmin just outside of Penn Station and she let me photograph this tattoo:

This is a phoenix that Jasmin got in 2010. It doubly keeps her grounded and represents her rise from the ashes.She told me she wanted the "girliest-looking phoenix," something "light and wispy".


The two phrases in the banners are "Ut prosim aliis" and "Il buon tempo".

"Ut prosim aliis" is the motto on her family (Jennings) crest and translates to "that I may be of use to others," or, in Jasmin's words, "that I might profit others".

She told me that "il buon tempo" meant "each new day is bright," but it is more commonly translated from the Italian as "good times".

She credited the work of this tattoo to an artist named Zack at Psycho Tattoo 2 in Atlanta.

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

This entry is ©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.

Seth's Phoenix

Yesterday's post featured a sleeve from a guy named Phoenix. Today we have a sleeve that centers around a phoenix.

Anyone who's spent any time in New York City could tell you that bike messengers have a lot of great ink. Not all, of course, but quite a few. Fixtures in the city streets, especially in warmer months, if they're not zipping by on their bikes, you can often catch a glimpse of something cool. However, I've featured very few of these folks, just because they're usually in such a hurry, it's hard to catch them.

Fortunately, I spotted Seth securing his bicycle under Madison Square Garden late one afternoon back in September, and I had a chance to compliment his sleeve, at the center of which is this phoenix:

Sleeves are often challenging to portray on Tattoosday, as they generally require multiple shots and several takes, preferably in a controlled environment, like, say, a tattoo studio. But I always try to do my best to capture more than just the central element.

Seth credits his work to Jacob Redmond, when he was at Oddball Studios in Portland, Oregon. Redmond has since moved to Atlas Tattoo, also in Portland.

Thanks to Seth for sharing his phoenix with us here on Tattoosday!

This entry is ©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.

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!

Amanda's Phoenix

Amanda has two tattoos, one of which she shared with me at the end of August in the Penn Plaza Borders store.

This is the tattoo she designed:

Amanda was inspired by the "compelling mythology of phoenixes" and had Bobby at Modern Age Tattoo in Nanuet, New York, translate the design into the final product.

The quote, in Latin, "post tenebras lux" means "After darkness, light". This mirrors the life cycle of the mythological phoenix who dies, bound in flame, only to be reborn from the ashes. Clicking here will display the vast array of phoenixes that have appeared on Tattoosday previously.

In other words, even when things appear their darkest, affirmation is just within reach.

Thanks to Amanda for sharing this cool tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

Melanie's Phoenix Helps Her Rise Above

I met Melanie in Penn Station and had to stop her to ask about this colorful phoenix on her back:

She originally had just the Yin and Yang tattoo, but expanded the work to include the legendary bird rising through the ashes. To Melanie, this represents being "better and stronger" after picking up the pieces from life's challenges, overcoming difficulties and rising above everything.

The tattoo was inked by Rick Schreck at House of 1000 Tattoos in Middlesex, New Jersey.

Thanks to Melanie for sharing her cool phoenix tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

Gina's Phoenix

In late June, I ran into Gina in Penn Station and complimented her on a tattoo she had on her back. At the time, she was wearing something with straps that covered part of the design. I gave her a flier and she remarked that she had just recently discovered the site through this post on the tattoo of Julie Powell.

Alas, like so many folks to whom I give fliers, I didn't receive any emails or photos. But a month passed and one day I was pleasantly surprised to see an email from Gina, with the following photos of her phoenix tattoo:

I'll let her explain the rest:

"... I had completely forgotten [about sending in the photo] until I found the picture I took for you on my camera... This was done by Junii at the Diamond Club in San Francisco. [Bill Salmon, Junii's husband, is the studio owner]. She does amazing line work.  She's also incredibly conscientious about design and her clients.  For both my tattoos, she spend a lot of time talking with me, looking at the 20 pictures I had brought in of bits or aspects of what I wanted, then went off and did her own research, always coming back with exactly the right drawing.

This one - I got it after a really, really difficult year. So, obviously, not the deepest symbolism - just wanted to remind myself of the possibility of renewal."

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

Phoenix Foretells Phoenix

I met Ryan one afternoon while passing through Penn Station.

He has nine tattoos and has been getting inked since he was seventeen years old.

Here is the largest of his tattoos, which he shared with us here at Tattoosday:

Ryan went to the artist Scott Bramble, who works out of Mercury Tattoo Studio in Glenside, Pennsylvania. He says he let Scott "do what he wanted and he ran with it". The end result was stunning.

I particularly like the detail on the tail feathers.

Ryan remarked that, at the time he had this done, he was married and going through a "horrible" divorce. Now that is in the past and he is happily involved with a girl from Phoenix, Arizona, which he acknowledges is a "weird coincidence".

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