Markjames' Knuckles

Last week I posted this great owl tattoo belonging to Markjames, a Pennsylvania-based tattoo artist.

Prior to sharing it, however, I also snapped his knuckles:


When I asked what this meant, he said "just a feeling". What is particularly cool about these knuckles are the traditional anchor and horseshoe standing in for the letters "T" and "U", respectively.

These were inked by Russell Kelley at Silk City Tattoo in Hawthorne, New Jersey. Work from the shop has appeared multiple times before and can all be seen under Silk City's Tattoosday label here.

Thanks again to Markjames for sharing his work with us here on Tattoosday!

Missy Needs a Miracle

I met Missy last month in Penn Station and she shared this, her first tattoo:


This is also the first Icelandic tattoo on Tattoosday!

The phrase in Icelandic, "Mér vartar kraftaverk" , Missy loosely translated as "I need a miracle". It is a memorial tattoo for a friend of hers who was killed after being hit by a car.

This tattoo not only serves as a memorial (she needs a miracle to bring her friend back), but also provides strength and prayers for any future challenges she may face in life.

The phrase was inked by Chi Chi Gunz at Silk City Tattoo in Hawthorne, New Jersey. Work from Silk City has appeared previously on our site here.

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

Behold, Quadrapus!

I met Colleen on Penn Plaza and her ankle tattoo jumped out at me from a distance. It was so unusual, I just had to stop and ask her about it.

Behold: Quadrapus!


If this four-limbed octopus-like creature looks fanciful, it's because it is based on a child's beach toy used to mold sand shapes.

Colleen explains that she and about twenty of her friends all got this same tattoo, but in different colors, to commemorate their summer where a majority of time was spent at the beach. There was a house involved, which was the epicenter of activity, and the plastic octopus beach toys were on the walls, used as decor. "Quadrapus" became a symbol and mascot for a memorable season.

This was inked by Josh at Broken Heart Tattoo in Keyport, New Jersey. Coincidentally, a tattoo from Broken Heart appeared just this past Saturday here on Tattoosday.

Incidentally, Collen has seven other tattoos, and I couldn't resist snapping a shot of this literary ink:


The quote "You are not a beautiful and unique snowflake " is from the seminal first novel Chuck Palahniuk novel Fight Club. Tyler Durden's character states:

"You are not a beautiful and unique snowflake. You are the same decaying organic matter as everyone else, and we are all a part of the same compost pile."

Palahniuk is her favorite author and she loves the meaning behind this quote, from a passage where the speaker is questioning the notion of individuality. Deep down, Collen explained, he's saying we're all the same, that no one is as special as they think they are. Juxtaposed with the snowflake, the symbol of uniqueness, this tattoo makes a bold statement.

Check out a couple other Palahniuk literary tattoos here over on the awesome site dedicated to literary ink, Contrariwise.

This was inked at Silk City Tattoo in Hawthorne, New Jersey by Chi Chi Gunz. Work from Silk City is New Jersey has appeared previously on Tattoosday here.

Thanks to Colleen for sharing her fun and interesting tattoos with us here on Tattoosday!

Hemorrhage: Ryan's Derek Hess Piece is Bloody Awesome

I technically didn't meet Ryan, but he did respond to a flier I passed out. I gave it to his girlfriend, we're guessing around 34th Street in Manhattan, she passed it to him, and he e-mailed me the following photo:


Initially, all he told me was "It's a Derek Hess piece. It's my blood around it in the ... photo. It was done by Nick [Males] @ Silk City Tattoos".

Of course, I know inquiring minds would want to know more, so I asked him for more specifics.

"It's a piece of art that Derek Hess did [it's entitled "Hemorrhage"].
I have the print on my wall in my room, among others by him...this is just my favorite one. My girlfriend was getting her garter done on her leg and I had asked [Nick] if he could do it. He said yeah, so when she went for her second sitting, I got mine done. I think it took about 3 hours, theres a lot of detail in it. The black didn't hurt much but the blood was the worst part, non-stop pain with little to no breaks. A lot of fun."

Work by Nick at Silk City Tattoo has appeared on the blog previously here.

Thanks to Ryan for sharing his body art here with us on Tattoosday!