The Tattooed Poets Project: Elliott D. Smith

I met Elliott D. Smith at the Union Square Barnes & Noble last month and took pictures of his tattoos for The Tattooed Poets Project. I also met his roommate Jared, whose work will appear here tomorrow.

Elliott has quite a bit of work, including a sleeve-in-progress, which is being constructed by the wonderfully talented Joy Rumore at Twelve 28 Tattoo in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

Check out this composite of Elliott's right arm:

This still-incomplete tattoo is part of a sleeve based on a mural at the Morgan Street stop on the L train in Brooklyn.

Photo by Elliott D. Smith

The sleeve has the Alice in Wonderland figure at its center, but a lot of other images, like the banana as well. Elliott pointed out in the photo above that the banana (lower right corner) is much smaller. For the purpose of the art of the tattoo sleeve, its scale has been increased significantly.

Elliott added that he visually enjoys the image of the mural, and his "own little Alice in Wonderland dream land" is slowly taking shape on his flesh.

Also on his right arm with the sleeve is this quote from "The Transformation of Silence into Language and Action," by Audre Lourde:

The quote is "I am not only a casualty, I am also a warrior."

There are times when a writer's words resonate so loudly in your ears, they shake you to your core. Elliott told me that he "read it [these lines] one day and the next day got the tattoo."

He offered up this interpretation of the line: "it's easy to think of yourself as victim," he said, but succeeding in life is about "surviving and fighting through victimhood".

Elliott also has these words on his outer wrists:

This is the third poet this month with "poet" inked on his or her flesh. However, the combination of "freedom poet" adds another dimension to the corporeal text.

This was a "spur of the moment" tattoo, Elliott told me, elaborating that aside from the obvious "poet," he is "holding freedom in his hand and facing out".

Finally, we don't get a lot of lower back tattoos here on Tattoosday, but when we do, they are extraordinary:

Elliott took a couple of photos into Joy and she crafted this design. The concept is a spin on the "power to the people" idea, but with an emphasis on urban people. "Most Americans live in cities," he explained, "but [they] don't have power". This is a spin on the frustration that many feel, that the values of the citizenry of the American cities are not represented by the government.

As for poetry, Elliott offered us this work:

EARNING STRIPES

I own thirteen striped shirts.

I have known the misfortune of wearing lines on skin,

stretch marks and self-hate carve flesh in convincing fashion.

No lover has ever asked me why

I have known the misfortune of wearing lines on skin,

razor blade reminders tattoo thighs with teenage dreams.

No lover has ever asked me why

it was so easy to steal from myself.

Razor blade reminders tattoo thighs with teenage dreams,

this belly, a thanksgiving turkey for carving--

it was so easy to steal from myself

when I didn’t believe I had anything to give.

This belly, a thanksgiving turkey for carving.

Sliced up white meat

when I didn’t believe I had anything to give.

Mother doesn’t know there’s blood on the stairs.

Sliced up white meat,

stretch marks and self-hate carve flesh in convincing fashion.

Mother doesn’t know there’s blood on the stairs.

I own thirteen striped shirts.

~ ~ ~

Elliott D. Smith reps Louisville, Cincinnati, and Brooklyn. When he's not  working with formerly incarcerated people or conducting research on masculinity, he drinks whiskey and talks too loudly. He believes in the power of tattoos, reference books, and matching music with the weather.

Thanks to Elliott for sharing his ink and his poetry here with us on Tattoosday!

This entry is ©2011 Tattoosday. The poem is reprinted here with the permission of the author.

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Various Back Tattoos

Various Back Tattoos

Find Tattoo For Girls Style and ur body shape

Tattoos for girls Ultimate Tattoo Collection
 For the first half century after tattooing became commonplace there were few tattoos for girls. In fact, except for the small handful of rebellious women, many girls got tattooed at all.
  But, all of that changed about twenty five years ago when tattooing became more socially acceptable, largely due to the many celebrities who publicly sported tattoos. Some of these were women, and so the girl tattoo became more common and acceptable. Nowadays you see a whole genre of tattoos for girls. I would say the list of the top tattoos for girls would have to include butterflies tattoo, fairies tattoo, stars tattoo, hearts tattoo, flowers tattoo, dolphins tattoo and fish tattoo. But other popular tattoos for girls are tribal tattoo, Celtic tattoo and Zodiac tattoo designs. And the prime location for these tattoos would be the wrist tattoo, leg tattoo, lower back tattoo and even the breast tattoo. The tattoo in the picture is a perfect example of a tattoo for girls. It features a butterfly tattoo that is done with plenty of color and shading. It’s placed on this women’s breast in just the perfect position to highlight both the design and the natural curvature of her breast. I bet if you put your mind into it you could also find a design that fits your style and body shape.

Rose tattoo designs and music notes tattoos for left lower back

Rose tattoo designs and music notes tattoos

Girly tattoos

Design Lower Back Tattoos

Design Lower Back Tattoos By Using Your Imagination




Tattoos are quickly becoming one of the most popular forms of self-expression.

As an art form, tattoos are often sophisticated, deeply creative and meaningful ways for people to give tribute to the things that hold meaning for them, or to capture a significant time or event in their life.

One popular location for a tattoo is the lower back. Lower back tattoos can be placed in the middle of the back, or to one side. They can be very small, or quite large, spreading all the way across, from side to side.

In the past, lower back designs were often tribal, Celtic or scrolling in design, and these are still prominent, and can be very attractive. However, any design can be used on the lower back and look great.

When you're choosing a design for your lower back tattoo, don't rush to pick something. Take your time to think about what has significance for you. You don't have to choose a traditional style unless you want to.

Many people are choosing tattoo designs of animals, such as a bird in flight, or perched on a limb, insects (to look like they are crawling along the top of your waist band), butterflies, Koi fish, cats, or any other favorite animal or pet. Your tattoo artist can add artful details, and make the animal look very realistic, or even cartoonish.

Another popular design style for lower back tattoos is words. You might have a favorite lyric to a song, or a meaningful quote that you'd like to have as a tattoo. The lower back is a great place for this.

The design can be simply the words, or you can have art added if you feel it would add beauty or more meaning to the words.

Krystynna Shares Her First Tattoo

Krystynna walked by me on 7th Avenue on Monday, and her tattoos on her wrists, behind her right ear, and her left bicep were totally cool.

When I realized a sidewalk photo of her quarter-sleeve wouldn't do it justice, which she confirmed when she later told me it ran up onto her shoulder, I asked if she would rather have me take a picture of a different tattoo.

Kristynna surprised me by offering up her first tattoo, a large lower back piece. Remember, folks, I never take a lower back tattoo unless its offered, according to the Tattoosday Code of Conduct.

Kristynna got the initial piece on the lower back, some flash art on the wall at Armageddon Tattoo when she was 17, ten years ago. She subsequently added little bits and pieces to make it into a larger piece over the years.

She has 9 tattoos in all, all done by Iann at Armageddon. Kristynna works as a Special Needs Educator for kids and acknowledges that the children love her tattoos, and the parents have no issues with them, either. This is good news, because the tattoos she has visible are extremely well-done, and I am looking forward to her sending me shots of the arm that do the piece
justice.

Thanks to Kristynna for sharing her ink with us here on Tattoosday!