That is the question.  The human question.  Much like this human question hand-poked piece by Max Harris.  Given Hamlet’s famous soliloquy is about him questioning his own life, and contemplating what happens after death, it really works well with this design.  Taking a look at these lines, you can see how the figure not only appears as a question mark, but also as a man ascending in a resurrection pose, an image linked to both death and rebirth.

To die, to sleep;
To sleep, perchance to dream – ay, there’s the rub:
For in that sleep of death what dreams may come,
When we have shuffled off this mortal coil,
Must give us pause – there’s the respect
That makes calamity of so long life.

Earlier today we saw Max Harris’ self-done hand poked tattoo on his hand.  As I mentioned earlier, that was just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Max’s self done tattoos.  This incredible colour wheel on Max’s chest is another self-poked tattoo.  For his next trick, he’s going to tattoo his own back.

When it comes to hand poked tattoos, the experience of getting them is often just as significant to a person as the tattoo itself.  With no machine, each and every prick of the needle is guided by the artist’s hand, creating a more intimate tie between the artist and the client.  This effect is magnified when one decides to hand poke themselves.  Below is Max Harris’ hand, and the butterfly/script hand poked tattoo that he gave himself.  While Max travels a lot, he is currently based out of Boston, MA.

I’ve got one more of Max’s self-done tattoos for later today, so keep an eye on ModBlog to check it out.  You won’t be disappointed.

DIY tattoos have been around, well forever.  Granted today they have a negative stigma attached to them simply due to lack of knowledge both by some of the people doing the tattoos as well as outside observers.  Yet what about tattoo artists who tattoo themselves.  Are they still considered DIY?  Here we have Palua Simbora Siagian, one of the artists from Paranormal Tattoo in Philadelphia giving himself a half hand-poked, half hand-tapped thigh piece.

Feet tattoos scare some people, not having them, but the act of getting them. Hand poked tattoos have that same effect. So when someone get’s a  hand poked foot tattoo, I think it’s safe to assume they are somewhat of a badass…….yet with the pink toenails all the sudden they seem sweet and approachable. So here’s a pair of bad ass, yet sweet and approachable feet tattooed by  Biran Wood of Self Made Studio in Asheboro, NC.

We recently got a slew of photos submitted to the Hand-Poked Tattoo gallery featuring this amazing back piece.

Unfortunately no information was given about the artist, or where it was done, although there are several shots of the tattoo being done.

You’ll definitely want to check out the gallery for this one, as they documented everything from start to finish.

Mason, the handsome fellow that he is, set up his camera for a bunch of self portraits that show off just a few parts of his collection of piercings and tattoos.  In particular check out his forearm which was hand poked DIY style.

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I stumbled across this video today and realised it was never posted, it’s almost a year old (as is evident by the rather dated watermark) but still worth an airing!

I’ll leave it up to John Harrold to explain..

“I’m a Peace Corps volunteer currently serving in Samoa. Two friends (other volunteers) and myself decided to get traditional tattoos.

My roommate and I had ours done this weekend — simple leg bands around our ankles.

My other friend Candice is scheduled to get a malu. That’s the traditional tattoo that girls get on their upper legs. I’m planning on photographing it and recording the audio of the session (if I can get a directional mic). I’m going to combine it with other singing I’ve recorded while here into a short movie..”