Zoe's Birds, Aloft

I met Zoe a couple weeks ago when I spotted an incredible bird tattoo creeping up over her shoulder:What's especially mesmerizing about this tattoo is where it begins:Starting in the middle of her back, this flock of birds lifts up off of her flesh, and flies over her shoulder.So from where did the inspiration for this tattoo come? Zoe explains:"I stole the color combination and the silhouetted

Tova's Mockingbird Takes Wing

Late last month, I met Tova at my local Borders store. She was sporting this incredible tattoo on her upper left arm:When she told me she had it recently inked at New York Adorned, I guessed correctly that Virginia Elwood had been the artist. Virginia in incredibly talented, and seems to especially excel at bird tattoos (her work has been seen previously on Tattoosday here, here and here).Tova

The Tattooed Poets Project: Claire Nelson

Well, dear readers, I've been waiting to post this next tattoo for over a year, ever since Dorianne Laux posted it on her Facebook wall last April and directed me to it. This amazing tattoo belongs to Claire Nelson. Behold:This photo was taken shortly after the tattoo was done by artist Ron Henry Wells, who graciously allowed me to copy it from his site and reprint it here. He noted that he "used

The Tattooed Poets Project: Michael Henry Lee

Today's tattoo was submitted by Michael Henry Lee:Photo courtesy of Michael Henry LeeThere's a lot going on here, so let's let Michael explain:"The work pictured began about 36 years ago in Kansas City, Mo. I only remember the artist's name as John. The piece started with the stylized exotic bird's head that John took credit for as his own. A few years later I found the same piece on the back of

Sal's Tattoo Takes Wing

Today's tattoo comes to us courtesy of Sal, who is making his third appearance on Tattoosday. We first met him in 2008 when he shared this Guns N Roses tattoo, and then again, in 2009 with this quote, inked on his forearm.Both times I ran into Sal at the video store where he works in Brooklyn Heights. He alerted me to the fact that he had new ink, so I just had to stop by and see in person: