The Tattooed Poets Project: Eboni Hogan

On this final day of the Tattooed Poets Project 2010, we have a double treat - the tattoos and poetry of both Jeanann Verlee (here) and her friend Eboni Hogan.

What follows is a tat-alogue of Eboni's body art.

She prefaces her work with the following proclamation:

"A Note About The Artist: A majority of the work (the shoulder piece, the peacock and the cherry blossoms) on my body were done by an amazingly talented artist named Craig Spencer out of Whatever Tattoo II on St. Mark's Place who was also my boyfriend of almost four years until fairly recently. Yay! It's a sado-masochistic love story! Some liken this to getting a man's name tattooed across my boobs but I can say he is truly one of the only artists I trust with my flesh."

And now the ink:

"This shoulder piece is a custom design that took the most amount of tweaking before I actually got it inked. There are three quill pens, a skeleton key and a key hole, all tied together with ribbons. I'd had a strange dream one night in which a creepy old woman handed me a set of keys, tied to three feathers and told me that if I could find the door, the key would let me out...


...In my dream, I draped the key over my shoulder for safe keeping (dream logic...) but when I finally reached the promised door, the key and the feathers were adhered to my skin. The image stuck when I woke up and I talked to the artist about designing a similar piece. He suggested that the feathers be quill pens to pay homage to my love of poetry."

Next we have an image linked inexorably to the history of tattoos in the West, with its background in naval history. It was inked by an unidentified artist at Capitol City Tattoo in Madison, Wisconsin:

"I adore old school tattoos of the Sailor Jerry variety. I am also really active in the poetry slam community and every team I have ever been coined "the anchor"- the poet put up towards the end of a slam to (fingers crossed) make a home run. At the 2008 National Poetry Slam in Wisconsin, I decided it would be suitable to get this piece on my ribs."

Next up we have some cherry blossoms on the back of Eboni's right biceps:

"Blossom on the tree you know how I feel. Text by unknown artist, Addiction Ink, St. Mark's Place, cherry blossoms by Craig Spencer. If my life were a television series, Nina Simone's song "Feeling Good" would be the theme song. On my worst days, this is the never-fail anthem. The particular phrase that I decided on just happens to be the line in the song that feels infinitely more magical when sung at the tops of one's lungs. Try it."

And last, but not least, this lovely peacock:


"Peacocks are symbols of renewal and are revered by multiple cultures across the world. Furthermore, let's face it- they got a whole lotta swag. I found a vintage painting of a peacock that I loved though it's not the traditional green and blue image people are used to seeing. I got it on my left hip so that it could also serve as a cover-up for a pretty awful tattoo I got when I was 17 and foolish."

Thanks to Eboni for sending along so many tattoos for us here at Tattoosday. Be sure to head over to BillyBlog to read one of her poems, dedicated to poet Jeanann Verlee, here. Jeannann's tattoo (here) precedes this post, and her poem is dedicated to Eboni.

24 year-old poet, actress and Bronx native, Eboni Hogan, has performed in over 30 U.S. cities and facilitated workshops from refugee camps to prestigious universities. She studied theater at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. She is the winner of the 2010 Women of the World Slam Poetry Slam, the 2008 Urbana Grand Slam Champion and a two time representative of the Nuyorican Slam Team. She is published in the anthologies His Rib and Double Lives and recently released her first collection of poetry entitled Grits through Penmanship Books.

No Hope But Home

I met Matthew walking through Penn Station last week. He has several tattoos, and shared this one with me:


On his right arm, this traditional nautical star has been embellished with several design elements that personalize the tattoo.

The banner "No Hope but Home" refers to lyrics from a song by a New Jersey band called Scream Hello.

The nautical star is accompanied by a knitting needle and a fountain pen. These two objects refer to his parents. The knitting needle speaks to his mother who is a homemaker and also knits as a hobby. The fountain pen alludes to his father, who is a writer professionally, and also
writes for pleasure.

The nautical star, traditionally worn by sailors to serve as a talisman to find a way home, serves a figurative purpose here, pointing toward, while also emphasizing the hopefulness of home, but also the importance of Matthew's parents in his life.

This cool tattoo was inked by John Reardon at Saved Tattoo, in Brooklyn. Work from Saved has appeared previously on Tattoosday here.

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

The Return of Victor's Ink

One of my favorite posts last year was my encounter with Victor, whose tattoos were numerous and wonderfully eclectic. The post was one of the first "tatalogs," as I call them, when a subject shares a multitude of their ink.

So, when I had just finished speaking with Austin about his sleeve, and saw a familiar face (and ink) hanging out in front of Fuse at the corner of 32nd and 7th, I ambled on over to say hi to Victor.

He had new tattoos, of course, and I soon had my camera out, adding to the tatalog.

I contacted him later to get the scoop on the work. Although he told me about it on the street, I didn't write any of it down, as I was too busy taking pictures. We've added five more pieces to the record here, and I'll let Victor narrate the rest:

The Divine Tattoo [just above his left wrist] was done by my cousin Ed Bonacore in the poconos. He is the only tattoo artist I really go to know. I trust him, he does good work. He works at this amazing shop in the Poconos called FUNHOUSE TATTOOING. The vibe there is cool from the colorful horror movie atmosphere, to all the artists and the friendly shop girl.

Anyway, I got the JOHN WATERS signature tattooed on [on my outer left forearm] last summer the day after I had met him with my best friend RUBY LAROCCA.


She got the same thing. She got him to sign his name to her arm as well! We make films and John Waters is one of our biggest influences so to have his mark on us for life is a reminder to keep making dangerous art.

I got the John Waters done at RED ROCKET TATTOO in NYC, I had to get it quick and fast so the autograph didn't fade. The artist's name slips my mind, but he was making a guest spot at that shop and he was originally from Texas. Red Rocket is one of the best shops in Manhattan.

So anyway, I got the autograph super big on my forearm, because in his movie Cecil B. Demented, all the characters get the favorite director tattooed on their arm. I though it would be pretty cool, to do that in real life, from the director that created that idea.

Back to Divine. Then I got the Divine tattoo because, how can't you love Divine. One of the greatest actors ever. I saw Pink Flamingos as a youngster, and I remember my parents talking about how this tranny was eating poop at the end of the film, and how they were all gagging watching the film! That got me really interested to say the least. And after Female Trouble, I know I would love anything these people collaborated on. I unfortunately cannot dig up Divine and get him to sign my arm, so [I] did a little portrait of him. He was a true artist, actor, performer, comedian, and I respect that.

Mink Stole, is also from the original DreamLand gang, and is in almost every John Waters film. She is amazing in Desperate Living, and when I met her, she was so sweet, so I figured with John Waters already inked into my arm, I would start the John Waters tribute arm. I met her at a horror convention in Baltimore, and one of the vendors was a tattoo artist, so I got the autograph, then got it tattooed and was able to show Mink by the next day. She was in shock.


The Taxi Driver tattoo [on my inner left wrist] was again done by my cousin Ed Bonacore...I have loved that movie forever, and think Travis Bickle [Robert De Niro's character] is the ultimate Anti-Hero. Its like an oil painting version of the shot at the end after he has killed all the pimps and scumbags in the brothel.

The quote on [the left side of] my ribs was also done by my cousin Eddie, but this is before he was in a shop.


It was done at this house after I had smoked a fat blunt and [was] high as a kite. It hurt a lot, my most painful tattoo. The side of the ribs hurts a lot because there no skin there, and every time the needle hits your skin, your ribs vibrate. It took 3 different sessions to do that tattoo. The quote is from a band called HUNCHBACK, that just split up. And it's from a song called "RED IS THE COLOR OF MY TRUE LOVES HAIR." When I saw the song live for the first time, I was convinced this would be my new favorite band. And I can honestly say, this is the best song ever performed live. It blew me away. And the lettering that was used is the font from THE WARRIORS. Another one of my favorite films!

So, there you have it, folks. Another block of Victor's tattoos! I can't wait to run into him again to see what's new!

Thanks once again to Victor for his generosity and sharing his ink with us here on Tattoosday!

Takeshi's Reminder that Life is Precious

On a day of unlikely inkspotting (8+ inches of snow, frigid temperatures, blustery winds), I thought I would be okay without my camera. Fortunately, I had one on my phone.

Fortunately because, during a brief sojourn into Borders, I met Takeshi, who was visiting from Boston. And he had quite a few tattoos.

Takeshi offered up this neck piece for the Tattoosday audience:


The words "Hold On" refer to the song of the same name, by rock band Good Charlotte, from their album The Young and The Hopeless.

The song is an anti-suicide anthem, and the lyrics relate to the feelings that one battles at a time when suicide seems to be the answer:

This world, this world is cold
But you don’t, you don’t have to go
You’re feeling sad you’re feeling lonely
And no one seems to care
You’re mother’s gone and your father hits you
This pain you cannot bare

But we all bleed the same way as you do
We all have the same things to go thru

Hold on...if you feel like letting go
Hold on...it gets better than you know

Takeshi is a huge Good Charlotte fan and has strong feelings about the subject ever since his childhood friend from Japan, who he has known since they were both very young boys, attempted to take his own life.

The good news is that this is not a memorial tattoo. Takeshi's friend did not succeed and has recovered from the despair that led him to the edge of life.

This tattoo is dedicated to his friend who, when he first saw what Takeshi had done, was moved to tears. The piece serves as a source of strength and inspiration that remains a daily reminder to keep holding on, and to live life fully.

This tattoo was created by Bob Vanderberg in 2006 when he was a guest artist at Chameleon Tattoo & Body Piercing in Boston. Vanderberg left his gig in Michigan and has since joined the staff at Chameleon. Previous Tattoosday posts featuring work from the shop appeared here.

Thanks to Takeshi for sharing his tattoo with us here. We look forward to possibly seeing more of his work in the future.

Below is a video of Good Charlotte's "Hold On":

Tattoorism 101: Alli's Ink

Here's another installment of Tattoorism. Alli sent me these photos at the beginning of October, so I appreciate her patience while I've taken the time to post these. I'll let Alli speak for herself:

Hey there,

I'm an avid Tattoosday reader. I, like many others, enjoy the stories that connect us all through one mutual love: tattoos.

I have three tattoos, my first inking done at 16 in Durham, North Carolina. I don't exactly remember the name of the shop, it was really underground and kind of shady. It's the old flag saying "don't tread on me," inspired by a respect for my veteran father and love for American war history. It's on my left foot:


My second tattoo was done at Glenn's Tattoo Service Inc. in Carrboro, North Carolina by the artist Paulie Andrew. A few weeks after my 18th birthday, I went in with a friend and saw this design on the wall. I immediately asked about it, and he told me everyone always compliments it, but no one had gotten it tattooed yet. I sat on it, went back the next day, and got it tattooed on my upper back in dedication of the bond shared between my father, my sister Carly, and myself:


Through our lives, the changes in characters have been so many, but we always stuck together. Elephants are a sign of good luck, too, which is always a plus. :)


[That's the tattoo at the top of the post, as well.]

My last tattoo was inked in Athens, Ohio. Can't remember the name of the parlor right now, but it was my second day of college. Inspired by the possibility of my dreams of becoming a writer coming true, the start of real life, I got one of my favorite quotes tattooed on my right underarm:


"So it goes" is from the works [first introduced in Slaughterhouse-Five] of Kurt Vonnegut, one of my favorite authors of all time. Reading Vonnegut is one of the reasons I came to this school to pursue writing as a career, and it's also how I like to handle what life throws at me. This tattoo was also prompted by the New Buffalo song "Cheer Me Up Thank You," which I think is absolutely amazing. [Here's the video:]




Sorry about the poor focus of the pictures. If it makes the cut for the site, feel free to crop. My camera is under repair right now, so it was just randoms I found!

Thanks so much.

Alli

Thanks, Alli, for sharing your ink here with us at Tattoosday! And thank you for waiting so patiently for me to process your post!