Walking in Downtown Greensboro this spring, we’ve been captivated by all the colorful, work-of-art tattoos. They are everywhere, literally. Gone are the requisite, right-of-passage, blue tattoos sported on the arms of sailors. Some people are covered from head to toe with one-of-a-kind decorations. The free online dictionary defines accessory as “something nonessential but desirable that contributes to an effect or result.” Clearly, to many, tattoos are the ‘de rigeur’ accessory.

Ray Bradbury’s 1951 book, The Illustrated Man, has a character with a tattooed body whose tattoos were created by a woman out of the future. Each animated tattoo tells a different tale. Could this be that future woman who created the illustrated man’s tattoos nearly sixty years ago? Her art jumps off the table and onto her skin and back onto the table again. Surely, every tattoo, right down to the eggplant on her leg, tells a story. Or, did the illustrated man pay it forward?

Mr. Bradbury is still alive and if he ever comes to Greensboro, we would love for him to meet this local artist whose business is known as Queen Monkey Art. In the meantime, we’ve just gotta share this photo with our friends at Weekend Reflections!