Two tattoo artists who go far beyond butterflies and tribal arm bands. Ryan Mason crafts lush pieces ranging from the sacrilegious to the hilarious to the literary. Amanda Wachoub has expanded fine art to the tattoo realm with her delicate watercolor-like works and conceptual bloodlines. [more inside]
posted by Juliet Banana on Aug 21, 2009 - 35 comments

Skin & Bones is a new exhibit about sailor tattoos and their symbolism and history, developed at the Independence Seaport Museum in Philadelphia. NYTimes story with neat art slideshow.
posted by Miko on Jun 9, 2009 - 6 comments

Staining the nails, skin and hair with henna is the favorite way of enhancing beauty amongst women in the Middle East. It is used as a hair treatment as well as a dye to make decorative designs on the skin. The art is known as mehndi. Henna markings remain on the skin for about twenty or thirty days. [more inside]
posted by netbros on Aug 13, 2008 - 36 comments

Carl Zimmer's Science Tattoo Emporium - "Underneath their sober lab coats and flannel shirts, scientists hide images of their scientific passions. Here they are revealed to all." From the science journalist and writer responsible for The Loom and numerous other published works.
posted by Blazecock Pileon on Apr 8, 2008 - 33 comments

Tribute (K-fed)
modern artwork by Colby Bird
posted by carsonb on Oct 8, 2006 - 21 comments

Six-String Masterpieces. Dean Guitars invites tattoo artists and musicians to decorate 50 Deans in a tribute to Dimebag Darrell. The results range from popstar kitsch to cronenbergian delight. Via Needled.
posted by frykitty on Apr 14, 2006 - 15 comments

Money on the Wall: PostMichael McKeeism meticulously perfects the art-form that Warhol dreamed of, The Who toyed with, and and others are desperate to avoid. Transactionism is an observation of art, the artist/patron relationship, and our own values, such as they are.
posted by hermitosis on Mar 19, 2006 - 7 comments

Bad tattoos. More bad tattoos. Bad tattoos - don't let this happen to you! And, uh, this. And previously: Hanzi Smatter. Some pics, though no direct links, are NSFW.
posted by milquetoast on Jan 28, 2006 - 59 comments

On Friday, September 2nd, artist Mary Coble will subject herself to a marathon tattoo session that could make a career Marine wince. Beginning at 6 p.m. and likely continuing until dawn the next day, a tattoo artist will etch 400 names of victims of the nation's gay, bisexual and transgender hate crimes into the artist's back, legs and arms. And we're all invited to watch. More (WashPo [reg.rqd])
posted by crunchland on Sep 1, 2005 - 18 comments

Becoming a word. Just over a year ago, Shelley Jackson launched the Skin project, which aimed to tattoo a story one word at a time onto other people. Shelley herself has the title, and here's an essay from a the. I hope the story isn't set on Anglesey.
posted by nylon on Sep 28, 2004 - 8 comments

When pigs fly - This journal by the artist Andy Feehan details his work with tattooed hairless animals. Regardless of your immediate reaction to the art, Feehan's compassion and love for the animals is sure to win you over. Normally, I disprove of weblog cross-posts, but I couldn't resist sharing after finding this via memepool.
posted by dirtylittlemonkey on Oct 10, 2002 - 8 comments