Storytelling with Tattoos

About This Project

A tattoo can be art, a memory, or a symbol that tells a story. Tattoos have been popular with sailors for hundreds of years. The US Naval Institute describes how sailors in the US Navy and Merchant Marines would "earn their ink," but the tradition of storytelling tattoos dates back even farther than the US Navy. Tattoos were so popular with sailors during the wars of the 20th century that most major ports have had tattoo artists, each with their own menu of sailor-inspired art called a flash sheet. In this project, we'll look at one such flash sheet owned by the Smithsonian American Art Museum. We'll observe the patterns and images in the flash sheet, reflect on the stories they tell and what stories we might want to tell about our own lives, then create our own tattoo-inspired drawings. Image Credits Unidentified, Tattoo Flash, 20th century, pen and colored ink on cardboard, 8 1/8 x 10 1/8 in. (20.5 x 25.8 cm) irregular, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Herbert Waide Hemphill, Jr., 1998.84.50C Unidentified, Tattoo Flash, 20th century, pen and colored ink on cardboard, 8 1/8 x 10 1/8 in. (20.5 x 25.8 cm) irregular, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Herbert Waide Hemphill, Jr., 1998.84.50F