Design Inspiration: Tattooing on Paper

I love this! It’s probably because I really like writing about different types of tattoos (although I don’t have any), and I also love papercraft or any kind of creative use of paper. To combine both of these is so inspiring to me.

This isn’t ordinary paper; it’s a very heavy rag paper, otherwise known as watercolor paper. Artist Jacob Dahlstrup, from Denmark, used a tattoo gun like a pen to create these beautifully textured lines on the paper. The line he creates with the tattoo machine is three-dimensional. It almost looks like an embossing like you might see on a wedding invitation or some other formal correspondence. It also looks like it could be embroidered, sewn or even embedded. On his website, Jacob refers to this process as “dissordering the paper structure.”

In the short video below, he makes it look so easy, like all you really need is a steady hand. However, I’m not fooled. I know that is a sign of a really great artist, when they can complete their project seemingly effortlessly. In my opinion, these are badass. They are all part of a collection called “On a Sailors Grave (no rosesgrow).” His website is full of other inspiring designs as well. Thank you Jacob!