Elektra and the Seven-Legged Spider (with Some Dresden Dolls, to Boot)

Elektra has, in her words, "nine and a half" tattoos, and was kind enough to share two of them with us.

First up is this spider on her left thigh:

It's not a specific type of spider (sorry, arachnophiliacs) but it does have one glaring detail to note. It is missing a leg. And the spurt of blood indicates that the leg has recently been detached.

What's with that? Elektra says that she considers arachnids with a lost limb to be "lucky omens" ever since she was little. This tattoo, in a way, enables her to have good luck with her at all times.

She credits this work to Anthony Audy at Yankee Tattoo in Burlington, Vermont.

Elektra also explained the tattoo on her right thigh to me, and she agreed when I asked if she would share that as well:

Fans of The Dresden Dolls will recognize this as the band's logo.

Elektra explained that this was designed with blue and red ink to have a 3D effect, when healed. However, she confessed, she didn't take care of it as well as she should have, and the effect is muted. Rob Dixxx, formerly of Yankee Tattoo is the artist.

Added to this piece is the signature of Amanda Palmer, lead singer of the Dresden Dolls, who Elektra met one night, after the band tattoo had been done. A friend with a tattoo machine made the autograph permanent.

Thanks to Elektra for sharing her tattoos with us here on Tattoosday!

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An Update from Victor

I don't often run into Tattoosday subjects more than once, but when one works in the same neighborhood, it's often tough NOT to run into them.

Case in point is my friend Victor, who I first met here in an example of what I call a tat-alog, when multiple tattoos are photographed and discussed.

We did a second post on some new cinematic signature ink he had obtained here, and that had been it for a while.

Then, last month, I spotted him again in Penn Plaza, and thought that this tattoo was new:

There's been a lot of hoopla this week as Jimmy Fallon did a whole Rolling Stones tribute over five days in honor of the reissue of Exile on Main Street.

I'll let Victor explain the history of this particular tattoo:

...[This was] done by my cousin Eddie Bonacore in his apartment...then he did it for me again when he got officially hired as a tattoo artist @ Funhouse Tattooing in the Poconos.  I love the Stones, and credit my mom for that one...she got me into them.  The Stones ooze rock n' roll and always will...even watching Shine a Light, the documentary [Martin] Scorsese recently did on them...it just further shows there commitment to rock n' roll...the least I could do was add some tongue to my wrist!

Thanks again to Victor for keeping us entertained with his rockin' tattoos here on Tattoosday!

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Two Tattoos from Devin

Last Wednesday I had a productive inkspotting lunch hour, which culminated with meeting Devin in front of Penn Station.

Devin has three tattoos, two of which are in close proximity on his left forearm:

The first of the two he shared was also his very first piece he got when he was eighteen:


This "punk rock chick" is based on an old Rancid logo. Aside from being a fan of the band, he liked the design, as well. It was tattooed by Brad Schicklgruber at Mackenzie's Tattoo in Carmel, New York.

Just above that is the sparrow design that is classic flash:

It seemed fitting, then, that Devin had this done by Eddie at Sam O'Reilly's Tattoo Parlour in Santa Cruz, California. O'Reilly's, established in 1891, is one of the oldest shops in the nation and has top-notch artists. Work from O'Reilly's has appeared previously on our site here.

Thanks to Devin for sharing his tattoos with us here on Tattoosday!

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Day of the Dead Special: Electrical Sugar Skull

I met Mike at the end of September, but have been hanging on to this post to share today, on the Day of the Dead:


I've posted numerous sugar skulls here (click this link to see all posts tagged as such), but this one is particularly interesting due to its proximity to the tattoo below, which is the logo for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), or the electrician's union, to which the contributor belongs.



The tattoos were done by Rob Hotte at the incomparable Lotus Tattoo in Sayville, New York.

For an extra El D�a de los Muertos bonus, I encourage folks to check out my old friend Mike's Day of the Dead Mariachi troupe here.

As for this post, I thank Mike for sharing his incredible tattoos with us here on Tattoosday!

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Extra bonus material:

About 2 months ago, a reader named Leslie sent me the following blurb:

Hi! I ... sent you a link to Albuquerque's Tinta Cantina - the shop does all kinds of work but they really do a lot of Day of the Dead stuff - in particular - look under the artist Jason. I do not work there, nor am I trying to promote them - I just think that the tattoos done here in New Mexico are quite different from the interpretations you show from the East Coast and that you might find it interesting.

Thanks to Leslie for sharing this link with us here on Tattoosday!

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Shiri's Logos

"Excuse me," I called, loudly, on the 34th Street train platform, "Can I ask you about your tattoo?"

Anyone reading this who has been featured here may recognize this as my opening salvo. Most people are open to my questions. Very few dismiss me. For this I am thankful.

Shira was the woman to whom I was speaking, and she was very welcoming to my inquiries.

Here is the best of the many tattoos I saw she had:


It's a fairly intricate (and extremely well-done) replica for one of the album designs for a band named Sponge. Shiri had a matching t-shirt, but taking a picture of that would have been borderline creepy, in my opinion. Unfortunately, the only image online I could find was small:


On her left arm she had two other band designs:


The one on the right is from the group Gogol Bordello, which surprised me as I had seen a similar tattoo several weeks before (and recounted here).


The logo on the left was from a group called Spookey Ruben.

Obviously, Shiri is a big fan of all these groups. The tattoos were all inked by her brother Ron.

You can see other band-related tattoos by clicking on the appropriate tag at the bottom of the post.

Thanks to Shiri for sharing her cool tattoos with us here on Tattoosday!

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