Pen and Ink: Tattoos and the Stories Behind Them

When I first read a review about this book "Pen & Ink: Tattoos & the Stories Behind Them", by illustrator and visual storyteller wendy macnaughton, I thought to myself "I must read this." The next day, I'm browsing some books in my university's library and there it was, on the "New Arrivals" shelf. I snatched it right away to check it out, half excited that I found it and half amazed by this coincidence. The book talks about 63 tattoos from 63 people and the story behind each tattoo. As I read this book, I came to realize that these tattoos tell stories that are unknown to the viewer. They are like illustrated organic stories that these people wear to serve different purposes; to remember someone they lost, to cherish the presence of dear ones, to celebrate certain concepts and symbols or to simply remind them of their humanity.

This journal entry is not meant as a review of the book. There are many excellent reviews out there that are both amusing and informative. What I want to achieve here is to share my impression of this experience. Both tattoos and stories are a familiar topic for me. But the combination of these two made it that extraordinary. Maybe I'll let Remy the Chef from "Ratatouille" explains it when he discovers the magnificent combination of one flavor with another:

      

Yep! I never thought that tattoos can merge two of my most favorite things in this world, art & literature. Reading this book made me wonder, if I ever wanted a tattoo, how would it look like? What story would I want to tell? What memories do I want my skin to reflect?

What about you?