Danieli Pagano, Borboleta, Fada e Rosas, 168

"Olá, me chamo Danieli tenho 26 anos e tenho duas tatuagens maravilhosa que significam demais para mim, uma é no pé e a outra é nas costas, e ambas possuem rosas e borboletas. Elas significam minha transformação, ou seja, as borboletas significam algo saindo de um casulo, uma coisa feia e se transformando em algo belo maravilhoso e as rosas, o surgimento da beleza, algo florescendo, pois eu tinha 140 kg há dois anos e meio atrás, passei por uma cirurgia de redução de estomago e eliminei 65 kg. É através das minhas tattoos que simbolizei minha transformação, pois eu era algo feio, sem vida, escondida e hoje sou bela, criei vida; minha vida floresceu. Foi através de um grande profissional que conheci e me ajudou a realizar esse sonho de ter essas tatoos, inclusive a fada também, que simboliza a beleza para mim.

Danieli Pagano

O reponsável por essas obras sensacionais, que amo demais chama-se Robson, conhecido por Rob. Ele trabalha no estúdio na região da zona leste, na Ponte Rasa, Avenida São Miguel, n° 4678, o estúdio chama "Eduart's Tattoo e Piercing", lá trabalha o Eduardo e o Rob, mas quem fez minhas belas tattoos foi o Rob, inclusive a das costas ainda não está pronta, está em andamento. Desde já agradeço a atenção de vocês e espero que sejam divulgadas as minhas tatoos e minha história. Grata."

Nail polish giveaway

Videos always make me feel a little awkward but still fun to switch it up a bit! Don't forget to leave your name and email so I can contact you if your number is chosen. Even if you don't usually comment I would love for you to maybe win! :) Happy Sunday! We are off to the square for Dogtober Fest. Pictures later, I'm sure.

Also, feel free to reblog this if you'd like! <3

J.R.'s Five Elements

At the end of August, I spent a couple of minutes on the R train with J.R., who has quite a few tattoos. I didn't have time to take notes, just photos, and I hoped that she would e-mail me with all the details of her work. Fortunately, she did. So, what follows is her explanation of the tattoos, with a little bit of friendly editing.

"My left arm? Dedicated to the five elements...as I see them to be. Earth, Air, Water, Fire and Friendship.

The ants (done by Roni from Hidden Hand Tattoo in Seattle) represent Earth.


Ants are the closest social structure to mirror humans. They have no real strength individually, but together can achieve so much. As a human, I feel it is destined to feel lonely and when I got the tattoo, I came to terms with that and even found beauty in it. I want to feel less like an ant in the sense that there is something that I'm "supposed" to do and if I don't do it I'll be punished or kicked out of the colony, so to say. I want to feel more that there is a greater purpose for my life (or at least one that reflects me as an individual and not what society tells me to be) and that with the help of others I can realize that to it's fullest potential.

The clouds and birds (done by Jeff Cornell owner/artist at Hidden Hand Tattoo) represent Air.


There is a Leonard Cohen song called "Bird on the Wire" that I think is one of the most beautiful songs ever written. I feel the lyrics of the song so deeply and feel that they express such a core sense of who I am. Always, trying to be free. I aspire to someday be free instead of always trying and the tattoo is an attempt to remind myself that the feeling of trying is also a choice just as easy as the feeling of being free is a choice. The past tense nature of the words remind me to be light and free as a bird...

The blue tattoo on my inner arm (done by a girl in her apartment 10 years ago and I can't even remember her name) represents Water.


It is a play on yin and yang as well as a the symbol for Cancer, which is my astrological moon sign. Cancer is ruled by the moon and your moon signs make up your emotional nature. So, I feel this sign very strongly and luckily balances my Leo sun sign which I will get to more later. The symbol has stars instead of circles like a traditional yin yang because I wanted it to represent the universe within myself versus me questioning the universe around me. I got the box around it to express the feeling of being limited due to the human mind. I wanted to remind myself that any limitations are just an illusion and the healthy balance is one in which I'm learning from my experiences but also pushing my own boundaries.

The red and orange tattoo on my outer arm was done by the same forgotten artist though I will mention I was one of her first clients and that she was the perfect person for the job due to her own self-exploratory nature. She provided a healing space in which I was able to have an out of body experience.


The tattoo represents Fire. It captures my before mentioned fire sign of Leo, which is ruled by the sun. It is also Buddhist themed using a Tibetan mantra Om Mani Padme Hum which roughly translates to "the jewel is in the lotus," which to me is a beautiful way to live life. The lotus roots reach far into the muck and swamp but emerge with a beautiful flower on top. The tattoo is an attempt to capture the notion of living in the world yet being separate from it, as to not get burned or be consumed by it. The circle in the tattoo represents the sun and myself and the red is the part of myself that struggles to find my way in the world.

The beehive (done by Louis Barak here in NYC) is a tribute to Emer and Naomi, two best friends of mine, and the tattoo as a whole captures what I consider to be the fifth element, Friendship...It bears the lyrics of The Beatles' "With a Little Help from My Friends." We lived together in Seattle and called our lovely house the Beehive. We used to listen to The Beatles A LOT...though now I'm more of a Stones fan.

There are two bees buzzing to represent them


and the three forget-me-not flowers represent each of us. Emer and Naomi have known me the longest and have seen me through thick and thin. They mean the world to me and I love them both like sisters. I know in my heart that we will know each other forever."

A big thanks to J.R. for sharing her tattoos with me on the subway and then writing so eloquently about them for us to read here on Tattoosday!

My night in: candy corn, Mad Men, and a comfy bed...perfect!

my night: candy corn, Mad Men, and a comfy bed...perfect!, originally uploaded by daniellehampton.

Friday night

After we opened our amazing presents from Alex, Hank had two shows to play downtown. He is now playing bass in Hot Skin, so they played an all-ages show at Calavera (I love that venue so much) and then a 21+ show at Sundance's.

But let me rewind for a moment since I haven't really posted very much this week! The past few days have been a treat. The weather has been to die for, my students have been in the best moods (two weeks until Fall Break, so of course they are!), and I've spent quite a bit of time with both Hank and friends. I posted about Thursday two entries back, but after work I went and had a peel on my face and I am currently paying for it with the entire first layer of my facial skin peeling off. It's so gross but it really does wonders for my skin. I love my dermatologist, he's more of a cosmetic derm so everything he does is on the spa side, but is covered by insurance. I get peels because I have some scarring on my face from past breakouts. Nothing major at all, but since I'm so pale if I ever get a zit it will leave a faint red dot, which I hate. The peels are totally getting rid of them and I couldn't be happier. Plus, they make my skin feel really nice and glowy. So that was Thursday. On Friday after work Robyn and I took a horribly/wonderfully hard spin class called TGISpin. It's really, really cheesy and they put on party music and disco lights the whole time. Let me tell you, nothing can make that class fun. It's torture, but in a good way I guess. Following class I went over to Calavera to watch Hank play his first show with Hot Skin, then home for a bit, then over to Sundance's. The rest of the night was spent running around downtown, being silly with friends, singing along to Billy Joel songs at the piano bar, running into a million people we knew, and just having a grand ole time. I woke up this morning and headed down to Phoenix so Rhonda could do my hair and I was so happy to spend time with her catching up. It was the highlight of my day! I was going to stay down in Mesa for the evening and go out with my sister, Suki, and friends, but I started to feel a little blah when I got home and decided it would probably be best if I just came back up here and laid low. I'm already feeling better and I'm so, so glad I decided to take it easy. Right now Hank and Matt are having a little sleepover, which is hilarious. I'm talking PJ pants, candy in bowls, and SNL-watching. It's cracking me up. So that's today. And tomorrow, wonderful Sunday, will either be a jam-packed day, or a relaxing day, depending on how I feel. Ideally Hank and I will take Madeline down to Dogtober Fest, which is a big party for dogs down on the Square. Then my friend Tim from CA, who is working the Raw Spirit Vegan Festival that's touring through town this weekend will be coming over to hang out for an hour or two. I'm really looking forward to catching up with him. Then gym, classroom time, and sleep! If I feel shitty though, I'll just see rest all day. Here's to feeling well! I'll leave you with some photos -

my nails are STILL perfect, a week later! I love this polish...and stay posted for a giveaway that I'll post tomorrow that has soooomething to do with this! ;)


Madeline suckling her bed as she naps, it's very weird and very cute!


Hank tuning his bass at Calavera


playing at Sundance's later in the evening


Robyn (she teaches across the hall from me!) and her friend Jordan


Addy




Scott


downtown banjo player


Robyn and the piano man


end of the night...

Presents!

Hank and I have this wonderful friend Alex, who lives in San Francisco. Here's a photo of Alex and Hank at Comic Con this year so you have a visual:



Anyway, the great Alex was kind enough to send us the most amazing housewarming gifts and I just had to share. He sent Hank an unpainted Mummy Boy toy and me TWO Vampire Rose figures, one unpainted and one painted. When I first saw the VR sculpt at SDCC this past summer I just about died from cuteness overload. I am not into toys whatsoever but I loved these little sweeties so, so much...they combine two of my favorite things- vampires and roses! How awesome. So anyway, Alex went ahead and sent these little gems to me and I couldn't be happier, and feel more grateful! THANK YOU ALEX! We can't wait for your visit next month. Here are some photos:

Marcio Freitas, Alta Volta Tattoo & Piercing

Marcio Freitas (Finho) uns dos fundadores do Estúdio Alta Volta Tattoo & Piercing localizado no Rio de janeiro - Tijuca. Estudante de Belas Artes da UFRJ no qual têm influênicas dos mestres (Anfonse Musha, Gaudi) Art Noveou (Monet, Degas) Impressionismo entre outros como Simon Bizley... Venho por meio desta divulgar meus trabalhos neste conceituado site, abraços e sucesso.

Alta Volta Tattoo & Piercing

Rua: Haddock Lobo 200, Lj J - Tijuca, Rio de janeiro

Telefones: 55 - 21 - 2264-2970 / 8428-4570

Site: www.alta.volta.nom.br

Email: altavolta@gmail.com

MSN: alta_volta_tattoo@hotmail.com