It’s been a while since we’ve run the Winged Wednesday feature… and since the most elemental image of flight involves the feathered wings seen on birds, it is truly the starting point for all flight related tattoos.
When it comes to tattooed wings, it only makes sense to restart the feature with the most famous tattooed wings ever, the wings worn by famous piercer Elayne Angel.
She is, perhaps, one of the first people in the modern history of tattooing to have wings tattooed on such a scale and with such realism on their back — and believed it unique enough to apply and attain a registration by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. It was the first and to date is the only tattoo to be trademarked in such a form. On November 5, 2002 Elayne Angel’s wings were issued Registration No. 2,645,270. On the advice of her attorney, she had the encircled “R” symbol tattooed at the bottom of the wings to afford her greater legal protection in the case of action brought about from infringement of her mark.
The tattoo was created in 1986 by veteran tattoo artist Bob Roberts, owner of Spotlight Tattoo in Hollywood, CA. The tattoo was completed by Roberts in 18 hours, done over four sessions within a month. Her black and gray wings remain one of the most well-known tattoos in the past several decades.
Elayne Angel owned and operated Rings of Desire, her own studio in the French Quarter in New Orleans, LA. Unfortunately, the studio (and business) was badly impacted by Hurricane Katrina and as a result Elayne Angel closed the studio and relocated to Mexico. She remains one of the pioneers of modern, safe, and sterile piercing practices in the U.S.
Please click on the image above or the link below for a larger image.
Click the above image for the full-size photo.
Join the Tattoos In Flight Air Force! - If you have or find any aviation-themed tattoos on the web, send the photo to us along with the name of the artist, studio, location, and a website! Send them along to tattoosinflight@gmail.com, or use the “submit” tool at the right.
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Elayne Angel Says:
Hi there,
Thanks for the nice write up. I thought people who are interested in piercing as well as tattooing might like to know that I’ve written a book that just came out. It is the first one to delve into this subject deeply and exclusively:
The Piercing Bible–The Definitive Guide to Safe Body Piercing.
It is available from major booksellers (it was published by Random House), but signed copies can be obtained from the Association of Professional Piercers: info@safepiercing.or or 888 888-1APP
A portion of the proceeds goes to the organization.
Thanks!
Elayne Angel
Posted on May 29th, 2009 at 6:25 pm
alex phanie Says:
omg i love your tattos. how long did your legs take? and how much $$ was it?
Posted on June 29th, 2009 at 12:18 am
P. Sull Says:
This is great! I had no idea about the trademark!
Posted on July 1st, 2009 at 2:32 pm
Elayne Angel Says:
My mermaid tail took 59 hours to complete. It was done by Juli Moon. I went to visit her and stayed for 11 days, and over 8 sessions we did the WHOLE thing! And on the in-between days, I did piercings.
There is another photo on this page, and more information about my body art: http://piercingbible.com/elaynes-body-art
It cost an arm and a leg. Hahahah. ; )
Posted on April 10th, 2010 at 2:10 pm
Aubrey Says:
I’ve have Elayne Angel’s book… Its FANTASTIC!! I highly recommend it to anyone interested in piercing… weather you are getting your first piercing or are a professional body piercer… READ THIS BOOK!
Posted on August 14th, 2010 at 8:15 pm