Kathryn's Birdhouse Reminds Her of Home

I spotted Kathryn in Penn Station earlier this month and asked her about her tattoos. She shared this one, which jumped out at me from across the room:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnXqNWaLMo9WN3k_toL4OrH6wnOTvD5QDYvK5C8EPdUP8VOtpq2AQO7-f8-kKZoR19nzkAshiNPpYD_JMFTl9pYD8DcT0DWurcePCd0QtW855CQu7WXCRYi0skIfbU3NNyhnaOZvGCFQU/s1600/Birdhouse.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnXqNWaLMo9WN3k_toL4OrH6wnOTvD5QDYvK5C8EPdUP8VOtpq2AQO7-f8-kKZoR19nzkAshiNPpYD_JMFTl9pYD8DcT0DWurcePCd0QtW855CQu7WXCRYi0skIfbU3NNyhnaOZvGCFQU/s640/Birdhouse.jpg" width="476" /></a></div><br />I had a nice time chatting with Kathryn who referred to her approximately 18 tattoos as a "patchwork" collection, with each tattoo marking a different occasion and/or the places she has been. I totally related to that, although she certainly has a lot more ink than I do.<br /><br />This birdhouse was the first tattoo she got after moving to Philadelphia. It represents a look back to home. Although the house is not modeled after the building where she lived, it's the same color as her former home, and she associates it with her leaving the nest for the big city.<br /><br />This piece, on her inner right forearm, is credited to Topper at <a href="http://philadelphiaeddiestattoo.com/">Philadelphia Eddie's</a>.<br /><br />Do note I framed the photo so you can see two of the five cherry bombs she had tattooed on her left arm when she turned eighteen. She noted that these bombs were a "loose" reference to the graffiti artist <a href="http://www.banksy.co.uk/">Banksy</a>.<br /><br />Thanks to Kathryn for sharing her tattoos with us here on Tattoosday!<br /><br /><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> </w:Compatibility> <w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";}</style> <![endif]--> <br /><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-small;">This entry is ©2011 Tattoosday. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />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 <a href="http://tattoosday.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">http://tattoosday.blogspot.com</a> 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.</span></div>

Kathryn's Birdhouse Reminds Her of Home

I spotted Kathryn in Penn Station earlier this month and asked her about her tattoos. She shared this one, which jumped out at me from acros...

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John Shares More Than Just a Fly on the Wall

I met John walking down 7th Avenue in the upper 20s back in the beginning of September.<br /><br />He has six tattoos, but it was this one, on his left side, that I spotted through the hole cut in the side of his t-shirt:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqvGIRSqMl8xU7MQLpuJNCYs9mxQFlMzauq_314v0Dv83TuA1y-Kim3hFDksbYMm5XYxs2iQ68oIg0glYBqJT9zF83qH7tH50H7RHb_zT5EjPFocGJjtXZuHje6qxRVX-5Z2j-13d0f2M/s1600/Banksy+wm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqvGIRSqMl8xU7MQLpuJNCYs9mxQFlMzauq_314v0Dv83TuA1y-Kim3hFDksbYMm5XYxs2iQ68oIg0glYBqJT9zF83qH7tH50H7RHb_zT5EjPFocGJjtXZuHje6qxRVX-5Z2j-13d0f2M/s640/Banksy+wm.jpg" width="426" /></a></div><br /><br />Fans of the popular British graffiti artist <a href="http://www.banksy.co.uk/">Banksy</a> will recognize this as a tattoo based on his work. Another Banksy-inspired tattoo appeared <a href="http://tattoosday.blogspot.com/2009/10/you-gotta-go-there-to-come-back-sarah.html">here</a> on Tattoosday in October of 2009.<br /><br />Why this design? Aside from the fact that John likes the imagery, he especially likes the dripping effect at the bottom of the piece, as if it was spray-painted on. He also related to the ape's sign that reads "Laugh now but one day we'll be in charge".<br /><br />The piece was inked at <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Neptune-NJ/Neptune-Tattooville/295323493183?v=wall">Tattooville</a> in Neptune, New Jersey.<br /><br />Here's a shot of the original Banksy work:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0ILc30TZSzYwBES3PcNphp1raujXndkVj_TfHCX_iXzgS2J5nN7Ig_RA3ZiNM_sBZMmzqbtkpdhO8n0TTk91KIBCip_5mcZ4rgIuyCv4QJV4kOLktRrBaDB6MiADeo7Z2C1wnn8WkNsI/s1600/banksy_laugh.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0ILc30TZSzYwBES3PcNphp1raujXndkVj_TfHCX_iXzgS2J5nN7Ig_RA3ZiNM_sBZMmzqbtkpdhO8n0TTk91KIBCip_5mcZ4rgIuyCv4QJV4kOLktRrBaDB6MiADeo7Z2C1wnn8WkNsI/s400/banksy_laugh.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br />John offered up, an additional tattoo, as well:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx93-r1FU4la6opVY97BbUG7VKQejvRq4yKio_or14XY9bWCVGR6suWAQK3W3MMdCqfxWuWPt3UhsZ7kuqlrYm0c9d730DkFVpAEnOXbUR9trmW7s4rIpsPaGlxQsO8f7alb358xmnbsI/s1600/Flyday+wm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx93-r1FU4la6opVY97BbUG7VKQejvRq4yKio_or14XY9bWCVGR6suWAQK3W3MMdCqfxWuWPt3UhsZ7kuqlrYm0c9d730DkFVpAEnOXbUR9trmW7s4rIpsPaGlxQsO8f7alb358xmnbsI/s320/Flyday+wm.jpg" width="212" /></a></div><br />Yes, that's a fly tattooed under his right armpit.<br /><br />John explained that this was tattooed by an artist under the moniker "<a href="http://www.porktomic.com/">Porkchop</a>" at Asbury Park's <a href="http://www.parlor-gallery.com/">Parlor Gallery</a>. It was part of an occasional event called "Fly Day Friday".<br /><br />If that sounds bizarre, it gets even crazier. If you present Pork Chop with an item that was bought for under $5.00, and he finds it valuable, he will trade it for one of his fly tattoos.<br /><br />John successfully presented an item and got the tattoo in exchange.<br /><br />"What did you offer?" I asked.<br /><br />"A <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pets.com#The_Pets.com_sock_puppet">Pets.com sock puppet</a>," he replied.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7BQ61uPCQ6EcM4dCB1MwMDf0WdXVK6l3DyIxWOOLtKzXMNyRQsVnebpXyeFSXx4rANraL_tg1eYRmGSA-33cKPyPBCq1ADWCQUxMNv4KL6NDCtSneyBpNL_zDbM3FvRAnKWyEwN84NgE/s1600/petscom.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7BQ61uPCQ6EcM4dCB1MwMDf0WdXVK6l3DyIxWOOLtKzXMNyRQsVnebpXyeFSXx4rANraL_tg1eYRmGSA-33cKPyPBCq1ADWCQUxMNv4KL6NDCtSneyBpNL_zDbM3FvRAnKWyEwN84NgE/s320/petscom.jpg" width="318" /></a></div><br />Cool.<br /><br />Thanks to John for sharing these unusual tattoos with us here on Tattoosday!

John Shares More Than Just a Fly on the Wall

I met John walking down 7th Avenue in the upper 20s back in the beginning of September. He has six tattoos, but it was this one, on his left...

Read more »