Penny's Metal Collage

Penny made me feel old.

And I mean no disrespect to her. She was more than cooperative when I stopped and asked her about the unique and colorful tattoo that graces her upper left arm.

However, I was working at a technical disadvantage (borrowed camera) and like many who have met me have observed, I don't necessarily ooze hipness.

Nonetheless, Penny indulged my photographic fumblings and I was able to capture this image, which is a fairly decent photo of her ink:

This piece is based on a collage of pictures Penny took at a handful of metal shows.

"Which bands?" I asked, hoping to find a common ground with this younger person. I cut my teeth on early American metal (I still cherish my vinyl pressing of Metallica's Kill 'Em All on Megaforce records), but then again, that was the '80s. Penny uttered names I had heard (yay me!) but alas, couldn't put in their necessary classifications.

Deathklok. Children of Bodom. Amon Amarth.

What can I say? I'm an ancient 43.

Alas, Penny was a good sport and her tattoo post has just as much to do with my feeling older as it does with her ink. Sorry, Penny.

The work she credited to an artist named Adal, who transformed her pictures into this collage on flesh in two sessions and about five hours, all told.

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

Tom's Pearl Jam Stickman Tattoo

So last night I caught Pearl Jam at Madison Square Garden and, of course, there were tattoos aplenty. But, as I mentioned yesterday, concert-goers generally seem a little more focused on the event at hand than the pursuit of blogfodder by a fellow concert-goer.

Luckily for me, Tom was sitting right behind me and I got him to show me his "Stickman" tattoo. This is one of the band's oldest logos, and is a common piece to get inked by the biggest devotees of the group.


Tom had this inked in 1994 at Da Vinci Tattoo Studio in Wantagh, New York. He had yet to see his first Pearl Jam concert when he had this tattooed on his left ankle. Last night was his 14th show (it was my fifth).

Thanks to Tom for sharing his Stickman with us!