A Selection of Jorge's Tattoos

I met Jorge last week at the top of the escalators leading from Penn Station to 7th Avenue.

He has quite a few, and I took photos of the front and back of his left forearm.

The inner part of his arm has this koi design:


A friend of his did this for him, which he got for luck before going overseas with the U.S. Army to Iraq in 2008. He proudly served with the Third Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, 187th Infantry Regiment, also known as The Rakkasans.

Jorge loves what he calls his "good luck koi fish" and says "We deployed for 15 months....every time I was tired for walking for 2 or 3 days nonstop, I would look at my tattoo and smile and keep walking...".

After returning, he got this tattoo in Nashville:


This piece was just a very cool design.

Bridging these two very different tattoos are two cherry blossoms:


Jorge wanted to make sure they didn't get omitted from the post, as these flowers represent his mother and sister.

That would have been it for this post from Jorge, except the day after meeting him, he sent me this shot of a tattoo on the upper left side of his back:

He hadn't mentioned this when I met him, so I was pleased to include it in the post.

Jorge got this piece at Coyote's Tattoo in Lima, Peru.

He says this is a tribute to his mother and his Peruvian heritage. It is based on a pure gold artifact found next to a mummy in Peru which he saw on display in the American Museum of Natural History.

Thanks again to Jorge for sharing so many of his tattoos with us here on Tattoosday!

Juan's Sleeve, Traditional Elements, Inked in the Bronx

A burst of pleasantly warm weather this week signified the end of a quiet winter.

Posts have been scarce indeed, but I see busier times ahead.

Wednesday afforded me my first "Tat* Trick" of 2010. That term, for those unfamiliar, is reserved for a day when I meet and photograph at least three tattoo hosts. Even rarer is the "Lunch Tat Trick," which involves me getting photos from three people (or more) in the course of an hour, on my lunch break.

So I am grateful for the following contributor, and the two three other nice people from the 10th of March.

I spotted Juan in Penn Station and he offered up this half-sleeve-in-progress, which includes a skull element and a panther :


Inked by Freddie Arroyo at Cool Hand Tattoo in the Bronx, this tattoo features his ideas and the artist's interpretation of the suggested design elements. The mask at the bottom of the design is one element I find exceptionally interesting, as it deviates slightly from what a traditional demon mask looks like, and takes on a slightly more original appearance which more likely reflects the style of the artist:


The work as photographed represents two sittings. Not seen in the shot above, but quite impressive, is the work and color of this flower, which is on the inside of the biceps, extending into the ditch:


Thanks to Juan for sharing this tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

* Ed. Note:Tattoo purists often raise an eyebrow at the term "tat" to denote a tattoo. I generally employee it when I am attempting a clever play on words. Sometimes, I fail.

12 Craziest Masks Ever

Obama Sleep Mask
YES WE CAN! You voted for him, here he is. Now you can see Barack Obama, the 44th President of the United States of America, even when you are asleep.
Cthulhu Ski Mask
LiveJournal blogger Archmage got his wife to crochet him this Cthulhu ski mask for a recent sci-fi-themed costume party.
Mickey Mouse Gas Mask
The United States Army Chemical Museum has a very special gas mask, a Mickey Mouse mask ! This mask was produced early in 1942 to protect children in case of a chemical attack against the United States.

Emoticon Mask
The Mask Of Emotion exchanges facial expressions for digital emotions. If you weren't easy to read before, now people should have no problems discerning your emotion. Designed by the Digital Media Design Department at Hongik University in Korea, the Mask Of Emotion mimics your facial expressions and translates them into LED pixel emoticons. If you frown, the mask changes the LED design to a slanted frown as it sees fit.

Motorcycle Riding Mask

The Calavera Loca Motorcycle Riding Mask is a completely hand-made, leather mask. It is designed as a motorcycle riding mask to protect your lower face from wind, bugs and rocks while not pressing up against your mouth. This mask allows for easy breathing and others can even hear you when you talk!

Terminator make-up mask
This prosthetic Terminator make-up mask (complete with LED for that glowing eye effect!) was created by Joe Slatter of The Dark Power.

Knitted Gas Mask

Craftster's Teriyakimoto knitted this (non-functional) gas-mask hat for work and play (e.g., "Hey, honey, let's play stern-but-soft air-raid warden and recalcitrant claustrophobe!"). Teriyakimoto plans on using it as a bicycling hat during the long winter months.

Pikachu Ski Mask
It was getting cold, so Deviant Art member =Sugarcoatidli3z who is a Pikachu fan decided to crochet this convertible ski mask inspired in the famous yellow cartoon character.

Joker Ski Mask
This $17 Joker Ski Mask from Amazon is pretty sketchy, even for a ski mask.

Designer Mask

These ‘elegant' masks by Spanish designer Carlos Diez were a hit at 2007 winter runaway show. Thank God it didn't become a trend.
Peacock Mask
These ‘elegant' masks by Spanish designer Carlos Diez were a hit at 2007 winter runaway show. Thank God it didn't become a trend.


Mummy Sleep Mask

People in your household may not give waking you out of a deep sleep a second thought, but they may hesitate just a bit when they see a mummy with glowing eyes staring at them. It is worth trying anything to get people to leave you alone, so this sleep mask would be a small price to pay.

Creative and Crazy Surgical Masks for Dentists