Spiky Lamp Posts

One thing I learned about New York City is that anything can be fun and turn into art as well. Looking at the lamp posts from a distance I was intrigued on finding out what was them decorated with. It was eye catching, super cool and looked awesome.

Once I got closer I realized it was made using the simplest thing on hand and I wondered how come no one ever thought about it before.

I stood there and had to take a few pictures so I can share a fun, cool and creative way of making the lamp posts appealing without having to re-design or try to go fancier to make them look better.

The Pictures were taken at Astor Place.

Ladybug Tattoo Meanings: Pictures And Popular Style Ideas

Why are ladybug tattoos so popular? This is a subject that is debatable. Some say it is because the ladybug possesses a perfect visual balance of beauty and cuteness, while others say the ladybug is a symbol of love and compassion. Still others say it is a symbol of good fortune and luck.

Whatever the true meaning behind the reason for getting a ladybug tattoo, they are an awfully appealing creature - almost everyone agrees on this.

Ladybug Tattoo Meanings And Ideas
The meaning may have something to do with the ladybug's demeanor when they are disturbed. They can actually bite, although most people do not realize this, they also release a small amount of their own blood when angry. The blood is a yellow-orange color and it can stain. Therefore, the ladybug may be chosen because it is cute, but can be quite unladylike when provoked.

Ladybug tattoos are colorful and the designs are often quite realistic. Usually offering a feminine look, but we're also beginning to see an increase in the amount of tribal designs as well. They can range from a single bug to a chain of ladies. They are often part of a design that includes flowers and other elements of nature.

Choosing A Location For The Design
The ladybug tattoo is a choice that women make often because they are small, easily concealable, and can be placed practically anywhere on the body. The feet are one of the places ladybug tattoos are most often requested. The arm or hand is another spot for the ladybug tattoo and some people have even had them tattooed on their face.

More Ladybug Tattoo Meanings And History
The ladybug meaning is largely dependent on the insect itself. They are, as previously mentioned a sign of good luck. Killing a ladybug is widely regarded as bad luck. The number of spots on the insects back is supposed to tell you how many years of good fortune to expect.

All of these aspects are taken into consideration when choosing a tattoo of a ladybug. The beliefs associated with this critter are often the decision maker for getting this type of artwork. The red color is linked to vitality, passion, love, energy and heat. Other subjects related to a ladybug tattoo include friendship, luck, happiness, protection and good deeds.

An old belief that is associated with this insect is that if a person is ill and a ladybug lands on them, it will take the illness from the person. This is one reason the ladybug is considered to be a sign of continued good health and vitality.

Blending With Other Tattoo Designs
One reason for choosing a ladybug design is the way they compliment other types of tattoos. For example, they look great with floral designs as well as butterflies and other nature related concepts.

There are not many insects that can claim to be this adorably cute, while maintaining such a high level of enchanting beautiful. The ladybug is often enhanced for tattoo purposes such as adding features like bows or larger eyes. We've also seen some rather creative artwork where the black dots on the body of the ladybug have been turned into hearts or stars.

Tattoed Calves - Great Spot for Ink

Walking in the Downtown area I noticed awesome looking Ink from across the street and I decided to stop the woman who proudly displayed fantastic work of art.

Calves are awesome areas in the body to have decorated with Ink designs, especially when you have flawless skin. there was more to photograph since the person has such amazing taste for body art and I hope I get to feature most of her tattoos and piercings soon.

Outstanding, thats how I can describe all the amazing wrok she has on the rest of her body which is appealing and easy on the eyes. It is a great feeling to stand out from the rest on a high artistic level like she does.

If you're interested in having your work displayed or your business featured on Inked Plus email me for detail: InkedPlus@Live.com

St. Marks - New York City

St. Marks is one of the best hangout areas in Downtown Manhattan. Here you can find plenty of everything for everyone, awesome bars, food places and clothing stores. When you visit the strip you will notice most people have something in common, appreciation for Body Art.

St. Marks have an eclectic selection of restaurant and food spots where you can pick a quick bite or sit at a table to have dinner alone or with friends. There is plenty of Vegetarian / Vegan Restaurants and quick bites as well.

One thing you will notice for sure is the endless amount of Tattoo / Piercing Parlors from start to end. This area has an interesting appeal all year round and people who live or work in the area are welcoming and pleasant.

It is a very relaxed and casual environment, totally inhibited where you can simply be yourself and don't have to worry about non-sense or fake impersonations of what the perfect everything should be, St. Marks is already perfect by being free spirited and open to reality.

Art can be anywhere, everything is surrounded by creativity and artistic vision, from a van full of graffiti to public art exhibits.

Getting Inked Up? - Remember This

Everyday I hear stories about tattoos, some are good and some are bad. Most people life happily for the rest of their lives with their Ink and some simply regret having it applied to their body, it makes me wonder why, why the regret. What can make someone regret having a tattoo done, here's what I believe.

Possible reasons to regret a tattoo

1) Ignorance: Sometimes people decide to go get tattooed without doing research first, just because someone like a specific artist does not meant you have to like the same artist too. Someone might think that a tattoo done at someone's backyard that costs twenty dollars might look good in their eyes but that does not mean it has to appeal to everyone.

I've seen people who like certain styles, designs, artists, etc. they see in the magazines and they wish they could have something in their body that looks as good as what they see but never go for it, they decide to stick to the basics and after they get the work done they still wish what they got looked as good as they one they saw in the mag.

Remember this

The basics on getting the best tattoo are easy
a) Do research: Don't go for the first tattooer you cross paths with, you have to like their style, it really has to be appealing on a high level. If you look at a tattooers work and you really think looks good enough (magazine appeal), go for it.

b) Hygiene: That's one of the most important to have in consideration. Tattoos do get infected and the scar it leaves behind is even worst. Most tattooers have knowledge on how important hygiene is regardless of the size of the studio they work at.

c) Appeal: When you're waiting for you turn to get tattooed you want to feel at peace, confortable and confident that the work will come out good, at relaxed environment helps a lot. Believe it or not, a chaotic environment is not the best environment to get Inked. I've seen tattoo shops where people are screaming, yelling, using foul language, sexually explicit jokes and even fighting while having customers and they simply don't realize they're creating a hostile work environment which is not good for them and the customers.

If you go to a tattoo parlor and you don't feel confortable the best thing to do is leave. Reputable shops make sure that thier customers are confortable being in an appealing environment, also most reputable shop employees have excellent customer service skills (who knew!).

d) Customer's Health: If you have a health issue that concerns you at the time you're about to get tattooed make sure you get advice from the artist. He or She will be open about what's best, your health comes first.

Horse Tattoo Meanings: Ideas And Pictures For Girls And Guys

Horse tattoos are a little out of the ordinary, or at least they are not quite as common as many other popular design choices, but mankind's passion for these beautiful creatures has been in existence for a very long time. Early man drew pictures of horses on the walls of caves.

There were certain tribes in ancient times that worshiped horses. The horse has been man's companion for thousands of years. In Greek mythology, Pegasus, the winged horse is known for the magical powers he possesses as well as being immortal.

Horse Tattoo Meanings
The meaning associated with horse tattoos today likely has a lot to do with the companionship they have provided to mankind over the years. Warriors of old believed the horse was their most faithful companion and would not go into battle without them. The horse is a majestic animal and can recognize their owners in addition to returning the love they receive from them.

Horse tattoos can be a symbol of faithfulness, strength and beauty. Noblemen used to keep horses in stables where they were well taken care of and bred for sports and for transportation. Owning several horses was considered to be a sign of wealth.

Passion For The Racehorse
The racehorse is another reason for horse tattoos. There are several in the world of racing today that are considered legends. Winning the prestigious races such as the Kentucky Derby assures the horse of a lifetime of ease when they are too old to race. The owners of these racehorses will sometimes get tattoos that are symbolic of their horse.

Horse Tattoo Symbolism
Often a horse tattoo will be a symbol of strength such as one carrying a warrior into battle. Celtic horses are popular choices for tattoos. Rodeo riders often choose the horse tattoo because this is their life. They love the horses and are more comfortable on a horse than anywhere.

As you can see, the basic meaning of a horse tattoo is strength and courage in recognition for carrying man and providing companionship over several thousand years.

The horse is also credited as being one of the largest providers when it came to improving civilization. They have contributed in so many ways that they are viewed as one of the most noble animals on earth.

Native Americans recognize the horse as a messenger. Believing that they relayed spiritual knowledge to humans and thereby provided wisdom, the horse is immensely popular as a tribal tattoo.

The belief held by the Native Americans was that the horse was a wild and powerful spirit but when mutual respect between man and horse was achieved, this power could be harnessed. These are just a few of the reasons the horse tattoo has become so popular.

Women Often Adore Horse Tattoos
The horse tattoo for women is a symbol of stamina, strength, stability and often chosen for the special bond they have created with horses. The preferred horse tattoo for most women is the stallion. This is due to the untamed beauty that is symbolized by the stallion.

Also, in many cases there is a strong bond between girls and horses at a very young age, as many girls wish for a pony during their adolescent years.

Tattoo Style Ideas
The typical drawings for these designs show the animal in motion, with their manes flowing as if the wind were at their back. The tattoo can be of a personal favorite horse, a favorite breed or one that simply catches the eye of the individual.

Larger designs are typically located on the back or the torso area of the individual, while the arms and shoulder area is always a popular area for these gorgeous animals to be inked.

Body Piercing Jewelry Update

Jewelry has never been just a girl thing. Men and women have equally been found of especially body piercing jewelry, from very old times.

The history of body piercing jewelry goes back to at least a good 2000 years back. Piercing and tattooing is a very ancient art, and was practiced in many countries all over the world. In countries of ancient culture piercing was taken as a religious art. In Egypt, only the royal families were allowed to get body pierced to wear jewelry, for it was considered to be a right of only the privileged class. Though the medieval ages completely shunned the body piercing culture, with the later ages, it came in to forefront all over again and has gained immense popularity for many years now.

The way the young crowd sees piercing is from a completely different point of view. While some take it as a style statement, many find it to be an expression of their own personality. For that, they want to wear the body jewelry every day; some even want to wear it to work. This is accepted that not all kinds of piercing jewelry should or can be worn to offices of the most common nature. Piercings like those on the lips or the corset piercing or the piercing of the more wild types are never suited for an office environment.

That should not be a reason to get sad, for ear piercing and nose piercing are usually allowed by any type of work places. Even the eye brow piercings are also accepted by some work places, if the environment is not much conservative and the piercing jewelry is not too gaudy. A small barbell or small sober colored banana or spike should go well with many work places. As for the nose piercing, rings are not much appreciated in many offices. However, a small stud or cone should not be trouble at most liberal work places.

For students, wearing piercing jewelry is not really a problem. Though the more unconventional ones would not go well down with the authorities, the simple ones like lip or labret jewelry, belly button rings, eye brow jewelry or even the industrial piercings, if kept within a limit, should not be of much problem.

However, it all differs from institution to institution. Work places which are more of a flexible or creative nature, like restaurants or music cafes or even stores, do not put much restriction on the use of regular piercing jewelry for their employees. It is a common sight in television to catch chefs or musicians heavily pierced and wearing different jewelry items in lips and eye brows and biceps and so many places. But not everyone is lucky like them, for the most common mass of people have to work in conventional places.

A wholesale body jewelry shop is such a place where you can find body jewelry of any type for any use, and within a very affordable price range.

Tin: Internal Clock soon at Last Rites Gallery - New York City

Tin: Internal Clock

October 1st – October 23rd

Opening Reception:

Saturday, October 1st, 7-11pm

Last Rites Gallery presents Internal Clock, new works by Tin, in what will be the artist’s second solo show at the gallery.

Working with a neutral color palette of oil pastels, artist Tin creates dream worlds where beautiful women intermingle with rigid machinery. His exaggerated female forms maintain a sensual pin-up quality, while casting an undeniable air of mystery. Combining innocent eyes and soft flesh with manufactured industrial parts, the viewer is lured into a dark fairytale where natural and mechanical elements seamlessly co-exist.

Influenced as a child by comic books and cartoons, Tin states that his real passion creating art did not come until later in life, spurned by a brush with his own mortality: “I sketched from time to time and did ok in high school art class. Then I became a fisherman, like the kind out of the movie Perfect Storm. I almost died three times and should have lost my drawing hand at least a dozen times. After my last close call with death I decided to become an artist.” Tin went on to do commercial and pin-up art for 7 years, but his art took a turn as he felt unchallenged with what he was creating. He says “The art I was doing had no heart. So one day I was finishing a pin-up girl and I remember saying out loud to myself ‘If I only had a heart’- which reminded me of the Tin Man from The Wizard Of Oz. At that moment I decided to do more interesting works and call myself Tin.”

Last Rites Gallery

511 W 33rd Street, NYC

212.529.0666

info@lastritesgallery.com

Last Rites Gallery Announcement

Laurie Lipton:

Carnival Of Death

New York, New York

October 1st – October 23rd

Opening Reception:

Saturday, October 1st, 7-11pm

Last Rites Gallery presents The Carnival Of Death, new works by Laurie Lipton, in what will be her first solo show at the gallery.

A master of graphite, Laurie Lipton’s detailed drawings explore the passages of life and the portal into death. With technical prowess, she approaches her subject matter with a unique blend of both elegance and dark humor. Influenced by Día de los Muertos iconography, this exhibit runs just prior to The Day Of The Dead, commemorating the holiday by which it was inspired.

“I became fascinated by the contrast between the Day Of The Dead festival in Mexico and my experience of my mother's death. My parents were atheists. We had no ceremony, no goodbyes, no "closure". My father instructed the hospital to cremate my mother and dispose of her ashes. She was gone, disappeared, zapped out of existence. I was left with Nothing... literally and metaphysically. Friends & family treated my mother's death like an embarrassment. They awkwardly murmured Hallmark platitudes before slinking uneasily away. Death is as forbidden a topic in modern society as sex was in Victorian England.

When I visited Mexico in order to see The Day Of The Dead festival some years later, I couldn't help feeling envious of their approach to mortality. Families gathered on graves and picnicked, whole villages turned up with food for households in mourning. Death was treated as normal, even silly. Candied skulls grinned in their hundreds and skeletons danced in a fair-ground atmosphere. I decided to rebel against my heritage and create drawings inspired by the mood and atmosphere of the Mexicans. I decided to get in-touch with my bare bones. My culture runs from death, screaming. We worship youth, beauty and the illusion that we have all the time in the world. We frantically face-lift and botox, and throw pills, creams and money at death. We fool ourselves into thinking that death only happens to other people & only losers die. Skulls always look like they're laughing. Maybe the joke is on us?”
-Laurie Liption

About The Artist:
Laurie Lipton was born in New York and began drawing at the age of four. She was the first person to graduate from Carnegie-Mellon University in Pennsylvania with a Fine Arts Degree in Drawing (with honours). She has lived in Holland, Belgium, Germany,France and London and has recently moved back to the States after 35 years abroad. Her work has been exhibited extensively throughout Europe and the USA.

Lipton was inspired by the religious paintings of the Flemish School. She tried to teach herself how to paint in the style of the 17th century Dutch Masters and failed. When traveling around Europe as a student, she began developing her very own peculiar drawing technique building up tone with thousands of fine cross-hatching lines like an egg tempera painting. "It's an insane way to draw", she says, "but the resulting detail and luminosity is worth the amount of effort".

Lady Gaga's Labia Ring

It is not surprising to find out Lady Gaga have her genitals pierced, whats more amazing is to actually taking a peek at it. Known by her eccentricity and love for a positive "be yourself" attitude Lady Gaga has given everyone something else to look at and take notes.

To take a closer look click on the link below.


Go to Inked Plus Raw

Heart Tattoo Meanings And Pictures

Heart tattoos are popular because they are a symbol of love. It has been considered such for a long time and will likely continue to be associated with this very powerful emotion. Love is a subject that stirs very deep emotions and the heart is directly connected to these emotions.

History Of The Heart Tattoo
Credited with being the first group recognized as wearing the heart as a tattoo design were sailors. The meaning behind the tattoo was to show their love for the ones they left behind while at sea. Often a small piece of artwork to symbolize their everlasting remembrance and admiration for braveness.

Heart Tattoos Have Many Meanings And Varied Designs
The heart tattoo has changed somewhat since the early days of body art, but the meaning is still very much the same. They are worn by both men and women. The heart can be large, small or medium in size and are often incorporated with and alongside other designs.

Angels and other spiritual designs are often associated with heart tattoos. They can be neatly etched, loaded with color or can resemble a cartoon animation. The design is easily customized, resulting in a very versatile tattoo that can easily blend with pretty much any style of design.

The meaning of the heart is different depending on the person. The classic red depiction is usually associated with love. Adding a name is a popular theme for the heart tattoo. Including flowers means both love and a passionate situation or setting. The combination of a rose and a heart is another very strong symbol of love.

Heartbreak And Happiness
If the heart tattoo is joined by swords, daggers or knives, this is a sign of betrayal by a loved one or a lost love. The tattoo depicting a dagger or knife in the heart means that someone that you loved hurt you as in piercing your heart. Winged hearts mean the wearer of the tattoo is happy and lighthearted.

So many subjects can be combined with the heart that it is hard to keep up with the meaning of all of them. One of the most popular tattoos for couples that are apart often such as in the military, is a half heart. This is a symbol of their love for each other and when they are together, the heart becomes one. If a person has a tattoo of both halves of a broken heart, this is another symbol of being hurt or suffering a broken heart as the result of a loved ones actions.

Hearts Dedicated To Mothers
One particular heart design that is worn by many and has become almost a nationwide symbol of the love felt for mothers is a 'Mom heart.' This is worn by countless sons and daughters around the world, even including villainous prison inmates and gang members who sometimes sport this popular artwork. Basically, anyone who wants to let the world know their mom is the person that will always have their heart.

Names And Initials
On the other hand, if you choose a heart tattoo and put the name or initials of your girlfriend inside the heart, you are proclaiming your unwavering love to this individual, but many have regretted this choice. A heart with keys inside means your heart is locked in a permanent relationship.

There are countless heart designs and subjects for those who want this type of tattoo. They are popular because they can be worn practically anywhere on the body. From a tiny heart that no one knows is there, to a large masterpiece that proclaims your love to the world, the heart tattoo has been a symbol of one kind of love or another for many years, and plenty more to come.