10 MOST BEAUTIFUL STORM TATTOOS

Storms can hit you so hard, they leave an indelible impression on you. Some people never want to forget the experience, so they commemorate it, indelibly, on their bodies with tattoos. We found some very special storms as body art to share with you.

Photo: Courtesy of Needles and Sins. Tattoo by Filip Leu.

Storms are transformations in progress, expressions of changes in atmospheric conditions, that, depending on their magnitude, transform the people who have weathered them.

 

Photo:  Courtesy of Cigla. “Ship in a Storm” by Cigla.

 

One year after Hurricane Katrina killed over 1500 people in New Orleans, for example, tattoo artists reported that half of their customers requested storm-related images. Many sported mottos that reflected resolve.

Painting: April Johnson. Through the Storm.

One year after Hurricane Sandy devastated parts of New York and New Jersey, area tattoo parlors sponsored a series of tattoo fundraisers to support relief efforts still underway.

Photo: Courtesy of Latest Fashion Tattoos. Japanese Wave Tattoo.

Using the body as a canvas for a storm memorial is not a new custom. In fact, for some indigenous cultures, it is an ancient ritual. Rites of passage through life’s storms can connect and bolster survivors. This idea has influenced contemporary tribal rituals as well.

Photo: Courtesy of Quick Bulletin. Inspired by “Christ in a storm on the Sea of ​​Galilee,” Rembrandt.

Tattoos depicting storms of mythic proportions, storms that spun off hundreds of tales, and storms that changed the world, can serve to define someone.

Photo: Alexander Suvorov. Sea Storm Tattoo.

Some sailors remember storms at sea on their biceps. Some people remember a storm that took their loved ones away, or wiped out their cities, or tested their survival instincts.

Photo: Courtesy of Cherrie Dragon Tattoos. Putka Tattoo by J.P.

Some celebrate the rage and fury, as if the images on the outside are a sign of what an onlooker will find inside the wearer, under certain conditions, of course.

 

Sometimes storms tattoos are meant for warding off danger. Sometimes their goal is to summon courage or to warn of strength.

Photo: Courtesy of Pikdit. Stormy Seas Chest Tattoo by Mark Skipper.

And sometimes, storm tattoos tout a person’s kindred stormy spirit, celebrating the beauty, excitement, and serendipity of nature at its wildest.

Photo: Courtesy of Tattoo Donkey. Beautiful Disaster Tattoo.

While tattoos are a permanent anchor to the past, they can also serve to keep a person moving forward after a storm.

 

Read more about Beautiful Storms, as they relate to Arts/Design, Nature/Science, Food/Drink, Place/Time, Mind/Body, and Soul/Impact, including True Powerful Storm Stories, New Ways to Predict Storms, 10 Crazy-Good Cocktail Storms,  Incredible Art Storms, and Catch the Wind Storm Trips.

 

Get busy and enter the BN Competitions, Our theme this week is Beautiful Storms. Send in your images and ideas. Deadline is 11.10.13.

 

Photo: Courtesy of InterActiveMediaSW.

 

Also, check out our special competition: The Most Beautiful Sound in the World! We are thrilled about this effort, together with SoundCloud and The Sound Agency. And we can’t wait to hear what you’ve got!