Tattoorism: Josh Pays Tribute to the Verrazano Bridge

Last Friday I received a very special surprise via e-mail from a guy named Josh:


The following explanation accompanied the photo:

"I recently discovered your blog's postings about various Verrazano Bridge tattoos you've seen [here and here] ... They both looked pretty awesome.

I'm also a big enough fan of the bridge to get it inked on my skin ... Although mine is a slightly different style than the other two you posted.

I'm originally from New Jersey, and used to drive over the bridge on a regular basis to my Army duties at Fort Hamilton ... I also wanted to run in the NYC Marathon for many years growing up, and finally did so in 2004 (and again in 2006) and decided to commemorate the occasion with a little inking."

Needless to say, it's a phenomenal piece. I, too, am partial to the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, as I can turn my head to the left as I type this at my computer, and see it through my window.

Josh had the tattoo done by an artist named Mark Van Ness at Blue Flame Tattoo in Raleigh, North Carolina. Work from Blue Flame has appeared twice before on Tattoosday.

Josh elaborated on the piece in a follow-up e-mail:

"...I was inspired by the works of artist Barbara Bascove, who's painted dozens of New York City landmarks in her unique style. I loved the dark, rich tones of her paintings, and decided to get my tattoo along the same lines. I used the same angle / template from one of her paintings of the George Washington Bridge, and just had the tattoo artist replace the GW towers with those of the Verrazano."

The piece, which Josh says took about five and a half hours over two sessions, is one of several tattoos that he has. You'll have to wait until a later date for us to share those here at Tattoosday.

Thanks again to Josh for sharing his awesome Verrazano Bridge tattoo with us here on the site!

The Tattooed Poets Project: Whitman's Song on Michael Mayo's Chest

Today's tattooed poet has a poetry tattoo. Michael Mayo was referred to me by the poet Dorianne Laux, who taught Michael at North Carolina State University.


Michael Mayo has "I celebrate myself and sing myself" tattooed on his chest, honoring the opening line of Walt Whitman's iconic poem "Song of Myself":

I celebrate myself, and sing myself,
And what I assume you shall assume,
For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you.

Michael explains why he chose to have these words, first published in 1855 in Leaves of Grass, tattooed over his heart:

"I got the Whitman quote for a few reasons. The year before [2005], I was dealing with a lot of difficult issues with my family and my Chemistry major at school. My confidence and happiness were being affected very negatively. I took an intro to poetry writing class, and I found I enjoyed the catharsis of writing.

I don't know if I read "Song of Myself" on my own or if we read it in class, but I remember admiring not only the beauty in Whitman's words, but his self-assuredness.

I got the tattoo as a symbol to myself of a great American poet to admire and imitate and as a reminder to have faith and confidence in myself."

Michael is a Creative Writing major and is planning on applying to MFA programs in the fall.

The tattoo was done on his 22nd birthday, March 20, 2006, at Blue Flame Tattoo in Raleigh, North Carolina. Work from Blue Flame has appeared previously on Tattoosday here.

Check out Michael's poem "Blowing Off Death" over on BillyBlog.

Thanks to Michael for sharing his poetic tattoo here on Tattoosday!

Heather's Salute to the Flora and Fauna of North Carolina

As I approach a year of writing Tattoosday, I like to think that, within the first fifteen seconds of talking to an inked person, I can tell whether they are going to be interested in sharing, or are going to politely (or impolitely) decline.

When I first stopped Heather last week, on Seventh Avenue near Macys, I guessed it was a futile attempt. Her tattoo spread from her back over to her shoulder and down her right arm. There was a layer of clothing covering parts of the piece. Generally, these tattoos are tough to capture on film, and subsequently, I end up disappointed.

Heather is proof, however, that it doesn't hurt to ask, and that my instincts can be wrong. Not only was she accomodating (she untied the outer shirt to unobstruct the piece), but she was friendly and talked freely about her work,

So, here it is, from back to front:



Heather is a wildlife biologist, born and raised in North Carolina, and she has a themed sequence of tattoos going, that she hopes to build some day into a full sleeve. All of the elements are species native to her home state of North Carolina.

Beginning with the back, and detailed in close-up at the top of this post, is a ruby-throated hummingbird.

The bird is fluttering about a flowering plant of coral honeysuckle. This plant wraps from her back onto her upper right arm. There it mingles with some sourwood.

Heather was clear to point out that it was an artist's representation of sourwood (aka the Sorel Tree), and not true to the actual species.

All of her amazing ink was done at Blue Flame Tattoo, in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Two artists there were responsible for her work, Mark and Christy.

Later, when I was looking back at the photos, I noticed a black star in the middle of the sourwood. I hadn't seen it initially, and I was curious about it so I e-mailed Heather for some more details. Her response is below:

The star is actually my first tattoo. I got it on my 18th birthday, June 13th 2000. I thought I was really tough. Ha ha it's funny to think about now. The tattoo only took 40 minutes, but I passed out. Word to the wise: always eat before a tattoo. So that is that.

Thanks to Heather for sharing her beautiful tattoo(s) with us here at Tattoosday!