Arkansas Tattoo Project Update

Native Arkansan, Rapper Cboddy of Little Rock with the Little Rock symbol and ARK in graffiti-style letters.

From Cboddy:  ”I was doing shows from state to state and I got to represent where I’m from in a way.  And what better way than to put the official Little Rock logo stamped on my arm.”  

Discussing what he loves about Arkansas: “Everybody knows everybody, so to me I look at everybody like family.  Everybody is so open-armed, to me anyway.”

Recently we began a documentation project examining the diversity of ways people choose to represent their home state of Arkansas on their body.   The project is in its beginning stages, and we’ve taken the documentation process online so it can be community-driven and grow organically.

Since we started the online Facebook version of the Us Tattooed Kids:  Arkansas Project last week, thirty-six tattoo photos have been submitted and we have 236 likes!  We also started a Twitter account for the project, which you can follow here.  I’ve also been doing interviews with as many people as possible—either online or in person—and many of these stories will be featured in the upcoming article.  In case your unfamiliar with the project, you can go here to read all about it.

Here are just a few photo updates we’ve received and a glimpse into some of the things people are saying about their tattoos and the larger concept of Arkansas as home.  If you know of someone with an Arkansas tattoo, please spread the word.  We want to hear from you!  To read more and join the conversation, visit us online on facebook or Twitter.

Basic state outline uploaded by John Crouch, a native Arkansan and classical composer who now lives in Maryland.

From an email interview with Crouch:  ”I had been saying for about a year that I wanted it. I don’t know if I would have gotten it if I still lived in Arkansas, but living in Baltimore for 6+ years made me miss Arkansas.”      ”After high school in Springdale, my formative early adult years were spent in Fayetteville. Now I’ve lived in Baltimore for six and a half years and I’m still amazed at how much more interesting and progressive a small Southern town can be than a fairly large Northeastern (technically, to some, a Southern Mid-Atlantic) city. I’ve had more than one instance of proclaiming the virtues of my small college town and how it adopted progressive causes and issues years prior to Baltimore.”

Here’s a few more images that have been posted to the site.  We’re still waiting to learn more about them.  But the images are pretty strong as is.  What’s your story?  

Submitted by tattoo artist, Scott Diffee. Waiting for more info on this tattoo.

I've been wondering if there are other city specific tattoos besides Little Rock. There are! Tattoo by Scott Diffee at the Parlor.

Skyline of LR. Tattoo by Scott Diffee.

Related Posts

• “The Many Variations of the Arkansas Tattoo” in the Arkansas Times
• Yarnbombing in downtown Little Rock.
• Arkansas Tattoo Project Update: Visiting the Parlor in Rose City/North Little Rock.
• Friday Video: Color Outisde the Lines: A Tattoo Documentary.
• A Few New Tattoo Photos from the Us Tattooed Kids: Arkansas Project