Black and grey blackwork tattoo of stripes wrapping around a forearm in an optical illusion, with a dotwork spiral pattern on the arm above.

Enlarged with AI from a smaller original

Striped optical wrap on forearm

Blackwork · Forearm · Black and grey · Photo

A black and white photograph of a forearm carrying a bold tattoo of curved black bands that twist around the arm, creating a three-dimensional ribbon illusion. The bands are finished with fine hatched lines and contrast strongly with the pale skin. Above, a second area of dotwork shows spirals and interlocking circular motifs, and a plastic-wrapped surface sits beneath the arm.

Blackwork Geometric Forearm Stripe Ribbon Spiral Mandala Dot Circle Hatching

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Take it to an artist as a reference. A good artist will make it yours rather than copy someone else's tattoo.

A story inspired by this tattoo · fiction

Dear Nell, the big top came down on Tuesday in the rain, and I still have the stripes of it on my hands. Dad insisted we roll the canvas the old way, band by band, so the red and cream folded back on themselves like ribbon wound off a spool. Forty years he has done that job. This time he stood at the edge of the ring and didn't say a word.

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Bert from the wire crew reckons the Lorenzo show can go to Hull in spring, if the council lets us park on the old gasworks. I have my doubts. The horses are thin, and the spiral ladder is cracked where the bolts sit. Still, the sequins Mum sewed onto the aerial tights are coming off in the wash, and I keep fishing them out of the sink like small stars.

Yesterday I found the old ledger in the trunk. Every town, every takings, every name. On the last page Dad had drawn the tent as a tangle of black bands twisting round and round until they met themselves at the centre. Underneath he'd written: keep the pattern tight and nobody sees the seams. I think he meant the canvas. I think he meant us.

I'm posting the ledger with this. Come if you can, and bring your good scissors. We have a tent to cut down and a town to leave before the lorry goes out at dawn.