Something Girly This Way Comes

I met Nadya one afternoon in the beginning of October in Borders on Penn Plaza.<br /><br />She shared this tattoo, which covered up a date she had initially inscribed on her arm:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5SYINMET79l9ehu3ivM2I4hvGqmm10YH__XZiq0xSD12qR3qLsQunfYw14IBBxf7ZisZvE7LSUh-2CnCyEZNpqVC4_R2ATREUt_9ZvdXQr5B2X-uxqVQqkgXpnS6nLJ9dRA8fYlx2PfU/s1600/Nadya+wm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5SYINMET79l9ehu3ivM2I4hvGqmm10YH__XZiq0xSD12qR3qLsQunfYw14IBBxf7ZisZvE7LSUh-2CnCyEZNpqVC4_R2ATREUt_9ZvdXQr5B2X-uxqVQqkgXpnS6nLJ9dRA8fYlx2PfU/s640/Nadya+wm.jpg" width="210" /></a></div><br />Nadya told me that she wanted something "girly".<br /><br />What I found most interesting about this tattoo is that when I asked her who the artist was, she told me it was her father. I can't imagine tattooing my own daughter. I would be too nervous!<br /><br />Thanks to Nadya for sharing this tattoo with us here on Tattoosday.

Something Girly This Way Comes

I met Nadya one afternoon in the beginning of October in Borders on Penn Plaza. She shared this tattoo, which covered up a date she had init...

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Shaina's Back Piece Blooms

A post-work errand had me walking down 6th Avenue to 23rd Street where, to my delight, I ran into Shaina, whose large back piece stopped me dead in my tracks. Lucky for me, and all of our Tattoosday readers, she had no problem sharing it with us here:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2BxNWi5W7_98FoIQ_OCb-Sz32zWMlPL8JzXP7LpAqRidTJJ2xrX5zFckaAS0EhlhPqn8D4J3s8OKJAf_i56XMmlHXyAf6tCACLVaUFrTkP0ByDwJKbQnG4a3_OfYbnKwI4Yd3TBmG/s1600/Shaina+Back+wm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="362" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2BxNWi5W7_98FoIQ_OCb-Sz32zWMlPL8JzXP7LpAqRidTJJ2xrX5zFckaAS0EhlhPqn8D4J3s8OKJAf_i56XMmlHXyAf6tCACLVaUFrTkP0ByDwJKbQnG4a3_OfYbnKwI4Yd3TBmG/s400/Shaina+Back+wm.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />This piece is a cover-up (more on that later) and initially was born out of a desire for a large bunch of purple flowers. Shaina explained that, at six feet tall, her size can sometimes take the edge off of her feminine side. "I try as hard as I can to be girl-y," she said, and she embraced her floral design as "a sign of girliness".<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs45eqL_VQzOzyDNJZUrUVBDg8pfqvHcIXy-Q3uZJCnOVeoyVjzYxUwQq9XJ8keukmuDgeC1jhgHu7UlQvGBKzH79ClJO_k5HSkHD65Ja4xyCpV-ooOryTAVubFNpGkTW5NA67r9mq/s1600/Shaina+Back+detail+wm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="307" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs45eqL_VQzOzyDNJZUrUVBDg8pfqvHcIXy-Q3uZJCnOVeoyVjzYxUwQq9XJ8keukmuDgeC1jhgHu7UlQvGBKzH79ClJO_k5HSkHD65Ja4xyCpV-ooOryTAVubFNpGkTW5NA67r9mq/s400/Shaina+Back+detail+wm.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />As time passed, the whole tattoo, which Shaina estimates was composed in five four-hour sessions totaling twenty hours, took on additional elements. When her grandmother passed away, she added a memorial line for her ("In Loving Memory of Eleanor Vespie) along with the red carnations, which were her favorite flowers.<br /><br />She later added the additional memorial on her neck, for her cousin Tasha.<br /><br />The tattoo was created by <a href="http://www.myspace.com/cliff_evans">Cliff Evans</a> at <a href="http://www.hellhoundmusic.com/fuzionink/">Fuzion Ink</a> in Norfolk, Virginia.<br /><br />Of course, I had to ask about the tattoo she covered up. Shaina looked at me, and I'll give her points for honesty, she confessed, the original tattoo had been a portrait of the Icelandic singer <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bj%C3%B6rk">Björk</a>.<br /><br />She looked at me. I looked at her. "Don't take this the wrong way," I cautioned her, but what would possess you to do that?" Shaina had good humor about it. Like a lot of eighteen-year olds, what seemed cool at the time, in retrospect seemed ill-chosen. But there are many amazing tattoos out there that might not exist had they not been needed to cover up an earlier, less memorable piece.<br /><br />Thanks kindly to Shaina for not only sharing her lovely back tattoo with us here at Tattoosday, but for taking the time to chat so candidly about her body art.

Shaina's Back Piece Blooms

A post-work errand had me walking down 6th Avenue to 23rd Street where, to my delight, I ran into Shaina, whose large back piece stopped me ...

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Tammy's Earth Fairy

Tammy says that, within an hour of meeting her, Steve Gagliano of <a href="http://www.tormentedsoulstattoo.com/main.html">Tormented Souls</a> in Kings Park, New York, knew exactly what to do with the tattoo she wanted covered up. He began freehanding a design over the existing tattoo, and the end result made her very happy:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3AaJXRo3zPEmcBavSNhyHB08iR7ZWoEsQ7ssgNaQGfBvaMktauwjopHo_mQzQfp9KbgkuKlXfw701lc4j139Zc4322kIr27J1yfCRa5nAvsazKQ4wHvfzcCwUWJM0d_Jfq9Sx2AU0/s1600/Earth+Fairy+collage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="347" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3AaJXRo3zPEmcBavSNhyHB08iR7ZWoEsQ7ssgNaQGfBvaMktauwjopHo_mQzQfp9KbgkuKlXfw701lc4j139Zc4322kIr27J1yfCRa5nAvsazKQ4wHvfzcCwUWJM0d_Jfq9Sx2AU0/s400/Earth+Fairy+collage.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />The artist utilized the tribal butterfly that already existed and expanded it into an earth fairy, with a dragon protector.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLMAT9dIlCIckzEJBRWheSSlt3Fa_m_aQ0ScsJPLlRQyBh5BoswmWp4oea_WUr8NImndlHhN9HBwFeqXv6Vt_LYpMsvDtbViC5Z5dWgsbo_xug3t4AzSgGpENcIry1Dh47xs5r5miI/s1600/Earth+Fairy+C.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLMAT9dIlCIckzEJBRWheSSlt3Fa_m_aQ0ScsJPLlRQyBh5BoswmWp4oea_WUr8NImndlHhN9HBwFeqXv6Vt_LYpMsvDtbViC5Z5dWgsbo_xug3t4AzSgGpENcIry1Dh47xs5r5miI/s640/Earth+Fairy+C.jpg" width="402" /></a></div><br />Thanks to Tammy for sharing this, one of her seven tattoos, here on Tattoosday!<br /><br />Be sure to click on the <a href="http://www.tormentedsoulstattoo.com/main.html">Tormented Souls link</a> to explore their site. It's one of the more creative tattoo shop websites.

Tammy's Earth Fairy

Tammy says that, within an hour of meeting her, Steve Gagliano of Tormented Souls in Kings Park, New York, knew exactly what to do with the...

Read more »