Ginkgo Twins

Christina Ferwerda shares this story of how her post on the MPT blog inspired another museum person's tattoo!

In 2014 I shared a short blog post about getting Ginkgo leaves tattooed on my shoulder for Museum People’s Tattoos. It’s a tattoo that people remember and comment on a lot. Its even been on my business card for years, because it starts lots of great conversations (though it has yet to segue into a new exhibit project!)

Flash forward 4 years. I’ve been consulting for the Wyckoff Farmhouse Museum for nearly a year, and I was reintroduced to Danielle Hiliken, the Education Manager, on a particularly warm day in July. The director, Melissa Branfman, mentioned offhand that we have similar tattoos.

Danielle asked hesitantly, “Was your tattoo on a blog for museum people!?” Turns out, she had seen my post and it inspired her own tattoo. 

I have rarely gone back to look at my old post, but have checked out MPT a few times in between after seeing a particularly interesting notification on Facebook or realizing that its someone I know. I’m excited to think about museum people finding inspiration for all kinds of projects – tattoos, exhibitions, or otherwise, on Museum People's Tattoos.

Want to share your own story and tattoo?
Email Beth: bredmondjones (at) sdnhm (dot) org or Paul: info (at) orselli (dot) net.

Neuroscience Tattoo

This past January, I went to see an exhibition in NY at the Gray Art Gallery curated by a friend named Natasha Boas. The exhibition was about an Algerian woman artist in the early/mid-20th century named Baya, and her work was extraordinary.  But at the same gallery upstairs was an exhibition about a Spanish neuroanatomist and artist Santiago Ramon y Cajal.  Ramon y Cajal was awarded the Nobel Prize for his work on the anatomy of brain cells (along with Golgi), and the drawings he made from his observations are still used in neurology textbooks.  

I recently became friends with a neuroscience professor at UC Berkeley, and his book Foundational Concepts in Neuroscience and the drawings by Ramon y Cajal inspired me to get this tattoo, which is based on Ramon y Cajal’s drawings (tho not an exact copy.)

Eric Siegel is the Director of the University of California Botanical Garden at Berkeley.

Want to share your own story and tattoo?

Email Beth: bredmondjones (at) sdnhm (dot) org or Paul: info (at) orselli (dot) net.

Transitions and Flowers

I got this tattoo to mark several important transitions and periods in my life. I started a graduate degree program in Ecology (it was an interdisciplinary program and allowed me to study science educational outreach & communication but did include many classes on ecology which was a new subject for me) and I chose the plant theme to fit that new focus in my life. The flowers represent places I've lived: the rhododendron is the Washington state flower, the columbine is the Colorado state flower and the star gazer lily is a personal favorite. I may have to add something or get a new one to represent California and science museums after my recent move to the Exploratorium. The leaves are in a lace pattern to represent my marriage/wedding that occurred in the same year I started my graduate program.


Katie Boyd is a research coordinator at the Exploratorium. Before that, she was involved with science educational outreach and communication efforts for several organizations. You can find out more about her at her website: http://kathrynboyd.weebly.com/ or by following her on twitter: @katieboyd03


Want to share your own story and tattoo?
Email Beth: bredmondjones (at) sdnhm (dot) org or Paul: info (at) orselli (dot) net.

Joshua Tree (Yucca brevifolia)

I've been many places across the US, but there is only one place that really speaks to me—Joshua Tree National Park. I first experienced the park when I moved to San Diego in late summer of 2013, and upon my first visit, I knew that this was a place that was incredibly special for me. Many see it as an arid place with weird outcroppings of rocks and spiky trees. For me, those rocks are puzzles in which to climb with ropes to test my own skills, or to scramble up on then sit to admire the gorgeous view and have time for me, and the Joshua Tree, well, it's just amazing. They are only found in this one part of the world, they look Dr. Seussian, but are part of the yucca family. From the first time I saw them, I fell in love with them.

Due to climate change, this species is moving towards being an endangered species. My tattoo is of a specific Joshua Tree that can be found at 34°02'19.8"N 116°11'03.3"W. Thanks to Mike Stobbe at Avalon II for giving me my own Joshua Tree.

Beth Redmond-Jones
Vice President of Engagement and Education
San Diego Natural History Museum

Want to share your own story and tattoo?
Email Beth: bredmondjones (at) sdnhm (dot) org or Paul: info (at) orselli (dot) net.