Last Weekend's Tat Con...

We had a booth at the Art Riot tattoo convention in Boxborough, MA last weekend. My mother once told me that if you didn't have anything nice to say, you shouldn't say anything at all.



But, I guess it wasn't all bad. Our friend Myke Chambers was our booth neighbor, so that was a plus. And our booth looked good. And the only other thing worth mentioning is that Katie and I took home some trophies... for being AWESOME!

My Husband Went to Miami...

and all I got were the pictures posted in this blog! Just kidding! While he was getting tattooed down at good old Love Hate Tattoo Studio (formerly Miami Ink), I was keeping busy in central Florida at Universal Studios! More on that later. Now back to Sean...

Chris Garver had started a back piece on Sean several years ago and they haven't been able to get together to work on it much since. Sean was always on the road with Hatebreed and Chris was busy with traveling of his own, as well as a TV show so it was hard for them to be in the same place at the same time. Until last weekend.

Hey Sean, after you finish your back, maybe we can do something about your front?Sean sat for almost 6 hours and Chris covered a lot of ground. Here's to hoping they get together sooner than later and we can see some more progress on this thing!
Check out Chris Garver at www.lovehatetattoos.com

The Wedding Gift That Keeps On Giving...

So, Sean and I got married waaaaaaay back in November. Eight months is a long time! And things are going so well, we may even make it a year! I'm kidding of course! It's just about the best thing I ever did and it's more awesome than I ever imagined it could be. So hopefully we'll remain happy together forever. I know this guy is hoping so too...

Our actual wedding was private and secret. I'm just not a traditional dream wedding kind of girl. But of course we do like to party! So about 6 months after we were married we had "Jessica and Sean's BIG Wedding BBQ", and celebrated our nuptials properly with 230 of our closest friends. (I'm hoping to blog pictures soon.) At the party we were presented with a framed copy of the picture above! It was given to us by tattoo artist and friend Dominic Picirrillo. So while I'm trying to make sense of it, Dominic is busy rolling up the leg of his pants. OMG! He really got our names tattooed on his leg! Thanks to Dominic for the amazing gift!

Dan Marshall Skull...

A long time ago in a place far, far away I got this skull tattoo. I was 21 and in Los Angeles, CA. I had recently discovered West Hollywood and the Sunset Strip. Anyone else find heaven on earth at the Rainbow? Dan was working at West Hollywood Tattoo at the time, which he had come to by way of Electric Dragonland in Minneapolis, MN and which he eventually left to move on to Last Rites in NYC. That's quite a resume Dan! Now you can find him at his own spot in the NYC's East Village, Tribulation Tattoo. Definitely a shop to check out!

http://www.tribulationtattoo.com/

Tom Strom Skull...

This awesome skull flower bud tattoo was done by Tom Strom from Uptown Tattoo in Minneapolis, MN. Tom is an amazing tattooer, as well as painter, a dancing machine and an all around great guy. A fun fact about Tom is that he still makes his own needles. Go Tom! This tattoo is unfortunately on the back of my leg just above the knee, so I don't ever get to see it.
Here's an old picture of Tom and me on the day the tattoo was done. This was way back in 2005. We both have much longer hair now. He likes Mastodon too!
Check out Tom and the rest of the guys at Uptown Tattoo here http://www.uptowntattoo.com/

My Friends Went to Mexico and All I Got...

Were these awesome souvenirs! Nichole and Carlos East went to Mexico to visit family over the Dia de los Muertos holiday. Nichole is a cemetery enthusiast and this trip would be her first time experiencing the highly decorated graveyard scenes of The Day of the Dead. Knowing this, I was super psyched that she thought of me on the trip! Check out what they brought home for me...

The Skull Face Stripper. Every occupation imaginable was represented and I got the best one! Check out the awesome G-string and $100 bill! These Diego Rivera Tattoos are pretty awesome too! I've always been a fan of Frida Kahlo, so I'm not sure exactly how I feel about Diego but I'm positive these tattoos are cool! Check out Nichole's pictures from Mexico here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/toybaroness/sets/72157622644887169/

Thanks Easts! I love you guys!

Dave Fox Skull...

Another skull tattoo from my collection...

WAY back in May of 2004 Dave Fox gave me this small skull filler piece on the convention floor in Philadelphia at the Annual Philidelphia Tattoo Arts Festival. The photo of this tattoo does not do it justice, but I'm too lazy to take a new one. I love this little tattoo and I love old pictures...

Check out Dave's work on skin, canvas, and guitar (he shreds) at:

http://www.myspace.com/dave_fox

Jeff Solin Told Me This Joke...

It's too funny not to share. Here goes...


What's brown and rhymes with Snoop?

Wait for it...........

Dr. Dre

This tattoo won best portrait at Hell City 2009.

Bob Tyrrell Skull...

Bob Tyrrell did this awesome skull tattoo on me back in 2003 while on a guest spot at Hope Gallery. We started late and Bob is notorious for being slow, and I don't think we finished until after 3am!
http://www.bobtyrrell.com/

Martin LaCasse Skull...

Another skull tattoo from my collection...

Back in 2004, Presto Art published "Take What You Can... Give Nothing Back" featuring the art of Martin LaCasse. Martin and I got together at the Philly convention that year to finalize the paperwork for the book. I decided a pirate skull tattoo from Martin would be the perfect way to commemorate the occasion. The side of your knee is not the best choice of tattoo spot on the convention floor!

http://www.oldecitytattoo.com/

Nick Baxter Skull...

I collect skull tattoos. This one was done a few years ago by Nick Baxter when he was still at Transcend Tattoo in Branford, CT. Just felt like sharing...

Tin-Tin Tatouages...

Two heavily tattooed ladies vacation together, on their itinerary? The best local shop, of course! We decided we needed a "bro tat" and we were going to Tin-Tin's to get it. We knew it was a long shot considering we were just going to walk in. Lucky for us, the shop's manager, Rachel is the nicest I've ever come across. Not only did she make sure we got a tattoo appointment for the following day, but she also checked the open hours at a few tourist spots we wanted to hit, and recommended some great restaurants. Thanks again, Rachel!

We loved the Pere Lachaise Cemetery, and found our tattoo inspiration there. This winged hour glass is at all of cemetery's entrances.
Our appointment was with Alex, and here he is working on our drawing.
Tin-Tin showed up when Alex was just about finished with my tattoo. What a character! He made a game of guessing who did all of our work, and got most of it right. He shared pictures of his recent work, and invited us upstairs to his work space for coffee and "smoke". I just had coffee. Ha. The whole staff was super accommodating and very friendly. We had a great time.

Tin-Tin hard at work.

Rachel & Tin-Tin. Smoke break.

My tattoo finished.

Nichole's tattoo finished.

http://www.tin-tin-tattoos.com/