Snow and Winter

Thursday, December 16, 2010
Cincinnati, Ohio


Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Tattoo

On one of my photographic wanderings this past winter I ended up taking some photos in the Skincraft Tattoo and Piercing studio on Hamilton Avenue in Northside, an experience I found to be rather fascinating. I had been in the area shooting an assignment for a photography class and when the sun went down and outdoor light was scarce, I quickly began to brainstorm ideas for an interesting indoor environment to photograph. I decided to walk into Skincraft and see if there was anyone willing to let me take some pictures. It was around 9 pm on a weeknight so I figured there wouldn't be many people in the studio but I was lucky because shortly after I walked in, a woman came in for a tattoo. She was a young lady, probably in her early 20s, and she was accompanied by a friend and her baby. She didn't mind being photographed so I was able to document the tattooing process as a tattoo artist named Bryan engraved "Romans 8:28" onto her skin.


As Bryan got together the tools necessary for the tattoo, he educated me about body art and how he first became interested in it. The young lady had come into the store knowing that she wanted a tattoo of the title of a bible verse but she was unsure of how she wanted it to look so Bryan sketched out a couple possible designs on a sheet of paper and she found one she was happy with. After she settled on her design, Bryan went straight to work.

The whole process took about forty minutes, which seems to be a decent amount of time for something that's only 2-3 inches in length. When the tattoo was finished, the young woman walked into the lobby and showed it off to her friend before they headed out the door and straight to bible study.

Redefining the Street Musician: "Play Me, I'm Yours" Comes to Cincinnati

Cincinnati, Ohio
Anna Bentley | The News Record


Beginning August 9th, people of the Greater Cincinnati area will have an opportunity to expand their musical realm to the streets thanks to an interactive art installation called "Play Me, I'm Yours". Started by British artist Luke Jerram in 2008, "Play Me, I'm Yours" is a project in which artfully decorated street pianos are being installed in cities all over the world for any member of the public to play. The project was developed by Jerram in an effort to build communities and to provide an instrument to people who do not have the opportunity to own one. As of today, Jerram has installed pianos in over 10 different cities, including New York City, London, Barcelona, and his hometown Bristol.

In celebration of the anniversaries of Cincinnati radio stations 90.9 WGUC, 91.7 WVXU, and 88.5 WMUB, 35 pianos have been installed throughout Greater Cincinnati in parks, libraries, streets, and squares. The installation lasts until September 17th, when the pianos will be removed from the streets and donated to local art centers.

To view a map with locations of the installed pianos, click here.

The kickoff event for the "Play Me, I'm Yours" installation, held at Fountain Square on August 9th, brought both professional and amateur musicians downtown to celebrate the start of the street piano installation. People of all ages gathered and waited for their turn to play the two pianos that have been placed at opposite ends of Fountain Square.


View audio slideshow here


Joy Burch of Hamilton encourages spectators to sing along as she plays a piano at Fountain Square for the kick-off of the "Play Me, I'm Yours" installation.


Maya Stockman, 12, of Oakley plays "Notturno" at Fountain Square on August 9 during the kickoff event for the "Play Me, I'm Yours" piano installation.

Suzanne Bona of WGUC plays the flute while Sandra Rivers of CCM accompanies her on one of the "Play Me, I'm Yours" pianos at Fountain Square.

Businessmen and women who chose to spend their lunch break at Fountain Square on Monday, August 9 got a pleasant treat while they listened to local musicians play the "Play Me, I'm Yours" pianos at the kickoff event for the installation. One musician, Suzanne Bona of WGUC, even brought her flute to play.
Dean Herron plays The Beatles' "Lady Madonna" on one of the "Play Me, I'm Yours" pianos at Fountain Square during the kickoff event on Monday, August 9. So far Herron has played at least 10 of the 35 pianos that have been installed in Cincinnati and he hopes to play at least 15 before they are removed from the streets in mid-September.

Nathaniel Grogan, 7, of Northern Kentucky plays "The Lonely Traveler" at the kickoff event for the "Play Me, I'm Yours" piano installation on August 9th at Fountain Square.

A little boy pauses while reading a book to listen to a song being played on one of the "Play Me, I'm Yours" pianos at Fountain Square.

Beth and Steve Hofferber of Springfield Township perform Billy Joel's "Piano Man" at the kickoff event for the "Play Me, I'm Yours" piano installation at Fountain Square on August 9.

Cincinnatians gather at Fountain Square on Monday, August 9 for the kickoff event for the "Play Me, I'm Yours" piano installation.

Local Blues/Jazz pianist Ricky Nye plays "Summertime" on one of the "Play Me, I'm Yours" pianos at Fountain Square while spectators sing along.