Lindsay's Ink for Peace

When I recently upgraded my camera, the first new photo I took, of Lindsay's tattoo, convinced me I had selected well:

This lovely tattoo, on Lindsay's upper left arm, is punctuated by this part of the tattoo on her biceps:



The picture tells the story and the words, all meaning a form of "peace" in Hebrew, Arabic, Sanskrit, and English, punctuate the images just inches away.

Lindsay took a class on world religions at the University of Rhode Island and this influenced her greatly. She wanted the tattoo to focus on the beauty at the heart of religion, and to disregard the conflict that so often plagues religious dogma.

Lindsay feels that the tenet of peace is often lost and this is her way of expressing how it means so much, but is forgotten in relations with people of different backgrounds.

She brought a picture that somewhat embodied how she wanted the tattoo to look in to Artfreek Tattoo in Providence, Rhode Island. She and the artist Brian Mullen collaborated on interpreting what she wanted the piece to embody and she was very happy with the end result.

The tattoo was completed in two short sittings that spanned four hours.

Work from Artfreek has appeared previously on Tattoosday here.

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

Jenn's Ink Celebrates a Seventies Vibe

On a day that found me unsuccessful with inkspotting the 5th Avenue Festival in Bay Ridge, Fate walked me past Jenn, sitting outside a laundromat a block away from my home.

She happily shared the work on her upper left arm:

These stunning colors encircled her biceps.

She said this piece, inked by Jared Stomber at Kustom Kulture Ink in Baldwin, New York, is an "ode to 1970's fashion". This is one area of interest to her that moves her artistically and she wanted to express it through body art.

Fictional character Rhoda Morgenstern (from The Mary Tyler Moore Show and spin off Rhoda) was among the cultural icons that inspired the design.

The inner part of Jenn's arm also features artwork that recalls the animated birds from the opening sequence of The Partridge Family.

Although her birds are much more elaborate.

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

The Tattooed Poets Project: Gina Myers

Today's tattoo comes to us courtesy of Gina Myers, who is the third poet this month to come back to the Tattooed Poets Project after appearing last year. Check out her 2009 contribution here.

Gina sent along this tattoo, which graces the inside of her left wrist:


Gina explains that this tattoo:

"... was done by PJ at Old Town Tattoo in Saginaw, Michigan. In addition to the word bird, I have several other birds tattooed on my body: a pigeon named Franklin, a phoenix, an eagle, and a number of swallows. "Ginabird" is one of my nicknames, and "bird" is a nickname I share with my best friend. I always thought it was weird when people got either their own names or their own nicknames tattooed on themselves, but this seemed okay since it was a shared nickname. It's not really about me. My best friend said she is getting the same tattoo in the same place, but that hasn't happened yet."

Be sure to head over to BillyBlog and read one of Gina's poems that she picked for us here at The Tattooed Poets Project.

Gina Myers lives in Saginaw, MI, where she works as the Associate Editor of 360 Main Street, the Book Review Editor of NewPages, and the Reviews Editor of H_NGM_N. Her first full-length collection of poetry, A Model Year, was published by Coconut Books in 2009.

The Tattooed Poets Project: Julie Platt

I always feel like I'm not doing a tattoo justice when it wraps around a curved limb. Generally, I will be reluctant to showcase a piece without displaying the entire tattoo, even if that means multiple pictures shot from different angles.

Today's tattoo is one of those rare designs that is worth sharing, even if the reader can't behold every inch of it.

Julie Platt sent these photos, along with an explanation, which follows:




Julie says

"It's the audio waveform of a blackbird song made into bracelet around my left wrist. It's inspired by an image on the cover of Kate Bush's album Aerial.


I got this tattoo to commemorate earning my MFA -- I wanted something visible to remind me of poetry, whose root is song."

The tattoo was inked by Chris Boilore at Fish Ladder Tattoo, in Lansing, Michigan.

Check out one of Julie's poems over on BillyBlog here.

Julie Platt was born and raised in Pittsburgh and now lives in Michigan. Her print poetry chapbook, In the Kingdom of My Familiar, was published by Tilt Press in 2008. My mini e-chapbook, Imitation Animals, was published by Gold Wake Press in 2009. Two poems from
Imitation Animals were selected to appear in Dzanc Books' Best of the Web 2010. My work will also appear in the forthcoming e-anthology Poems to Sweat By: Hungry Young Poets 2009, published by VanVinkinroy's Indie e-Book Emporium.

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