When Miami Ink started airing on TLC it became a ‘regular’ series for John and I, the skill and talent the tattoo artists possess is pretty out of this world. My favourite personalities on the reality series were Kat Von D and Chris Garver but after some end of season drama, Kat was ousted from the shop and now has her own business and series called L.A. Ink.

Kat opened High Voltage Tattoo in Hollywood recently and caters to a clientele of tourists, walk-ins and celebrities alike.

She’s put together a super team of artists such as Hannah Aitchison, Corey Miller, Kim Saigh, and her best pal “Pixie” who is the shop manager. They are all so talented, producing emotional depictions with any palette, lifelike, heartbreaking and passionate works of art for their clients. The TV shows have been such a hit that there seems to be a newfound romance with the art of tattoos everywhere you look today.

A friend of ours works at the Surrey Museum, where they currently have an exhibition called: “Tattoos: Tribal to Trend”, which is running from September 1 to October 27th.

Take a visual journey through human history and see how tattoos have evolved from Polynesian tribal markings, to facial identity clues to sideshow performance art and contemporary body decoration. “Tattoos: Tribal to Trend” explores how tattoos have provided magical protection, declared victory, signaled group identity, and depicted spiritual belief or personal independence. [Surrey Museum Exhibitions]

Tomorrow, Saturday the 22nd, there will be a special panel called “Behind the Ink”.

Join a panel of tattoo experts and “collectors” to hear the stories behind the ink and see live tattoo art. Filmmaker Vince Hemingson will share his experiences receiving a traditional hand-tapped tattoo and filming the Iban peoples of Borneo for the documentary “The Vanishing Tattoo”. [Surrey Museum Events]

Vince also has a blog, with an amusing post featuring the top finger and knuckle tattoos.

The session is $5 to attend and goes from 2:00pm to 3:00pm, pre-registration online is required.

Visitors to the museum are also welcome to have their own tattoos photographed for the Surrey Ink’d wall. [Surrey Leader]

The Surrey Museum is located at 17710 - 56A Avenue (Hwy 10) in Cloverdale [Google Map].