CarpeDiem TattooStudio Indonesia

stories, tattoo works by Dimas Praja

“Darah Juang” tattoo

"Darah Juang" tattoo

This tattoo were made a year ago, but its meaning is memorable (and that’s why it’s worthy to get a tattoo of this). It’s a lyric of “Darah Juang”, a hymn composed by John Tobing, and written by Dadang Juliantara and Budiman Sujatmiko. The hymn is a reflection of the social condition in Indonesia at the time (in the New Order era, which might prolongs until today). The song was first sang in The 1st FKMY Congress in 1991, and until today, most Indonesian activists know this song well and it’s a hymn on every social demonstration/protest occasion; expressing the spirit of social-awareness in Indonesia.

more info about this song here.

Carpe Diem, tattooing

August 9, 2011

custom tattoo, religious tattoo, tattoo works by Dimas Praja

The Lion of Judah tattoo

One day on June, we got Mr Marthin, a guest from Jakarta, who already booked the slot to be tattooed by Dimas Praja a week before he came to Jogjakarta. He wanted a red lion, inside his ‘torn’ flesh. He also mentioned some letterings to be added, but hadn’t send the design until the day. It was Hebrew lettering, completed the Lion of Judah.

The Lion of Judah, done by Dimas Praja on Marthin Lumingkewas

The Hebrew lettering below the lion is ”yehochanan”, which means god’s grace or god’s favor (god’s supplication)

After this was finished on his right arm, he wanted to add another lettering on his left arm as a pair for “yehochanan”. The other one is in Latin.

Semper Fidelis, the Latin for "Always Faithful", often shortened to 'Semper Fi'

Carpe Diem, tattooing

August 5, 2011

festivals, tattoo events, tattoo works, tattoo works by Dimas Praja, tattoo works by Lois

Festival Tattoo Istimewa 2011 Yogyakarta

The tattoo fest was on July 1-2, 2011, in Jogja National Museum, Yogyakarta. There were 35 Tattoo Booth, 65 Tattoo Artists on Tattoo War from all over Indonesia… It was two shiny days with soo much skin in colors! Here are some pics from the event

CarpeDiem TattooStudio's official t-shirt...its for sale, n more details are coming soon!

stroberiHITAM was there too! check her stuff at her etsy shop!

this is our booth on Venue B...do you know what's read on the front banner?

it reads 'Beer Here!' but absolutely, not for under-ages!

Haba symbol tattoo, done by Lois. On the first day, Lois joined the pack who tattooed 'Haba' (the symbol of Jogjakarta palace) for free to 10 people. Lois tattooed Joanna, a member of Gadjah Mada University's marching band.

Lois and Joan

On the second day, Dimas Praja joined the tattoo war in color category. He tattooed a Javanese dragon head on Rori's right chest

Sadly the tattooing must done under the hot sun T_T

the dragon head by Dimas Praja, done in 4hours

the beautiful afternoon. On the right are Ari and Jophine, our friends from Jakarta..and on the far left is Widiana Widie. Widie just got a nice big-piece from Dimas Praja, we will tell a story about the project after this post

Too much things happened at the festival. Sure thing is, we meet old and new friends, all skins beautified with ink! You can see more pictures on our facebook fan page here. Thanks!

Carpe Diem, tattooing

July 11, 2011

outing jobs, tattoo events

are you ready for the Festival(s)?

According to the previous post, we believe that you are already aware that Dimas Praja is now back in town, Jogjakarta After leaving Jogjakarta for two months, his appointment schedule gets pretty crazy. He is now also doing his personal projects to develop his Indonesian tattoo-style, and more projects too for the upcoming tattoo events.

There will be three tattoo events before Ramadan, and the nearest date is July 1-2, Festival Tattoo Istimewa 2011 Yogyakarta. Everyone seems wanting to have new tattoos to be shown off at the event, so now both Dimas and Lois is pretty busy with appointments and walk-ins; while also designing some merchandise too! Yeah, we will have T-shirts and some sketchbooks in the shop

CarpeDiem TattooStudio will be on booth 2, Venue B; joining with stroberiHITAM and her freaky friends

we'll be at booth 2, Venue B

On Day 1 (July 1, 2011), Lois will be participating in Keraton logo tattoo performance with 9 other tattooists; while on Day 2 (July 2, 2011) Dimas will join the tattoo war in color category with 35 other tattooists (!!). The tattoo studio vendors are coming from various cities in Indonesia, so it will be a crowded weekend! Anyone who interested in joining the tattoo contest on the 2nd day is able to register your name at our studio in Jl Janti Baru no 18, Jogjakarta. The fee is IDR 25.000 for one tattoo and person; and this includes one day entry ticket for the event. Call or text us in +62274-9198282 for further info. The tattoo contest is open for anyone with any citizenship See ya around!

Carpe Diem

June 22, 2011

cover up, custom tattoo, religious tattoo, tattoo works by Dimas Praja, tattoo works by Lois

a tribal Jesus and a cover up

One day, this guy, Adip came to CarpeDiem TattooStudio to get a tribal Jesus tattoo on his left arm, with a “Luke 19:10″ lettering. At first we consider to put the verse too but he decided only to put the “Luke 19:10″. This tattoo was done by Lois.

Luke 19:10 ("...For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”), done by Lois

After this tattoo was finished, he showed his other tattoo on his right arm. It’s a cross with a kinda bad 3D perspective and he wanted it covered up. Dimas then did the sketch to start the cover-up, turning it into a black lotus with skull.

the cross which wanted to be covered up, and the preliminary sketch by Dimas Praja

the final result of the cover up: a black lotus with skull, done by Dimas Praja

so on the same day, Adip got two fresh tattoos, done by both tattooists we have at CarpeDiem TattooStudio. Hope to see him soon again!

Carpe Diem

June 5, 2011

Dimas Praja’s tattoo works in Bali

It’s been a month since Dimas arrived in the Island of Gods, Bali, Indonesia. Here’s some of his works in various tattoo studio (he’s been doing guest spot in some places).

custom Frangipani design for Sina; Dimas Praja as a guest-artist at Eka Waves tattoo, Bali; April 2011

custom Frangipani design for Lea, Sina's sister; Dimas Praja as a guest-artist at Eka Waves tattoo, Bali; April 2011

Balinese scripture: Love, Peace and Wealth; Dimas Praja as a guest-artist at Eka Waves tattoo, Bali; April 2011

Ernest's feet tattoo pair, Dimas Praja as a guest-artist at Eka Waves tattoo, Bali April 2011

More works are going to be captured For you guys who in Bali n want to get tattoos from Dimas, just hit him at 08122722843.

CarpeDiem TattooStudio in Jl Janti Baru no 18, Jogjakarta is still open while Dimas is away to one month ahead. Lois is now working fulltime too for tattooing. Walk-ins are accepted, but we still recommends design consulting cuz it’s free, n custom tattoo works are always fun thing to do! see ya around!

guest tattoo artists, outing jobs, tattoo works by Dimas Praja

May 13, 2011

the Ramayana sleeve

hello! it’s been awhile again.

For your information, our master tattooist, Dimas Praja, is on the road again. He was in Bandung to tattoo in Fourspeed Metalwerks, and currently he is in Bali. Hit him up on 0812 2722843 for tattoo appointments

This is one of his recent works in Bandung, where he tattoo an epic tale, Ramayana, on one of Fourspeed Metalwerks family, Eros. The tale Ramayana itself is a Sanskrit epic, actually, which forms an important part of the Hindu canons (for a brief description of the tale, check this out). Since Hindu was one of the early religions/believe in Indonesia, Ramayana has its Javanese version.

This is Rama, hero of the tale. Portrayed as the seventh avatar of the God Vishnu, he is the eldest and favorite son of the King of Ayodhya, Destarata, and his wife Kausalya. He is portrayed as the epitome of virtue. Destarata is forced by Kekayi, one of his wives, to command Rama to relinquish his right to the throne for fourteen years and go into exile.

This is Shinta, the beloved wife of Rama and the daughter of king Janaka. She is the avatar of Goddess Lakshmi, the consort of Vishnu. Sita is portrayed as the epitome of female purity and virtue. She follows her husband into exile and is abducted by Ravana. She is imprisoned on the island of Alengka until Rama rescues her by defeating the demon king Rahwana.

This is Hanoman (Anuman), a vanara belonging to the kingdom of Kishkindha (Kiskenda). He is portrayed as the eleventh avatar of God Shiva (He is also called Rudra) and an ideal bhaktaof Rama. He is born as the son of Kesari, a vanara king, and the Goddess Anjani. He plays an important part in locating Shinta and in the ensuing battle.

This is Rahwana, a giant (raksasa), the king of Alengka. After performing severe penance for ten thousand years he received a boon from the creator-God Brahma: he could henceforth not be killed by Gods, demons, or spirits. He is portrayed as a powerful demon king who disturbs the penances of Rishis. Vishnu incarnates as the human Rama to defeat him, thus circumventing the boon given by Brahma.

Here’s some peeks for the overall look

The custom tattoo work itself is inspired from wayang golek – a Sundanese wayang (puppets), one of the so many traditional puppet show in Indonesia. This was done in two sessions n also a fun work to do!

culture, custom tattoo, outing jobs

April 12, 2011

Modern Tattoo Culture, Semarang, Feb 26-27, 2011

It’s been a week since the event, but the euphoria still goes on…

Around 20 tattoo studios from all over Java island gathered in Dafam Hotel, Semarang for this event held by STAR (Semarang Tattoo Artists). CarpeDiem TattooFamily were roadtripping again! Rory was coming along, wanted to join the tattoo contest; and Rio/Koplo from Rejeki Tattoo and his partner, Fredy, too. Rio’s home is in Banyumanik, it’s about 30minutes from the venue, so we stayed there. His family is super nice! Thanks a lot for his parents and twin brothers for letting us stayed for 2 nights there

First day – Feb 26, 2011

The first day, Feb 26, was quite quiet. The first show was the pairs of canine fitting on Hendro Dewisurah; then our beloved host, Mr. Freddy Mock, collaborated with Hendro, tattooed Putche’s back. Some tattooists friends were tattooing their customers, while some others prepared for the tattoo war on the next day, or still hanging out and say hi to each other. This event is only a day after Magic Ink’s tattoo event (Magic Wave’s anniversary) in Bali, so obviously there were lotsa chit-chats about the event here and there

the pairs of canine fitting

Hendro Dewisurah (left) and Freddy Mock (right), tattooing Putche

the collaboration result...Freddy Mock's (left) and Hendro's (right)

lunch time! Soto Lamongan

Dimas Praja studying foo-dog for Rory's upcoming tattoo

Lois and Rory. Sketching everywhere

Then around 7.30 PM, the extreme tattoo performance begun. Every booth sent one of their tattooists to tattoo one model. The main imagery is a star, to represent STAR (Semarang Tattoo Artists). With various tattooists, there would be various style of stars. If there were 20 booths, there would be 20 tattooists at once, but since some tattooists were still tattooing on their booths, not everyone participated. But with 12 tattooists, it’s still a gangbang

Extreme Tattoo Performance

Lois represented CarpeDiem TattooStudio

Lois' star for Wawan, the model

Friends were everywhere, old and new. Ucha, the president of Indonesian Sub Culture (ISC) sang Soldier of Fortune for the rest of us who still stayed in venue after the first day’s over.

friends everywhere

Indonesian Sub Culture's Soldier of Fortune

Second day – Feb 27, 2011

It was the day for Tattoo War and Tattoo Contests. From the start of the event, everyone’s busy preparing designs for the tattoo war.

Dimas Praja preparing the design

few minutes to the tattoo war, guys!

Dimas Praja was doing a dragon-koi tattoo on Fredy Nurdiansyah’s leg. Five hours in fact is not enough to finish the tattoo perfectly, but shortly Dimas Praja won the second place (runner up) for the Oriental category. Congratulations, Dimas!

Dimas Praja working on the dragon-koi

the dragon-koi, still half-way to go, 2nd place at best oriental category

congratulations!

The trophies....and yaaayyyy CarpeDiem got one!

There were tattoo contests too. One of the contests was Queen of Tattoo, for a lady who has the best back piece tattoo. And the Queen is Mrs. Mock! She’s a beautiful, charming lady, and she deserves to be a queen

the Queen of Tattoo

Lois with Mr. and Mrs. Freddy Mock. They're the sweetest couple in every tattoo show

Dimas and Mr. Freddy Mock

Tattooists who participated on the tattoo extreme performance

So, after every trophy and certificate went to the owners, the event finished. That’s wrap! And then it’s time to relax a bit and had some fun!

in front of Dafam Hotel, the venue

in Tugu Muda park, Semarang

We planned to have the after party in Lawang Sewu. Lol. For anyone who don’t know what place it is, it’s one of the scariest old buildings in Java island (or Indonesia, maybe?). We arrived there at 10PM, but the guard said the gate won’t open for visitors til 1AM (duh!) so we decided to wait til 1AM inTugu Muda park, across Lawang Sewu.

It’s fun to meet old friends, and finding new friends! Equal in passion of art, and having the equal pride in tattooing! See you in the next event!

PS. We picked random pictures from our own collection (CarpeDiem TattooStudio), Mock Tato, and Cindy Bond dJAP. There are tons more pictures on their facebook account.. Thank you!

custom tattoo, festivals, outing jobs, stories, tattoo events, tattoo works by Dimas Praja, with

March 5, 2011

Tattoo War at Modern Tattoo Culture, Semarang 2011

It’s STAR’s (Semarang Tattoo Artists) event at Dafam Hotel, Feb 26-27. The tattoo war is now happening. Dimas Praja is now working on a dragon-koi on Fredy Nurdiansyah. The legend says that a koi will struggle to find its way to the top of a waterfall, and if it reaches the top, it will eventually turns into a dragon. The general imaging of this story is a koi fish with a dragon head.

the dragon-koi freehand sketch

Dimas Praja on tattoo war

still working on it!

The tattoo war will last for 5 hours. It’s been going in about an hour an a half… The categories of the tattoo war are Oriental tattoos, Old school tattoos, Realism tattoos and Tribal tattoos, with about 20 tattooists participating.

And how is the event?

With a simple sentence: it’s so fun to hear tattoo machines buzzing all day long!

custom tattoo, outing jobs, tattoo events, tattoo works by Dimas Praja

February 27, 2011