Heritage Part II

Remember this one? Alright folks, did you figure out where this fellow is from? I mentioned he wasn't from this country and that this image would remind him of home. Well, his home is England and St. George is the patron saint of his home country.

"In 1940, when the civilian population of Britain was subjected to mass bombing by the Luftwaffe, King George V1 instituted the George Cross for 'acts of the greatest heroism or of the most conspicuous courage in circumstances of extreme danger'. The award, which is second only to the Victoria Cross, the highest military decoration, is usually given to civilians and can be given posthumously. The award consists of a silver cross. On one side is depicted St George slaying the dragon, with the inscription,'For Gallantry'; on the other appear the name of the holder and the date of the award. For lesser, but still outstanding acts of courage, the King created the George Medal. This also is a silver cross, with on one side the reigning monarch and on the other St George slaying the dragon. The island of Malta was awarded the George Cross for its heroism in resisting attack during World War 11. " From Brittania History: St. George by Michael Collins

Follow this link if you would like to read the full article about this legendary soldier and protector of the poor and defenseless.

http://www.britannia.com/history/stgeorge.html

Tattoo Convention

Alright folks it's here; the Full Moon Tattoo Festival and Horror convention starts today! We will be at the Airport Marriott from noon today through 6 p.m. Sunday tattooing our little hearts out and greeting as many people as possible. Come on out and check out the goings-on; there are plenty of things for you to see. Comic books galore, t-shirts, old posters, hard to find action figures, actors signing autographs, tattoo artists doing tattoos, tattoo contests, movie screenings! All kinds of things will be going on; so, come on out and enjoy!

Remember, it's all happening at the Airport Marriott off of Briley Parkway and Elm Hill Pike in Nashville, Tennessee! See you there!

Iwo Jima breast cancer awareness and family tribute tattoo.

This young man wanted to ink a tribute to his mother (who is a breast cancer survivor) and to his siblings and thought a great whimsical way to do that would be to have little toy green army men raising a pink, battle worn breast cancer ribbon Iwo Jima style! How cool is that? Anyway, you can see here the first and the final sessions. I'm quite pleased with the final result and I'm pretty sure he is too! His sister (who came from out of state to watch the final session) seemed suprised to learn that quality tattoo work could be found in such a small, out of the way town like Greenbrier, Tennessee!

Motorcycle Chain Tattoo

J.P. came in this week and we finished up his motorcycle chain on his wrist! Now, I let him know right off the rip that this was not my favorite subject matter; anything that is repetitive is never fun for me. I also informed him that I hated him; but only until the tattoo is finished! After that, we're cool!

Seriously though, this is the image he wanted and I was happy to make his vision come true. I also welcome the challenge and look forward to doing more work for J.P. in the future.

Remember folks; Greenbrier's best tattoo studio will be at the Full Moon Tattoo and Horror Festival from the 23rd through the 25th of this month at the Airport Marriott just off of Briley Parkway and Elm Hill Pike! Come by and see what kind of badass tattoos we're doing and check out what kind of wild people are getting them done!

A little about heritage...

Recently, I've been discussing various reasons for getting certain tattoos; from memorial portraits, to simply adorning the body beautiful. Well, here's one more for you; heritage. Can you tell me anything about this person simply by looking at this indelible image on his side? If you think about it hard I'm certain you can. Here's a hint for you; he aint from around here! He currently lives here (in the U.S.) with his wife (she is from here) and child. Well, think on it, and in a future blog I'll let you know where he is from and why this image is connected to the country he was born and raised in.

Until then, keep tuned into the tattoo community and remember that we will be working at the Full Moon Tattoo/Horror Convention from April 23rd through the 25th in Nashville, Tennessee at the Airport Marriott off Briley Parkway and Elm Hill Pike. We will be there from noon til midnight Friday and Saturday and noon til 5 or 6 Sunday. Be sure to come by, visit our table and say hello! There will be many bizarre, freaky, and delightfully entertaining people to see and mingle with! Also, new to the convention this year will be the one and only Dee Snider of Twisted Sister fame! That's right! Dee mother-effin' Snider! There will also be some of the favorites from B-movie fame; Bill Moseley of The Devil's Rejects and Doug Bradley from Hellraiser to name just two! So come on out and see the sights!

Peace!

Choosing images for your tattoo

I did this piece on Marty Eubanks this past Monday for his "spiritual" arm. I thought I would use this piece as an example of choosing an image to have tattooed on your body.

In days gone by clients would walk into a tattoo parlor, look at the flash on the wall (usually hand drawn by the resident tattoo artist), choose a picture from said flash and then have the image inked into their skin. This practice still goes on today and many, if not most, tattoo establishments still have flash on their walls to this day. However, you as a client are not limited to picking from flash any more!

It is becoming more common with the ever growing popularity and easy to use thing we call the internet to find very interesting and tattooable images online! The availability of images out there is mind boggling; the only limitation is image size! Be sure that the piece you choose is as big as you can find; small grainy/pixilated pieces are next to useless! Also be sure that the image is legal for you to use. The idea is to find a piece or several pieces that are a general idea of what you are looking for and then find an artist who can draw that for you.

Image options are limitless; I've done tattoos from images found on t-shirts, boxer shorts, comic books, magazines, tile patterns, dollar bills, paintings...the list goes on and on. Keep your eyes open and don't be afraid to bring in your image and see if it is appropriate for a tattoo; chances are...it is!

Thanks again to Sensei Marty Eubanks for choosing me to bring his tattoo to life. I'm not exactly nearby and it takes a minute for him to make the drive to the Nashville area just to get a tattoo. I appreciate that!

Sometimes tattoos mean something...

I recently did this black and grey piece for my friend from World Champion Karate Academy, Sensei Marty Eubanks. His right upper arm will be devoted to the spiritual aspects of his life and will serve as a reminder of the path he has chosen as well as a reminder of the pain that we endure is nothing when compared to the pain Christ went through for our forgiveness. Hats off to Sensei Marty and thanks for the opportunity to bring this piece to life for you.

Sometimes our tattoos hold no meaning; they're simply pretty pieces of art on our bodies. There's nothing wrong with this...a good bit of my tattoos fit into this category. Sometimes; however, you simply have to put something on your body to jog a memory or commemorate a special event. Some people put their child's footprints on their body to display their pride in being a parent. Others have portraits of deceased loved ones to show their love and happy memories of that person. Marty chose to have his Savior tattooed on him to do the same; display his pride in Christ...but also to remind him that some have suffered much more than he has and also to remind him of the direction he has chosen in his life. He uses the tattoo as a conversation piece to help others who may be in the same types of situations he has found himself in over the years. I hope this tattoo will help him with his goals and I pray it helps him to help others in their time of need.

I am proud that Marty chose to make the trip to the Nashville area from Kentucky to get inked by little ol' me in Greenbrier, Tennessee. Thanks, Marty; it means a lot to me.

Jenn's Sacred Heart

I am humbled by the trust people place in me to not only do quality tattoos for them but also to choose the best placement for their tattoo. Jenn originally wanted a Sacred Heart tattoo on her chest; but, after checking out the available spot, I decided it would be best to place it elsewhere. Unfortunately, her breastbone was just too short for the piece to have the impact she wanted it to have; it would have been less than half as large as it is now. Luckily, she understood and after some discussion about other options, we decided on the inner forearm.

This piece was custom drawn on her arm with a ballpoint pen and is therefore a one of a kind piece...all for Jenn!

Thanks Jenn, for being such a great client and making the trip out to Greenbrier's best little tattoo studio for your work!

Spots added to custom orchid

Check it out everyone! The orchid has been spotted in Greenbrier! I sure am lucky to have such faithful, and trusting clientelle; probably the most faithful tattoo enthusiasts in the Nashville area! This tattoo was fun to do and this young lady and her friends were a joy to be around as well. Thank you all for making this tattoo session so pleasurable.