Hawai'i and Germany Meet Halfway in Manhattan

Last Sunday, I found myself unexpectedly in my weekday stomping grounds, outside of Penn Station. I saw a couple sitting on the steps in Penn Plaza and noticed the gentleman had a remarkable tattoo on his outer left calf.

We had a slight language barrier, as they were tourists from Europe. But Rico agreed to let me take the photo:

The tattoo was done by Tom at Stechwerk Tattoo Studio in Kempten, Germany.

Rico said he just liked the design and that Hawai'i is somewhere he hopes to visit one day. The surfboard and the archipelago outline are symbolic of our fiftieth state, and the yellow hibiscus is the state flower.

Danke schön to Rico for sharing this cool Hawai'i-themed tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

Tattoosday Goes To Hawai'i - Aloha to the Islands

I wasn't sure how many tattoos I would meet on my five and a half day trip to Hawai'i, but my last day there exceeded all expectations.

As reported before, I met five separate people with tattoos at Pearlridge as I did some last-minute shopping before heading back to the airport.

After returning my rental car and clearing security, I headed to the gate, my heart heavy with the reality that I was once again leaving my childhood home, not knowing when I would return.

I guessed that my inkspotting had ended on the trip, as I dropped my carry-on at a row of seats outside of the gate, which was sealed as the earlier flight's passengers cleared customs.

I guessed wrong.

The delay in entering Gate 25 left passengers lingering in the open-aired terminal with a moment to relish the warm tropical air.

The gentleman next to me removed his outer garment to reveal a short sleeve shirt. And this tattoo:

So, for the next twenty minutes or so, I chatted with Bill, originally from Brooklyn, now living in Hawai'i. How's that for a mirror image?

What's more, Bill had this tattoo, as well, on his upper right arm:

Aloha indeed. What a fitting way to leave Hawai'i!

The top pin-up was inked at a shop in Point Pleasant, New Jersey.

The forearm design is a modified version of a flash design Bill had seen at a shop in Honolulu, up near the University of Hawai'i campus in Manoa.

The original design featured the young lady standing in the Waikiki surf, with Diamond Head behind her. Bill opted just for the pin-up, without all the extra stuff.

We had a nice chat about Hawai'i, tattoos, and Brooklyn. He was heading back to the East Coast to visit family.

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

And thanks again to everyone I met on my trip, and for being integral parts of the Tattoosday Goes to Hawai'i saga!

Tattoosday Goes to Hawai'i - Sylvia's Back Piece

The one day in Hawai'i when I didn't take any tattoo pictures, I did pass out a few fliers. One I handed to a woman sitting in a chair at the Safeway Center on Kapahulu Avenue.

She had what appeared to be an incredible back piece, the top of which was visible to passers-by.

Sylvia later e-mailed me and shared a link to a site that featured a photo of the tattoo, along with an explanation of the piece. I have extracted it here for the enjoyment of the Tattoosday audience.

First, the tattoo:

Sylvia explains:

"My tattoo represents my ancestry...from the family of the 'Royal Hawai'ian Ole' (chanters of the Alii court), from the snowy mountains of Japan, the homeland of Portuguese Bean soup, and the inter-mix marriages of American Indians and Puerto Ricans. I believe the seven I have on my back describe who I am the best. Most locals have meaning for their tattoos but we also have people like Lindsay who just go with their flow. Many families have several signs that make up their families even as far as the Scottish Clan "Duncan" like me..."

What's wonderful about this tattoo to me is that Sylvia has incorporated so many cultures and motifs into the design which, as she acknowledges, is based on the wonderful mix of heritage and ancestry that comprises her background. This is very typical of people who live in Hawai'i, which is host to such an explosion of multicultural intermingling.

I love how the honu/sea turtle brings all of the elements together. The eagle, dragonfly, bear paw, wolf, buffalo, and shark all join to provide a rich tapestry of images that each speak to a different aspect of her heritage.

Sylvia's tattoo was inked by Joseph Garcia, Trigga Happy Tattoo in Waipahu. Eagle, Dragonfly, Bear Paw, Turtle, Wolf, Buffalo, and Shark.

Thanks to Sylvia for responding to me initially and for sharing her tattoo via her post here. We here at Tattoosday appreciate your contribution!

Tattoosday Goes to Hawai'i - Honu Thursday

One of the most popular symbols in modern Polynesian tattoo is the green sea turtle, or honu, as it is known in Hawaiian.

I saw a lot of honu tattoos while I was in Hawai'i, but I didn't snap any photos of them until my last day on Oahu, when I was wrapping up my trip with a last minute stop at Pearlridge. More specifically, I was at the Pearlridge Longs Drug Store, a great place to stock up on chocolate-covered macadamia nuts, Kona coffee, and other tasty local snacks that are hard to find on the mainland.

While wandering the aisles, I spotted not one, but two honu-adorned locals, who were kind enough to share their tattoos with me.

First was Ash, who didn't say much about the four honu on his left leg, other than the fact that he has "always loved turtles," and that his brother was the artist who did the tattoos.

Next was Chantel, who has this lovely tattoo on her upper back:

This not only has the honu element, but also has a floral aspect, along with a Yin and Yang design.

When I asked her where the design came from, she laughed and said she had seen it on a sticker plastered to the back of a car. She liked it so much, she got some paper, traced it, and brought it into a shop called Big Fat Tatts, where the artist sketched it and cleaned up the lines.

Thanks both to Ash and Chantel, for finally getting me my photos of honu tattoos, just a few hours before returning to New York.

Tattoosday Goes to Hawai'i: Reston's Expansive Ink

I've alluded, in previous posts, to a trip to Ala Moana Center, during which I was astounded by the amount of tattoos I saw, much more than I recall seeing on my previous trip, five years ago.

I was in the expansive food court section of the complex when I met Reston and his uncle. I was first intrigued by the work on his left arm:

but then, in one of those rare Tattoosday moments in which I see much more than I anticipated, his uncle convinced Reston to show me his back, which revealed this wonderful work:

For Reston, his tattoos are tributes to his heritage. The large Buddha on his back acknowledges the Buddhist faith that can be found on his father's side of the family. The tiki and tribal patterns are in honor of his mother's Pacific Islander lineage. This is apparent from the merging of the two styles (and the names "mom" and "dad" at the top of his back:

In addition, Reston shared this cool lizard on his left shoulder:

Actually, in Hawaiian tattoo styles, this is referred to more specifically as a mo'o, which can be defined (source here) as a "spirit guardian (lizard) that protects a resource, such as a fishpond, from overuse and other abuse". Mo'o are also referred to as geckos.

There's a lot going on with Reston's personal canvas, but you can see the geographic shapes of the mo'o design jumping off the skin.

  All the work was done in California. The Buddha back piece was inked by Jon Highland, owner of 12 Monkeys Tattoo in Tracy, California. The majority of the tribal/Polynesian work was tattooed by Orly at Humble Beginnings Tattoo Studio in San Jose.

A hearty mahalo to Reston for being bold enough to remove his shirt in the Ala Moana food court so we could all get to better appreciate his ink. We here at Tattoosday thank you for your contributions to the site!

Tattoosday Goes to Hawai'i: Jolie's Archipelago

It was the first episode of Miami Ink in which Ami James tattooed a huge piece on surfer Sunny Garcia's mid-section. The subject: the distinct pattern representing the view of the Hawaiian islands (video here).

It wouldn't surprise me if everyone from Hawai'i who has spent time away from "home" has, at some time, if they have a penchant for ink, considered such a tattoo. I know I have.

During my brief stay on Oahu recently, I saw several people with Hawai'i tattoos. But I only took a picture of one, the first I saw, on the calf of Jolie, while I milled about Ala Moana Center:



It seemed fitting to me that Jolie's island chain tattoo was inked not in the Aloha State, but across the Pacific, in Las Vegas, where she was living at the time.

A friend of hers there was tattooing out of a studio in his house and she got this piece because, in her words, "I missed home". Of course, I nodded in understanding.

A hearty mahalo nui loa to Jolie for sharing her Hawai'i tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!