Bigfoot and a Bowl of Fruit

I stopped Tony and Emily, an Australian couple, as they were crossing 33rd Street near Eighth Avenue late last month. No offense to Tony, but Emily's half-sleeve really jumped out at me from across the street, so I was thrilled when they agreed to stop and talk tattoos with me.

First, here's a collage of Emily's upper right arm:

Emily explained she wanted a colorful tattoo, and she loves fruit, so this was the path she chose. What I like is that, since she is Australian, we get some more exotic fruit here, like dragon fruit and passion fruit in the culinary collage.

This is one of seven tattoos Emily has and was inked by Josh Plum at Yakuza Tattoo in Sydney, Australia.

When I showed the photos to my wife, Melanie, she wanted to know more. Aside from being colorful, why the fruit basket? I e-mailed Tony and he sent the following reply:

"...She said she wanted fruit for a few other reasons other than colourfullness....1) she is really into nutrition and a healthy living style; 2) she had never seen anybody else with a fruit basket tattoo; 3) fish, flowers, etc. are way too common (which is true when you think about it, everyone has koi fish..."

Speaking of Tony, let's not forget him. He had nine tattoos when I met him. He may have another now from New York, I'm not sure. SO, of course I asked him if he would share, as well. He offered up this rendition of Bigfoot on his right forearm:

This tattoo was the artist's rendering of Bigfoot, as interpreted by Sanchez at Steel Lotus Body Arts in Darlinghurst, in Eastern Sydney.

Why Bigfoot? Tony is a huge fan of cryptozoology.The tattoo took about four and a half hours to complete.

Thanks to both Tony and Emily for taking the time to share their tattoos with us here on Tattoosday!

Geisha Tattoo Design

Contrary to popular western notions, the Japanese geisha is not generally a woman of ill repute. The word literally means “art person” and a geisha is a highly trained professional woman whose traditional occupation is to entertain men. Singing, dancing, playing music, knowledge of history and current events, the ability to make conversation and to create an atmosphere of relaxation and entertainment are the essential skills of the geisha. Skills specific to Japanese culture would include being able to perform the tea ceremony or perhaps even being skilled at flower arrangement or calligraphy.

Geishas are immaculately and sumptuously dressed in ornate and expensive kimonos. Not a strand of hair is out of place, their white facial make-up is perfect. Their manners are not only impeccable but delicate and calm, in keeping with the ideals of feminine beauty that they embody.

In modern Japan, geishas have been transformed into symbols of traditional values. In the west, the geisha has become a symbol of the exotic grace and beauty of the East.

In this tattoo design, the wind has ruffled her kimono and set some pieces of paper loose, perhaps from the sheaf tucked near her arm.

The wind has also loosed some petals of cherry blossoms which are beginning to swirl past her. They echo the cherry blossom design of the lower part of her kimono while the upper part makes use of the chrysanthemum. Both flowers are frequently used in Japanese art and in Japanese tattoos.

Japanese Tattoo in UK

In the UK there is also Japanese Tattoo