Anne's Flourish

This is another regular post amid the host of Tattooed Poets for April.

I ran into Anne at a drug store in my neighborhood and she agreed to share this simple, yet elegant, tattoo, which she called her "flourish":


Inked on her inner right forearm, Anne designed this herself, and had it tattooed by Chad Hunt at Name Brand Tattoo in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Thanks to Anne for sharing her lovely decorative tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

Bruxa Má, 191

"Esta é a minha tattoo. A terceira... verdade seja dita.

Achei-a linda quando a vi. A história começou por volta dos 19 anos quando me apaixonei pelas bruxinhas que via nas montras. Pequenas, grandes, imóveis ou de corda.

Fiz a primeira tatuagem aos 21, a segunda aos 24 e a terceira aos 25. Esta tinha tudo o que eu queria, era perfeita! Uma bruxa bonita, a lua porque gosto da noite, os morcegos porque são especiais para mim e as estrelas, que me lembram os amigos e familiares que perdi.

Ao todo tenho quase 60 bruxinhas oferecidas por amigos, familiares ou compradas por mim. Estão penduradas em candeeiros, no tecto, no armário, coladas na tv, na mesa de cabeceira, e em brincos.

E uma paixao que não morre e um vício que só cresce.

Espero que gostem. :)"

Bruxa Má

The Tattooed Poets Project: Joseph Millar

Today's tattooed poet is Joseph Millar.

This is a bit of an unusual submission, as it was provided on behalf of Joseph by his wife, the poet Dorianne Laux. Dorianne, who herself is un-inked, was instrumental in last year's Tattooed Poets Project, referring me to several tattooed poets, who in turn introduced me to many more, acting as the lead domino in a fantastic tattooed poet domino effect.

This is the tattoo she provided on behalf of Joseph:


Dorianne explains that this tattoo is actually a two-part piece. The original was "a much smaller rose" by the legendary Lyle Tuttle. She continues:

"The banner was etched with his second wife's name, which I never saw as a problem. I liked his ex-wife who is an artist. In fact, her painting graces the cover of my third book, Smoke. One night he came home late with a bandage on his arm. I worried he'd been in a work-related accident. He peeled it back to show me he had the rose enlarged and my name stenciled into the new banner by Doctor Julien of [Julien's Black Lotus Tattoo in] Eugene, Oregon. I wish I could tell you I thanked him and kissed him, but what I did was sock him in the arm and call him an idiot. Secretly, I found I was pleased."

Be sure to head over to BillyBlog and read one of Joseph's poems here.

JOSEPH MILLAR is the author of Fortune, from Eastern Washington University Press.


His first collection, Overtime (2001) was finalist for the Oregon Book Award and the Robert H. Winner Memorial Award from the Poetry Society of America. Millar grew up in Pennsylvania, attended Johns Hopkins University and spent 25 years in the San Francisco Bay area, working at a variety of jobs, from telephone repairman to commercial fisherman. His poems have appeared in numerous magazines including The Southern Review, TriQuarterly Review, Prairie Schooner, Shenandoah, DoubleTake, New Letters, Ploughshares, Manoa, and River Styx. His work has won fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts in Poetry, Montalvo Center for the Arts, Oregon Literary Arts and a 2008 Pushcart Prize in Poetry. In 1997 he gave up his job as a telephone installation foreman. He now lives in Raleigh, NC and teaches at Pacific University’s Low Residency MFA Program in Oregon and yearly at the Esalen Institute in Big Sur, CA. Pulitzer Prize winner Yusef Komunyakaa has said, “There's a tenderness at the core of Fortune, where the commonplace becomes atypical and fantastical, and each poem possesses a voice that summons and reveals. Joseph Millar is a poet we can believe.” His third collection of poems will be published in fall of 2011 by Carnegie Mellon Press.

Thanks to Joseph and Dorianne for their collaborative submission to the Tattooed Poets Project!

I'm here, I'm alive!

I always told myself I would never apologize for a lack of blogging, but now that my number of followers has grown so much, both on the friend connect and via Google Reader, I feel almost a sense of responsibility. I've gotten quite a few very sweet, concerned emails from my readers asking me if I was okay, where I've been, etc. I can assure you that all is well in the Hampton house- better than well, even! I can't get into it quite yet, but just know that I've been very busy and haven't had the easiest time finding time to sit down and blog about everything going on! Soon, though. I've missed blogging everyday though, and I'm excited to get back into the swing of things in the next few weeks. So to those people that wrote or commented, thank you so much for caring and being so kind. I promise I'm not going anywhere!

This past weekend was such a great one. I need to upload some photos from Amber Joy's tattoo session when I get a moment, but it went so well and I know she's incredibly happy about the result. Hopefully she'll let me feature her next week on Tattoo Tuesday so all of you can see the process, and I will also touch on some after care tips. Amber sadly left for California Saturday, and after I spent some great family time, I headed over to my bff Autumn's house to spend time with some of my favorite ladies and their families. Hank and HOTW were on a mini-tour with Terror and Ignite over the weekend, so it was just me representing the Hamptons, but it was so good to see Chloe and baby Carter, and all my girls. We have SO much fun things coming up in the next few weekends, including Erin finding out the gender of her baby! Spa week is next weekend, and we also have Viva Las Vegas in the beginning of May. Shirley is the president of a huge charity organization in the valley called 20-30, and they put on the event every year. It's always such a great time, and all of the money goes to a great cause. If you'd like to dress up and join Hank, me, and our friends in Scottsdale at this event, click here to check out their website! Also give me a heads up so we can be sure to do a little blogger meet up there! :)

I didn't share this last week, but while Hank and I were out and about downtown, we ran into my friend Lisa. She got so excited and said she'd been carrying around a present for me forever in hopes of running into me, and ran over to her bag! She pulled out....



this amazing antique Russian doll necklace! I just about died. I love it so much and I feel so grateful to have such wonderful friends who think of me in such a sweet way. I don't think you read this, but thank you thank you thank you Lisa! Oh, and before someone asks, my top is See by Chloé.

Other than the usual, not much else is going on. My 10-year high school reunion is in a month or so, and although I'm on the planning committee due to being in student council back in the day, I'm just not interested in going whatsoever. I keep in touch with most of my high school friends via Facebook, and the people I want to hang out with, or keep a relationship going with, I make time for. I'm not really into seeing all of these people because one, I really don't feel the need to share my "status" and life with these now-strangers, and two, I don't have enough time for my current friends half the time, so just thinking about reconnecting with all of these people makes me incredibly tired and overwhelmed. Maybe I have the wrong attitude though. I do get a little spark of excitement when I think about seeing some of the people I used to party with, and hang out with, but at the same time, that was then and this is now. I was one of those people that really loved high school and got a lot out of it. I had a great time back then, and I look back fondly on all of my great memories but I prefer to keep them as just that- memories, outside of the handful of people I still see on a regular basis. So, my decision is to just skip it. Have any of you attended your reunions? What kind of experiences did you have?

I'll leave you with an early morning/tired face photo of Amber and me this weekend. We surprisingly didn't take many photos this trip, as it was pretty much a whirlwind of shopping and getting tattooed! Love you Ambs.

Tattoo Tuesday V.13

This week I am super excited to share a wonderful gal by the name of Shani. Shani and I met online and have a few mutual friends, and Hank and his band actually stayed with her and her wonderful hubby Aldo during his last larger tour! She's a rad girl with tons and tons of awesome tattoos. Shani is the cutest mom in the world too, and just an all-around gorgeous lady. I know you will enjoy her feature, so here we go! (and don't forget you can click on any of the photos to make them bigger!)

Name: Shani Rodriguez - http://whatififonly.blogspot.com/

Tattoo/location: Polaroid/ Left thigh

Artist/shop/location: It was done by Collin McClain at SkinQuake Tattoo in Bloomington, IN. Here's a link to his blog. Check him out! http://godsownmedicine.blogspot.com/



1) Tell us about the tattoo you are sharing with us- is there a background story or special meaning? Why did you choose this particular piece of art?

It's an awesome Polaroid camera on the top of my thigh. No special meaning behind it. I just really like Polaroid cameras, they are the only things I really "collect."

2) Do you have any other tattoos? If so, what do you have and where?

I have tattoos EVERYWHERE! Arms, legs, hands, face, feet, butt, chest and stomach.













3) Do you plan on getting more?

I'm kind of running out of room but yes I would like to get more. I want to get some of the things I have that are unfinished finished and I'd like to get my back, ribs and head done one day.

4) How do your family and friends feel about your tattoo(s)? Have you run into any adversity or negativity because of them?

Most of my friends are covered in tattoos so they're okay with them. My mom and step-dad probably wish I didn't have them, but they never say anything about them. My grandparents are super religious so they hate them. I haven't talked to my grandfather in over 5 years because of my tattoos. I live in a big(ish) city and work at a tattoo shop so I don't have to deal with too much negativity. Most of the people I run into like my tattoos.

5) Any advice for those interested in getting tattooed but haven't gotten one yet?

Put a lot of thought into what you want. Don't get something just because you feel like getting tattooed. Don't go for whatever and whoever is the cheapest either. Research your shop and artist. Remember cheap is not always good. You get what you pay for.

Siobhan's Phantom Tattoo

Although it is April and we are posting the tattoos of thirty poets over the thirty days, it's hard to ignore the good people who make Tattoosday possible, my fellow inked New Yorkers, and visitors from afar.

It's even more difficult to ignore the unseasonably warm weather and the resulting flurry of tattoos that reveal themselves after a cold and inhospitable winter.

So it is with pleasure that I can share some tattooed folk who are not necessarily poets, to go with our inked writers.

Take for instance, Siobhan (pronounced shuh-vawn for those unfamiliar with this Irish name), who walked by me in my neighborhood in Brooklyn, flashing this recognizable tattoo:


Perched above her left ankle, this design is based on the artwork for the widely-popular Andrew Lloyd Webber musical, The Phantom of the Opera.


You would imagine that someone who would go so far as to tattoo their leg with a show's artwork would be a huge fan. You'd be correct.

Siobhan informed me that (as of April 2010), she had seen Phantom over twenty-five times, including productions in Minneapolis, San Francisco, London and, of course, on Broadway.

This is her first tattoo and was inked by Joe Mags at Brooklyn Ink, in Bay Ridge. Work from Joe and the crew at Brooklyn Ink has appeared quite often on Tattoosday, and can be seen collected by clicking here.

Thanks to Siobhan for sharing her inspiring tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

The Tattooed Poets Project: Erica Rivera

Today's tattooed poet is Erica Rivera from Minneapolis. She sent along this lovely photo:


Erica explains:

"This tattoo was both a 24th birthday present to myself (and perhaps a mini-rebellion after my divorce as well). It is the astrological symbol for Gemini, which I chose because I embody the twin personalities Geminis are infamous for.

The tattoo was done at the Ink Lab in Minneapolis by a man whose name I know longer remember but recall as being very gentle, especially since this was my first time. I’ve since gone on to get four more tattoos: another astrological symbol on my forearm and three emblems from the marathons I’ve completed on my ankles."

Erica Rivera is the author of Insatiable: A Young Mother’s Struggle with Anorexia (Berkley, 2009). She is the former first-place winner of the Powderhorn Writer’s Festival and her poetry has appeared in Moon Journal, The Mirage, and Writer’s Journal. She blogs at http://www.maneaterbook.com/blog.htm.

Head on over to BillyBlog to read one of Erica's poems here.