by MEGAN TERNES
Intern Lifestyles Reporter

Jessica H. Meyer, specialized in creating skin-transferable lithographs, received her Master of Fine Arts with a concentration in printmaking from the University of Knoxville and now travels to colleges and universities, giving demonstrations about how she creates her transferable images.

Meyer said lithography is a type of printmaking that involves using oil and water to create an image on a stone surface.

When the image is chemically separated, it becomes transferrable to another surface, such as human skin.

Meyer began designing tattoos in 2003 and has since brought her demonstrations to museums, galleries and nightclubs.

Following her showcases, Meyer takes her human models to bars and clubs to bring her gallery to the public.

“I don’t like to think art is for a specific, private audience,” Meyer said. “[Tattoos] give the feeling of ownership over an image and I enjoy seeing my art on others, who take it into their own context.”

Appalachian State University showcased Meyer’s take on tattoo making at the Catherine J. Smith Gallery Friday.

It was the gallery’s first one-night-only showcase and the first time human models wearing temporary tattoos as artwork have been exhibited.

In the week leading up to the showcase, students of April V. Flanders, assistant art professor, created lithographic prints in the same way Meyer creates her work.

Flanders’s students were assigned to create symbols that held significance to them.

“Printmaking is rather antiquated,” Flanders said. “I asked Jessica to come to Appalachian to make the idea of printmaking more accessible in a contemporary way.”

At the showcase, Leah E. Johnson, senior studio art major, used colors of amber and brown to create a tattoo of sleeping owls surrounding an antique key.

“The three owls surrounding the key symbolize the past, present and future,” Johnson said. “The key represents crossroads and the guidance we look for while choosing a path.”

Other tattoos included wreaths of jade, poison ivy, ethereal women with octopi bodies, dinosaur skeletons and birds clutching snakes.

Following a brief discussion on the inspiration behind her work, Meyer welcomed the audience to receive their own temporary tattoos created by both Meyer and Appalachian students.

Tattoos were displayed for participants to choose from, and after applying a wet sponge to the tattoo, they walked away with pieces of art displayed on their skin.

Meyer said one of her favorite things about her work is seeing men and women, boys and girls, take her creation and give it a unique, personal message.

“Tattoos hold an intimate conversation,” Meyer said. “We may not feel comfortable with them sometimes, but we can’t help but look back to figure out their stories.”

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