Tattoorism: Sean Returns, Part 2

Last week, I shared more of reader Sean's vast tat-alog here. It's time to finish off our inventory of this very generous fan o' the site. Let's see what we have:

...I got a clipper ship on my upper arm.  The ship is navigating through a background of clouds and lightning bolts and has a banner underneath reading “Hope.”  Its meaning follows the same idea behind my anchor tattoo.  Hope is a huge part of having a positive mental attitude, which I try (sometimes with little luck, of course) to hold at all times.  It’s a reminder that you can make it through stormy parts of your life, no matter how bad they get.  It’s also done in the traditional style I love so much.  The tattoo was done by Mike Schweigert at Electric Tattoo in Bradley Beach, NJ.

While attending [the 2010] Philadelphia Tattoo Arts Convention, I decided to get a tattoo to commemorate my first convention.  For as many years as tattoos have been a part of my life, this was my first convention...I got a blue rose with a candle spouting out of it in between my sparrows and flower on my outer elbow. 

I’m a firm believer in everyone having a different reasoning for getting tattoos.  Some are used as place markers in one’s life, some are used to remember an event, some have deep profound meanings and some are just aesthetically pleasing. I could probably come up with some in depth meaning behind the tattoo, but in the end, I got it to commemorate my first tattoo convention and that’s pretty much the only reason.  Done by Rocco at Death or Glory Tattoos in Westbrook, Maine.

Finally, I got my outer elbow to forearm done with a snake coiling through a skull and dagger and impaling itself on the dagger’s blade.  

I usually try to go out of my way to ensure that my friends/family/other people in general are happy, more often than I would like to admit, putting their happiness before my well-being.  This tattoo serves as a reminder for me not to do that so much, and to focus on myself sometimes.  The snake can be viewed as a protection figure, coiling around and through the rest of the tattoo, but has also caused injury to itself by doing so.  Basically, its my reminder that as much as I would like to help others, I need to keep my own happiness and well being in mind before I choose which action to take or I’ll end up injuring myself in the process.  Done by Mike Schweigert at Electric Tattoo in Bradley Beach, NJ.

A hearty thanks to Sean for continuing to share his tattoos with us over the years!

Sealed with a Snake

I spotted Steve one day, and got him to share this rattlesnake tattoo on his right arm:

Steve has three tattoos and is bass player for a band called S.W.A.K.

He came up with the design and had Gary, owner of Shotsie's Tattoo in Wayne, New Jersey, complete the process.

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

Stephanie's Serpentine Strength

Under normal circumstances, I may not have stopped to chat with Stephanie about her wrist tattoo. However, she was playing with her new corn snake, which is not something you see everyday when passing through Pennsylvania Station.

Stephanie introduced me to her new friend Muñeca (the Spanish word for "doll")

and then elaborated on one of her three tattoos, the word "Strength" on her inner left wrist:

She had this done at a time in her life when she was depressed, so she put the word on her wrist to remind her to always be strong.

What's truly interesting about this tattoo and the juxtaposition of the snake is the serpentine nature of the letter "S". My friend and co-worker Maida also pointed out, when I showed her the photo, that muñeca also has the anatomical meaning of "wrist" in Spanish.

The tattoo was done at Progressive Tattoo in Lindenhurst, New York.

Thanks to Stephanie for sharing her tattoo and Muñeca with us here at Tattoosday!