Virginia's Flowers Forecast Spring

This is a quick one for Monday morning, on the last day of February, with spring looming just around the corner. Here's one of Virginia's tattoos:

Virginia is a long-time reader and fan of Tattoosday who I have met on anumber of occasions. This is the first piece she has shared with us.

This floral tattoo is at the top of her right shoulder and was done by Craig Rodriguez at Hand of Glory in Brooklyn.

She explains further, "We are all hoping for an early spring. Daffodils and forget-me-nots. It is a memorial tattoo. I always bring yellow flowers to the cemetery when I honor my family members."

Work from Hand of Glory has appeared previously here on Tattoosday. A piece of Craig's was featured here.

Amen to the early spring! Thanks to Virginia for sharing this lovely tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

Mark's Tattoo is Bound by Faith

I met Mark in Penn Station on Friday, as I was passing through the New Jersey Transit waiting area. It was a rainy, unseasonably warm day, so I spotted his tattoos easily, as he sat in a short sleeve shirt waiting for his train.

Mark has six tattoos in all, and he shared this one on his left forearm:

There's a lot going on here, in this tattoo which was completed in two sittings.

In essence, this is a religious tattoo, which Mark considers an expression of his Christian faith.

The base of the tattoo may look familiar, as it resembles the caduceus, which is now a symbol of the medical profession.

However, Mark explained that this symbol was originally attributed to the cult of Mithraism that existed in Rome in the first to fourth centuries, before the city became the center of Christianity. The caduceus was originally attributed to the Roman god Mercury, and the symbol also important to the god Mithras. The Vatican in Rome is built over the remnants of Mithraism and Mark bears this symbol that represents that which Christianity replaced.

At the base of the tattoo are the letters "XIVI". This is the Roman numeral for "17". Again, there is more to this than meets the eye. Many may think that the number 17 in Roman numerals is written differently, as XVII. However, Mark explained that this reversal of letters is intentional. According to wikipedia, "In Italian culture, the number 17 is considered unlucky. When viewed as the Roman numeral, XVII, it is then changed anagramatically to VIXI, which in the Latin language it translates to "I have lived", the perfect implying "My life is over." (c.f. "Vixerunt", Cicero's famous announcement of an execution.)". It is this "I have lived" phrase that resonates most with Mark, who told me that the "XIVI" number is often seen on gravestones. 

And finally, the word "SINNER," which runs vertically down the caduceus, is the belief that "we are all sinners". Again, this ties in deeply to Mark's faith.

The piece was tattooed by Matt Pope at Another Tat2 Shop in South Amboy, New Jersey.

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

Tattoosday Weekend Recap

I just wanted to share some interesting tidbits that have come my way over the last few weeks:

First, someone has been sharing links in the comments section anonymously on several recent posts. As is my custom, I only approve comments if they are related to the post in question. Nonetheless, the links point to a YouTube channel for Sullen TV. I thought I'd share one here, which features the artist Nikko Hurtado, and interested parties can explore their YouTube channel here.

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The other day I came across a cool site called FreshTrends.com that has a really nice collection of body jewelry, a lot of which would look great with a new tattoo. It's definitely worth a look!

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Last June, I featured this tattoo by artist Scott Campbell. I was recently told about this short film on the site Nowness.Be sure to check it out!

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And finally, we're about a month away from April, and our third annual installment of the Tattooed Poets Project. I wanted to give a shout-out to one of last year's poets, Erica Rivera, whose tattoo was featured here. Her new book Maneater is available on Amazon:

Visit the Man Eater Facebook page for a taste of Erica Rivera's writing.