Christina's Owl and Lighthouse

I met Christina one day after work while walking outside of Madison Square Garden.

She had this incredible tattoo, which she gladly shared with us here on Tattoosday:

This tattoo that covers her upper left arm was actually done in two segments by artist Orrin Hurley, who currently tattoos at Dare Devil Tattoo in Manhattan.

As for the source material behind this beautiful tattoo, Christina chose a piece of art by Frances Olive Esme Eve:

A closer look at the tattooed owl shows how it was changed, but you can still see that there is still a lot from the original design:

The lighthouse was inspired by the Portland Head Light on Cape Elizabeth, Maine.

Thanks to Christina for sharing her tattoo with us here on Tattoosday.

Stacy's Amigo Tugs Her Back to Milwaukee

At the end of July, I ran into Stacy waiting for the F train at West 4th Street in Manhattan.

She had a panther peeking out from under her shirt on her back, but we couldn't get the whole tattoo in a shot, so she offered up this piece on her right arm:

Stacy is a poet and the Artistic Director of The Poetry Project at St. Mark's Church in New York City. She has been here five years and originally hails from Milwaukee.

Living next to Lake Michigan has many benefits. Having always lived in a location near a large body of water, I can relate to her admiration for the beauty of a seascape, whether it be an ocean or a great lake.

Stacy told me she enjoyed watching the tugboats in her home town, and that these small vessels are a "connective image" that draws her back to her original home.

This tattoo was designed and inked by Stephanie Tamez at New York Adorned. Work from Stephanie on Tattoosday can be viewed here.

This is also the second tugboat of the summer. The first one is here.

Thanks to Stacy for sharing her tugboat with us here at Tattoosday. Perhaps we'll see her panther when the Tattooed Poets Project returns next April for its third year!

Melinda's Medusa

Last month I met Melinda on the West 4th Street subway platform, a location I came to appreciate this past summer for its diversity of interesting tattoos.

Our conversation began on the platform in Manhattan and ended in Brooklyn after a trip on the D train.

Melinda has two tattoos and she shared this one, from her inner left forearm:

She explained that this tattoo is based on the shield of Minerva (in the Roman pantheon) and Athena (in the Greek pantheon).

The shield features the head of the serpentine-tressed Medusa who, if you didn't know, could turn creatures (men, mostly) to stone with a simple gaze.

Melinda loves the contrast between the Minerva and Medusa figures and the relationship between the two mythologies.

The tattoo was inked by Kelly Krantz, of the now defunct Hold Fast Tattoo in Brooklyn. Kelly now tattoos by appointment only, and more details can be found on his website here. Work by Kelly has appeared previously on Tattoosday here.

Thanks to Melinda for her good company on the D train back in August, and for sharing her tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

Shia LaBeouf Tattoos

Shia LaBeouf is a sensationally talented American actor, featured in the movie Transformers, Disturbia and Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps.


Shia LaBeouf is known to have 3 tattoos on his body, including the time span of 1986-2004 on his inner right wrist, he said "A lot of people who have been working a lot of their life, (I've been doing this for 10 years), a lot of people say, Oh, I forgot my childhood or I miss my childhood. 1986 to 2004, so that's just precautionary."


The actor also has an art piece on the left side of his torso, a hand with ball and chain attached, which symbolizes being tied down to your work.

Concerning this tattoo Shia has said "It's an art piece that I've seen many years ago. It's always been a cool visual for me. It's kind of how it feels too. You know you do put yourself. Because you always talk about the stardom or what not and the more you do this, then the more successful you are. You're entrapping yourself, you know, because regardless of if you want to be a personality or not, that's part of the game, so that sort of represents that to me a little bit."

And finally, Shia LaBeouf has a small dog paw print on his left shoulder, which is believed to represent a fallen four legged friend, his childhood dog.

Svetlana Kuznetsova Tiger Hip Tattoo

Svetlana Kuznetsova is a great Russian professional tennis player who is known for winning the 2004 US Open and the 2009 French Open singles titles.

Svetlana Kuznetsova has partially reveled a tattoo on her lower hip, which appears to be a rather small tiger design in all black ink.

Mila Kunis Tattoos

Mila Kunis is a fabulous American actress, featured in the television series, That '70s Show, as well as such films as Forgetting Sarah Marshall and Black Swan.

Mila Kunis was spotted with a lower back tattoo while filming, however this tattoo is believed to be fake. The actress is also rumored to have two small playing cards on her right wrist, but this hasn't been confirmed just yet.

Tyler's Bald Eagle

I spotted Tyler outside of my office building on Seventh Avenue last month.

Actually, the first thing I noticed was Tyler's eagle:

One of three tattoos he has, Tyler explained that he really likes traditional designs, and that eagles, in his opinion, are among the coolest animals.

He also likes the way feathers look in tattoo designs, and this eagle's plumage is inked exceptionally well.

He credits Jeremy at Imperial Tattoo in Portland, Oregon with this piece.

Thanks to Tyler for allowing his eagle to fly here on Tattoosday!