Random Tattoos in Edmonton

Taking random tattoos seems to be working out well for me. I have to admit that it would be nice if I had a better phone camera as not all the pictures are of good quality. But having said that, due to these photos being random, the lighting and the quick moment to take a picture is not always ideal for photography. Some of these tattoos are pretty old and do not have the quality of what is being produced today.  So these pictures are truly raw and unrehearsed. I hope this understanding will give the viewers a better appreciation for these awesome people sharing their tattoos.  Tattoos come in all shapes and sizes ... just like their canvas. 

1. The High Seas: These three pictures were taken of a young woman who works in a retail store. She loves marine creatures.  With a hammerhead shark on her foot and a sailing ship with sea creatures on her arm, she makes her passions known. 

   















Also, this young woman has the tattoo "no one heals without a struggle". I think she is right. The process is exhausting before the liberation. 

                                        

2. The next two pictures were taken of a Soccer Mom at a community tournament. The first tattoo I called The Rose & Dagger. The second one I call Timeless because, well for obvious reasons being it is a clock piece, but the pun is that it is still work in progress. She will be continuing to have it filled in. 

3. For all you Doctor Who fans out there, here is the classic icon of the Tardis. I met this young woman while she was working in a retail store. Who says you can't get a job with tattoos!

This lovely young woman also has a bit of poetry inked onto her left shoulder. 

"Living is easy with eyes closed,

Misunderstanding all you see."

4.  The Old Timer I met this old man on a bus. He told me his tattoo was becoming rare because only so many of the guys who got it are still alive. His tattoo is of the Canadian Tri Forces emblem. After researching his name, I discovered he is a poet. I am trying to locate him to do an interview. 



5.  Storm in a Tea Cup.  I met this lady while I was at a medi-center. She was working at the front desk as a medical assistant. You see, women with tattoos do have great jobs! I was thrilled she took the time to let me take a photo of her tattoo and explained what it was. 

6. The Angry Wolf      I met this woman in a local retail store. Since we are in the middle of scheduling an interview, I won't give anything away here. Such a daring and confident young woman. 

7.  While meandering in the grocery store, I happened to spot this man who had just gotten off work and was picking up a bite to eat. Hence,  End of the Work Day. 

8. This one is from an interview that I did with Pat. I met Pat at a professional optical center where I was a customer. It was really generous of her to do an interview with me. This one is An Elephant Never Forgets. 

#womenwithtattoos  #menwithtattoos  #yeg #Edmonton #writerslife #randomtattoos #people #bodyart #bodyink #artisticminds #interviewingpeople #creativeminds #bloggingtattoos #tattooswithmeaning #communications #poetry #inspirational #meetingpeople

Book Review: Polynesian Tattoos Today

This wonderful book Polynesian Tattoo Today was created by Tricia Allen.  Allen has an M.A. Degree in Cultural Anthropology and has a BA. in History / Art. She is also a Tattooist who was featured on the History Channel program The Works: Tattoos. She is also the author of a book called Tattoo Traditions of Hawaii.

Allen has kept Polynesian Tattoo Today very simple to navigate and enjoy. Although there is lots of information throughout the book, it is very much a pictorial book that can be picked up and randomly enjoyed.  In the beginning, she gives a brief formal introduction to the traditional Polynesian and the Pan-Polynesian tattoo art form. The Indigenous artists range from, Marquesan, Tahitian, Rapanui, Tongan, Samoan, Maori, and Hawaiian. But there are some non-Polynesian artists that are featured in this book as well. Allen has chosen to approach the term Polynesian tattooist as someone who is very passionate and respectful of creating Polynesian tattoos. Having said that, most featured artists in this book are indigenous people.

The book is divided into two main sections; THE ART, and the FEATURED ARTISTS. Throughout these two main sections are tidbits of cultural information and also some really great story shares from the featured artists. I also found that there was a personable feel to the pages which I really liked.  And the high-quality photographs are in colour and very beautiful.

One of the big takeaways I have gained from Allen’s message is that it is taboo to copy a Polynesian tattoo and it is considered to be offensive. Each design is very personal and unique to the person who wears it.  So this got me thinking as to how it was possible to have so many people have completely unique or different motifs or designs from each other that stem from a cultural source. But as I slowly turned each page, I could see how some designs could look a bit similar but were indeed quite different from the others. It began to make sense that since each tattoo reflected something personal about the person wearing it, that in itself would be the special ingredient for a unique narrative. And of course, the artist would also provide a personal style to the piece. The collection of photos display some of the older traditional styles but also include some of the modern influences found in Polynesian tattooing.  

At the end of this book, Allen provides the artist's contact information for those who wish to find out more about a particular artist. There is also a nice write up about Tricia Allen courtesy of Ed Hardy. I think it is great that she has the respect of well-known and respected tattoo artists.

I definitely recommend picking up this book because it is informative and visually enjoyable.  You can find it in the local library or go to Tricia Allen’s website http://thepolynesiantattoo.com/.  You can also visit her Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/Tattoo-Traditions-of-Polynesia-56253253877/

Enjoy!

Book Review: by Patricia Travers

Polynesian Tattoo Today

Tattooist and Historian Tricia Allen

285 pages.

Mutual Publishing 2010.

#bookreview #polynesiantattoos #TriciaAllen #EdHardy #library #traditions #Hawaii #photos #pictorial #Tahitian #Tongan #Maori #culture #motifs #Indigenous #artists #tattooists #Marquesan #Rapanui #Samoan #featuredartists #photographs #designs #books

Happy Summer Solstice

Personal Post

I just wanted to say THANK YOU to all of those who have gifted me their time and trust to do personal interviews. I value each sentence, consonant, and vowel. It is my pleasure to provide you with a platform to speak your stories. It’s a wonderful part of the human connection of serving each other.

And THANK YOU to those of you who so sweetly allow me to take your photos for the #random #tattoos of #Edmonton. You people are awesome. I really enjoy doing this!

I have been up and running for a couple of months now and have been slowly building momentum as I putter along. In this short time, I have learned a few things about the Tattoo Community and about myself personally. In the beginning, I was trying to be all organized and create a structured space. Why? Because I’ve been told that  I am a person who needs to create structure in order to stay focused on moving forward. Well … I finally figured out that this is true only to a point. What I really discovered is that I am a very creative person who needs to have lots of flexibility or else I feel the walls of that structure closing in. An example of this is when I decided to just focus on women’s stories. Yes, love the women’s stories, as they are personal and inspiring. I value sisterhood. And it is good for narrowing the audience as a business decision. But geese, the guys have great stories too. By just focusing on the women, I feel that I could be limiting the space of where this project could lead me. So you will notice that I have been including men’s stories as well. Another thing I discovered is that the poet in me is pouting. So I am now working on a poetry project that is inspired by tattoos. This is very exciting for me.

So now, my new structure question is this: Does it have anything to do with a tattoo? If the answer is yes, then I’m in my structure. LMAO   And then,  I can do whatever I feel inspired to do. Pursuing a career as a writer and entrepreneur is a journey into getting to understand the world of creative business, but also a journey of getting to know one’s self as well. Each day brings surprises, challenges, and inspiration.

#inspired #inspiring #thankyou #gratitude #tattoos #writerslife #entrepreneur #projects

Father's Day Wishes

Wishing all you Great Dads out there a  ....



#HappyFathersDay  #menwithkids #fathers

Mums Never Forget

Pat

Hi Pat! That is an interesting tattoo on your leg.  Flowers, butterfly and an Elephant. Would you like to share with us what this all means to you?

Sure, I got this tattoo about seven or eight years ago.

I have always had an affinity for elephants. I’ve been collecting elephants since I was a kid because I have always liked their strength and their grace at the same time. So that is why I got the little elephant in there. The lilies at the bottom were my wedding flower, I had white lilies in my wedding bouquet but white doesn’t transfer well into tattoos, so I went with the red. And then my dad, he passed away when I was pregnant with my daughter and he always liked primroses, so these primroses are in his memory. The butterfly is a swallowtail butterfly. My husband and I took a picture of one with some lilacs. We always find a little butterfly. Normally the swallowtail is yellow with blue ends but we did it in the reverse. (laughs)  This tattoo basically circumferences my family and parts of my life, and that is what I am all about … my family. I am going to get one that symbolizes my kids one day.

End

#tattoos #womenwithtattoos #elephants #legtattoos #moms #butterflytattoos #primrosetattoo #family

The 2015 Paris Tattoo Exhibition

It is so wonderful to see tattoos being displayed as a respectable art form.

#tattooexhibition #youtubevideo #Paris

Random Tattoos of Edmonton

I have been having fun collecting some pictures for my random tattoos of Edmonton. It has been a great way to meet people and do some networking. It isn't always easy to get a great photo from taking spontaneous pictures since I am just using an old cell phone to get the shots, but sometimes I am quite surprised and relieved to see they come out decent. Some are from sports events, shopping malls, parking lots, and random moments. I have decided to definitely keep doing this. 

Portrait in the Parking Lot


                                                            





                          The Eye and The Tiger








            





Waiting for the LRT 
                 





                               


                     Programming the Sheeple










Casual













                                     The Beautiful Rose









Soccer Mom




   

                                     








                                                Very Cool Pisces







Yes, yes she does!



#picturesoftattoos #menwithtattoos #womenwithtattoos #randomtattoos,
#regularpeople

Proud Dad

While at the Edmonton Play-On ball hockey tournament this weekend, I noticed one of my son’s teammates’ Dad had both arms tattooed.  As I took photos of his arms for my Random Tattoos of Edmonton, he began to describe what his tattoos were about. The colourful images of skeleton creatures began to take on a new shape as I had a new insight as to what they represented.

At first, the blue waves of ink with the two skeleton fish with red eyes, snapping their teeth looked intimidating and raw, but then the image began to soften with the knowledge that it represents the astrological water sign of the Pisces which honors Jason’s son Logan.  The red symbol in the middle is the traditional symbol for Pisces. Having his son’s name etched into the picture was a nice touch.

On his other arm, Jason displays the fiery oranges and reds of the astrological fire sign Leo. The traditional symbol of the Leo stands out in a picture of flames and a skeleton lion image. This work of art is to honor his daughter CayLey who is a Leo. I apologize for not getting the full image of the lion in the photo, as I was focused on his daughter's name and the symbol of the Leo. I should have checked the images before moving on.

I thought Jason’s tattoos were a great example of how one person’s idea of an image being a little raw and scary can be another person’s idea of beautiful artwork that has loving endearment. It’s all about perspective. And another great example of how not to judge the tough-looking tattooed guy.

#menwithtattoos #playonballhockey #Edmonton #yeg #Pisces #Leo #tattoos #bodyart #astrologytattoos #dads

Video Review: History Channel: The Works: Tattoos

Video Review: History Channel: The Works: Tattoos       

Time:45min.  Released: 2008

Daniel H. Wilson is the host for the History Channel program called The Works. In this episode, Daniel takes the audience on an interesting perspective into the subculture of tattooing. But before I reflect upon the program itself, I think it is important to know or understand who our host is and where his perspective is coming from.

Daniel has an M.S in Robotics, an M.S. in Machine Learning and his Ph.D. in Robotics. He has also gone on to win awards for Novels, short fiction, and nonfiction. Books like "How to Survive a Robot Uprising” and “Robopocalypse” have put him on the author’s bestsellers list. He has also worked on comics and graphic novels and film.

I’ll be straightforward and say that  I really liked this video. I liked how in the beginning of his introduction he introduced tattoos by using examples of respectable or well-known people such as The Rock, Thomas Edison, Queen Victoria, and Lady Churchill. This immediately chiseled off the stereotype perspective that only bad people get tattoos. He also does a quick glance at the history of tattoos and where they are still not accepted today. This includes reflecting upon the past with the Iceman and his 57 tattoos and the importance of cultural history being recorded through tattoos.

But what I really like about this video is that Daniel educates people about the science behind tattooing. This includes how the skin reacts with the ink and the bioscience of how it lasts. Being an intelligent person and one who indulges in practical facts, Daniel likes to offer definitions, what is in the ink,  the mechanics of how the equipment works and sterilization. And just as important, the evolution of tattoo removal and how all that works.

Daniel also keeps the tone of the show very down to earth and personable. He interviews different artists, with Crazy Eddie in Philadelphia being one of them, and undergoes the experience of getting his first tattoo.

I thought The Works: Tattoo was an intelligent, informative and entertaining video. It was full of fun facts and very interesting. I highly recommend it.

To see what Daniel H. Wilson up to, you can visit his website or Facebook page.

#historychannel #theworks #DanielHWilson #videoreview #moviereview #robotics #Robopocalypse #tattoos #iceman #cultralhistory #japanesetattoos #robottattoo #science #mechanics #tattooremoval #CrazyEddie #firsttattoo #theworkstattoo