Tatto For You

Today's tattooed poet is a long-time supporter and friend of the Tattooed Poets Project, Theresa Senato Edwards . Theresa first contributed back in 2010, launching our second installment of tattooed poets. Her contribution can be re-visited here . She has graciously shared four of her "newest" tattoos: She tells us her "calf tattoo has grown and finally has become what I had really wanted from the start," adding that "the others [below] all connect to each other and the calf tattoo in some way." Theresa tells us about these two: "The finger tattoo is extra special to me. My tattoo artist and I designed it on the spot, and I wanted it on my right index finger b/c it was always a bit painful to wear a ring on that finger b/c of an infection I got after minor surgery when I was a teen. Now I wear something simple, one-of-a-kind, beautiful, and permanent on that finger--pain free!" She also shared this lovely piece: Theresa is a huge fan of her ...

Today's tattooed poet is Danielle Hanson , who shared two tattoos with us, both credited to Matt Greenhalgh ( @mattgreenhalgh ) at Only You Tattoo  ( @onlyyoutattoo ) in Atlanta. Danielle elaborates: "The first is a yellow-crowned night heron on my right shoulder. As a former coxswain in college in Tennessee, the rivers in the Southeast feel like home, and I thought I knew our wading birds well. Then I heard of the yellow-crowned night heron, and that it had been spotted near my house in Atlanta, at the lake created by mining mud for bricks. The area was super sketch, but I continued visiting it for a year before I found the bird at dusk one night, having walking into the woods with two men who were drunk and stumbling, slightly ominous but so of the earth. The bird was waiting for me at the end of the trail. The men went further into the woods, and I, out. I had earned the bird on my body.  My second tattoo is of a scarlet runner bean vine on my left calf. I garden, and al...

Today's tattooed poet is Kathryn McMurray: In the picture above, we can see two tattoos, both done by James Real at American Beauty Tattoo Parlor  ( @americanbeautytattoo ) in Sunset Beach, CA. Kathryn elaborates: "The piece on the arm above my head is a design by Angelique Houtkamp  ( @angeliquehoutkamp ) of Amsterdam ( I got her permission to use the design), but James Real augmented it to put his and my own own stamp on it. Houtkamp’s style is vintage and many of her designs are an homage to old-school tattoo styles from the early 20th century. I selected the design because the face reminds me of Dorothy Parker , a hero of mine, so to make the design custom, we added a book beneath her owl body. Owls have traditionally represented wisdom. The tattoo on my right arm is an image taken from a 1950s film festival poster. The original artist is René Gruau , a French-Italian artist who became famous for doing artwork for the Moulin Rouge and fashion sketches and artwork for f...

Our next tattooed poet is Allison Wilkins, who sent us a couple of her tattoos: Allison explained the origins of this octopus: "The octopus tattoo was drawn by my artist friend, Lib Hedgepath, and inked by tattoo artist Ethan ( @ethan_franklin_jrt ) at James River Tattoo  ( @jamesrivertattoo ) (Lynchburg, VA, 1337 Main Street). I got the tattoo in 2013, a transitional year for me: between the acceptance of and publication of my first book, Girl Who ; this was also the year I got divorced. The octopus became a kind of totem animal for me, a sea beast that was highly intelligent and adaptable (I’m a Pisces). Also, it represents the place, Greece, where I eventually found a second home. But at the time I got my tattoo, I just associated Greece with starting over and living authentically." Then there is this piece on her back: Allison notes this is a poem by Titos Patríkios  and it: "... was inked by James River Tattoo in 2012. For me, it marked falling in love with a place:...

Today's tattooed poet is Adam Tamashasky, who sent us this photo of his tattoo: Adam tells us: "This image comes out of Charles Darwin’s B Notebook from 1837; as he pored over his notes and began to coalesce his thinking on evolution by natural selection, he sketched a few lines branching from a central trunk. Above this image he wrote merely, 'I think.' I decided to get this tattooed on my inner arm because it represents a couple deep truths for me: one, that we’re bound to each other and all forms of life through tangible, concrete lines; two, humans have the powers of reason and imagination to search for truth." Along with the tattoo, Adam provided this poem: NOTEBOOK B, JULY 1837 As I idled at a stop light, A dozen little kids crossed the road, Holding the handles Stemming off a white rope Stretched between their teachers, And I thought, "Of course I have to die." That's an easy thought, I thought, Until I followed it across the street: Of cour...

Today's tattooed poet is Letisia Cruz , who shared this cool piece on her arm: Letisia elaborated on how this little ram made it onto her canvas: The little ram playing a violin on my arm was inspired by an illustration by Russian artist Yuri Vasnetsov . Although I did not realize it was Russian at the time, I have been inspired by Russian folk art since I was a child. I was introduced to Vasnetsov’s art by way of a book called ¡Chas Chas! Al Compas De Las Palmitas . I was drawn to Vasnetsov’s fantastic characters, including birds, foxes, and violin-playing rams, as well as his vivid landscapes. Vasnetsov’s world was one of vast possibilities where animals and humans coexisted, and magical trees inhabited the forest. As a Cuban child born in el campo , I initially assumed the book was Cuban. You’d think the artist’s name might’ve been a dead giveaway, but I never gave it a second thought. I memorized all of the rhymes, so I could turn the pages and recite the words from memory long...

Our next tattooed poet is Christopher Shipman, who shared two tattoos for Tuesday. First, this one: Christopher tells us: "The smaller tattoo, which I refer to simply as Portrait, was my first. It was scarred into my right forearm in Memphis, TN on January 5th, 2000, the day I turned 18. I attribute to it the title Portrait because, when the artist asked what I wanted to get, I said, 'Just look at me and draw something.' His immediate response was not dissimilar to the look I get when I tell people how the tattoo came to be. It’s a look equipped with squinty eyes. The squinty shape of eyes quickly dissipates, however, when I add that the design was drawn on paper and okayed by me before the tattoo gun ever began buzzing, a sound that I have come to find very satisfying over the years. The artist was pleased that I didn’t expect him to freehand a design from scratch directly into my flesh. Such an approach wouldn’t even be allowed at his shop, I remember him mentioning. In ...