Tattoo above by Cecil Porter

While I still find more tattoo odes to ODB than MLK, I'm heartened that, every year on this Martin Luther King Jr Day, there are more people commemorating his legacy on their skin. It's particularly fitting that MLK day is celebrated this year on the second Presidential Inauguration of Barack Obama -- and I particularly love this President Obama tattoo with Martin Luther King Jr looking on behind him, created by Stefano Alcantara. A snip of the tattoo image is below.

As I wrote last year, one of the greatest things about tattoos is that they inspire communication. People are naturally curious over what others painstakingly and permanently put in their own skins. We hunger for a good story ... and many of us hunger to tell one. A mother may want you to know that the name above her heart is her beloved daughter. The veteran with the memorial tattoo on his arm lets you know about the courage of his lost friend. This communicative value also allows for teaching moments. A Dr. King tribute speaks not only about the how the activist inspired the tattoo collector but may also educate another who does not know of King's life and legacy. 

It's powerful, what tattoos can do. And it's why I appreciate it when I do find tributes to inspiring figures, as they can be daily reminders to be better to each other and ourselves.

Below are some MLK tattoos we've featured in past posts -- beautiful tributes worth taking a second look.

Tattoos (above left to right) by Joshua Carlton, Mike DeMasi, and Logan Aguilar. 

(Full Disclosure: Marisa and I will be there on Friday around 6pm should you want to stop in and say hello to two blogger-dorks)

"Tattourist" Jason Tyler Grace sold his possessions and set out to travel the world in early 2010, immersing himself in life-changing experiences, personally and professionally. He says in his first Tattoo Artist Magazine column: "I had no idea at all what a huge fucking impact this [traveling] would have on me and my work or what it would do for my outlook on tattooing, the craft, the industry and the community." In that column and subsequent writing on TAM, he shares his wild and wonderful adventures, and you can indeed see the impact of them in the tattoo works he posted along the way.

Now, JTG is settling down and making NYC his home. This month, he joined the stellar crew of Kings Avenue Tattoo and will be working at both locations -- two days a week in Massapeque, Long Island and three days a week on the Bowery in Manhattan. He says on his blog:

Well sheeeeit, after exactly two and a half years on the road, two and a half years of different beds and pillows and wearing clothes pulled out of a bag rather than off of a hanger or from a drawer, after 913 days of different faces and families, after essentially being homeless, I now have a place to call home, a bed to call my own and a shop to become a part of. [...] I'm incredibly excited to have a place like this shop to finally settle down and have the opportunity to pull from all of the inspiration and experiences of my travels, all of the people I've worked with and the fascinating things I've seen.

Jason employs vastly different visual imagery, so that you may find old school traditional work next to LA-styled black & gray next to graphic abstract art throughout his portfolio. Check his tattoos on Facebook as well as his blog and website.

To make an appointment, contact Kings Avenue Tattoo via email kingsavetattoo@gmail.com or phone [LI: 516-799-5464 and NYC: 212-431-5464].

For almost a year now, tattoo and fine artist Jason Tyler Grace has been on the road with the goal of tattooing on every continent and experiencing the freedom and adventure that go with selling off your possessions and winging it around the world. He began his journey last January in Costa Rica and has traveled to Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Argentina, Chile, Uruguay and Bolivia. And he's got stories to tell. And they are good.

Jason is back in the States for a bit, and last night over Jameson and Guinness, he told me about crooked cops and cocaine tours; tripping through Macchu Picchu; working tiny conventions and doing guest spots at some great studios like Nazareno Tubaro's place and Well Done Tattoos in Argentina; and also getting tattooed himself. We talked till 2am and I still didn't hear half of his adventures, but thankfully he's been keeping a journal and has begun sharing his travel diary in Tattoo Artist Magazine. Read part of his first installment on the TAM blog.  Here's a taste:

The average traveler either meets other travelers along the way or spends a good amount of time on their own. Traveling as a tattooer, I am allowed behind the curtain, it provides an instant community instead of spending time with other travelers I get to spend time with local people that I have a connection with through the craft. They take me to the cool spots, they show me the crazy shit. As everyone in the industry knows, there is a lot of trouble to get into; I like trouble and trouble likes me. Working south of the equator is a whole other deal, a fancy North American, who is used to having access to whatever I want, a thermofax, reference books, a photocopier... it's just not available here. This shit has stretched me, took away my crutches and made me a better craftsman.

He also has a travel blog, which he updates on occasion. A seriously compelling read.

Jason is in Brooklyn now tattooing at Three Kings Tattoo, and then will be in San Francisco, back at his old haunt Idle Hand Tattoo January 3-15th. In February, you'll find him in Melbourne, Australia at Dynamic Tattoo; from there, he says he plans to go around South East Asia, and who knows what will be next. He'll be somewhere near you soon, so hit him up for top tattoo work and a good story.