That Dad Who Colors In His Kids' Drawings Is A Wicked Tattoo Artist, Inventor, Philanthropist and Environmental Activist.

We could all use a dad like Fred Giovannitti. Heck, we could all use a friend like him. An inventor and philanthropist, tattoo artist and environmental engineer, Fast Company has profiled him, he has spoken at TED and now he's become famous as a Dad for coloring in his childrens' drawings.



Fred Giovannitti (aka Redditor Tatsputin) trades his quiet, rural Delaware lifestyle for 10 days per month as a high-end tattoo artist in glamorous Las Vegas, Nevada at Tatlantis Allied Arts and Sciences.



above: some examples of Fred's incredible skin art

By digging deep to reveal common interests, Fred believes we can form personal bonds between ourselves and our teammates/partners/clients, allowing us to connect with each other’s personal history and develop ideas that have the ability to take on lives of their own. Giovannitti uses this philosophy to draw inspiration for each project he takes on, and the relationships he has shared with his client have led to many successful ventures—from spiritual enrichment to ocean cleaning innovations. In the wake of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, inventors were called upon to develop a mass-scale oil cleanup solution. Fred responded by co-developing an oil-cleanup device at Southern California's VorTek Recovery Solutions.


above: Fred's daughter and son and the first drawing of theirs that he colored in.

The constant traveling to Las Vegas led him to use this time as a personal challenge to see how much he could fill per flight into a single page in his sketchbook. He begins each drawing at take off and ceases upon landing. He posts the results on one of his two Instagram profiles, Mile High Moleskine and his personal Instagram Profile at It's Pronounced Jovaneti.

One of his latest collections of 'Airborne Art' is that of coloring in his children's playful drawings. The compelling side by side images have been making the rounds all over the internet and I simply couldn't resist posting the pics here for you as well. Some of them he drew in with colored pencils, others were done on an iPad:









On the iPad:




images courtesy of imgur and Fred's instagram feeds, information courtesy of his own website, TED and Fast Company

You can follow Fred on Twitter at @FredGiovannitti

The Hippest Christmas Nutcracker You'll Find This Year.

Last year, West Elm carried some cool modern versions of traditional nutcrackers that I posted on my list of hip christmas decor over at ThisNext, but not this year. But alas, no need to cry because this year CB2 has one of the hippest takes on a traditional nutcracker.



The Inked nutcracker is carved from white pine and painted red, white and black. He is tatted with "Naughty" on his right arm with an intricate montage of skull and candy cross bones. And the word "Nice" scripts his left arm in a cozy scene of fireplace logs and mistletoe.




The man in the big red suit has a permanent place in this nutcracker's heart in the form of "Santa Baby" etched on his chest. "Ho Ho Ho" banner decks out his handle. Cool.





dimensions: 4.75"Wx4.25"Dx16.25"H
details:
• White pine
• Silk screen print and painted details
• Wipe with clean dry cloth
• Made in China

$29.99 buy it here

Tattoos and Tentacles. Julian Murray Captures Inked People with Things That Squirt Ink.

Tattoos and Tentacles is a new coffee table book featuring a collection of photographs of inked people, wearing very little except their body art, and draped in cephalopods that squirt ink (that's a fancy way of saying octopus and squid).

Inked Magazine Profiles Kat Von D with Stunning Photos by James Dimmock.

Tatted siren Katherine Von Drachenberg, aka Kat Von D, graced the cover of Inked Magazine accompanied by an interview and these stunning photos by celebrity photographer James Dimmock.





Read the article, I Am Not Kat Von D, written by Rebecca Swanner for Inked Magazine.

Inked Oinkers: Tattooed Pigs by Wim Delvoye (UPDATED PICS)

Tattoos have become less of a taboo and far more mainstream in the past decade. Two reality shows are focused on tattoo artists, many magazines are published specifically about the craft and tons of products have hit the market that either sport tattoos or are tattoo-inspired, be them dishes, furniture or clothes. To see many available products with tattoos, real or otherwise, click here.



Belgian artist Wim Delvoye launched an Art Farm Pigs Growth Fund whereby people can invest in his swine farm outside Beijing in China. This farm, established in 2005, has nine boars and sows which are tattooed with a variety of designs created by Delvoye and three other tattooists in residence. “The pigs art fund will be an official Chinese company which I hope to launch in the next few weeks”, he says. “The new bonds and pig farm shares scheme make the mechanisms of the art market so transparent”, he added.


above: The gates to Wim Delvoye's Art Farm and some of the inked oinkers.

“This initiative is in its early stages”, said Mr Delvoye’s assistant Gianni Degryse. “We may set up a similar bond scheme for the pig farm. People may even be able to purchase one of the animals”.

A vegetarian who tattoos live pigs, in the name of art. Wim claims it's ‘Because they grow fast and they are so much better to tattoo than fish.’



above: Louise, a stuffed pig (yes, sorry folks, she's no longer with us) sporting her Louis Vuitton Tatts.

Below are live pigs with Wim's artwork permanently inked on their backs. Project and photos taken at Artfarm China in Yang Zhen, Shun Yi District Beijing, China.

ALL PHOTOS COURTESY OF WIM DELVOYE











above: Wim at work

Jonathan West of Vice Magazine asked Wim a few questions:

Vice: Why did you start tattooing pigs?

Wim: I started tattooing pig hides, which I’d get from the slaughterhouses, in 1994. It was only in 1997 that I started to work on live sedated pigs. I tattoo pigs because they grow fast and they are so much better to tattoo than fish. I tattoo them when they are young and I like the way the artwork stretches and distorts over time. Essentially, we invest in small tattoos and we harvest large paintings.

Have you ever tattooed a person?

Yes, of course. I have tattooed art critics, art dealers and art collectors, and lots of butts. I come across my needlework everywhere I go. Some designs I try for the first time on people and, if they work, I will surely re-create the tattoo on a pig.

To the close observer your work is laden with contradictions. For example, aren’t you a vegetarian?

Yes, I am a vegetarian. I am also very, very clean. I wash my hands like 100 times a day.



See a more recent post about his tattooed stuffed pigs and tattooed pigskins for sale here.



PART 2: Updated post on more Pig tattoos and pigskin art by Wim Delvoye



Wim Delvoye has done several interesting art projects. Tattooed Swine is just one of them.
Visit the artists site here.
To see more of his work, visit the Sperone Westwater Gallery by clicking here.