This here is Kevin. He works at Bike America in Lee’s Summit, MO. He has this to say about why he got his knuckles tattooed:
I have been a bicycle enthusiast for many years. I have been a bicycle mechanic for almost nine years. I don’t own a car. Go figure.
Tattoos by Brian Holton at Bleeding Heart Tattoo.
Russ R. from Jackson, MO writes:
It’ll be even funnier if I sell the novel.
Yeah well, I’m kinda bookish, sue me.
I don’t think there’s anything particularly unique about my experience. When I started getting tattooed I got all tough guy shit: Bulldogs, the “crews” I belonged to, that kind of shit. Then I went through this working class political phase (John Henry on my left forearm for instance). Then I had a moment of lucidity. I woke up and realized I didn’t know shit and had spent entirely too much time in my life trying to make people take me as serious as I took myself. Now my tattoos tend to be funny in a self-effacing kinda way. I’m a welder, but I’m wasting an MFA in Creative Writing/Poetry. If you’ve known me for any amount of time “READ MORE” is the only tattoo I should ever have on my digits. It’s funny, but still kind of arrogant and preachy…
These knuckles come courtesy of Abe N, an artist hailing from Portland, OR. He is a great example of what is making this project so much fun for me. I’m getting to great people who are dedicated to what they do. People who are living the lives they chose for themselves rather than what society thought they should do. You can see examples of his art at Abe’s Tarot Cards.
This is what he sent with the picture of his knuckles:
I’m an artist, and this is my daily reminder to set aside other things, stay
on track and focus on what I need to get done to make me feel complete and
happy everyday. It’s an outward show of the commitment to my art. I got the inspiration of “just draw” from my Mom, who has a “take no prisoners”
punk-like attitude towards her performance art. She would call me up and
tell me about a show and I’d hang-up afterwards and be like “Thats insane!
How the eff can I top THAT!!”… this was just my no-holds-barred way to
inspire too, not just my Mom but myself and other fellow artists.It was the one spot that when i was thinking of a spot I said ” Not the
knuckles., Not the knuckles..you can never ‘go back’ if you get a knuckle
tat” the more that my conservitive side said “no” the more I knew they had
to be done…You know the thing of it is, I KNEW it had to be done there, I just HAD to
let everyone know that I’m not some college kid thats just effin’ around
with his life, this is who I am and this is what I do…dont wait around for
me to change into something more respectible. It’s the one spot I couldnt
hide myself away and everyone inludining me had to deal with who I am no
matter the situation…I guess I just wanted to ‘come-out’ as an artist
permenently…knuckles seemed the most ‘in your face’ way to say it.
I do have other tats, �about five, including a �sleeved leg… the knuckles
are by far my fav (they were my third tattoo).
These knuckles come to me from Aaron W. Here is what he has to say about his hands:
I travel a lot.. not for work just to see the world… I don’t own anything but a bag full of clothes and an I-Pod… The countries I have been to so far Vietnam, Lao, Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Mexico, Canada….and many places in the good ‘ol USA …. So I thought it fitting for me……
A super gnarly set of knuckles from Nina in Cuba:
Hey!
Sending my boyfriends PUNK, relly fresh,
I like when it bleeds, he screamed, ha ha!
made in Cuba, sept this year.Thanks, Nina
Thank you Nina. Those are raw and it’s one hell of a photo of ’em.
Well I have been getting tattooed for 10 years and my artist said it was time to cross the line. All of my tattoos are related to devils and the evil side of life so I had to go with HELL BENT for my tattoo. It compliments my sleeves and chest piece very well.
STAY DOWN has always been one of my favorite knuckle tattoo ideas. And here it is on the hands of Turk V. Dayton, Ohio:
This is my knuckle tattoo. They need to be touched up since they are a few years old but they are mine and I love them. The story is that I was a bouncer/head of security for multiple clubs and bars for 13 years. Fighting has always been a part of my life and now I am training to fight MMA.
Hayley here got GOOD GIRL done because:
i got my knucles tattooed to let the world know that just because i drink, and smoke and cuss like a sailor doesnt mean that im not a goodgirl.
Today’s knuckles come all the way from Santa Clara, CA, courtesy of Nicole S. When I asked her why she picked FUCK LOVE this is what she told me:
I picked FUCK LOVE because of everything I have loved that fucked me over in return. Plus I just had a really bad breakup and was over the pain that love seems to bring me.
