Clara Montague ’13 displays her world map tattoo in the JRC on Tuesday, February 19. Considerable thought and patience went into the planning of the tattoo, Montague says, as she spent well over a year perfecting her idea before deciding to go permanent in July 2011 at Slingin’ Ink Tattoos, Grinnell’s own tattoo parlor. Captured by the concept of a “borderless map” and “global citizenship,” Montague uses her tattoo to illuminate the importance of such principles as well as to remind herself, and anyone who sees the ink, that humankind has a responsibility to those with which it shares the Earth. Despite the important message underlying the tattoo, Montague does admit it can end up being a “joke tattoo” at times. Often referred to as her “Google Earth” tattoo, siblings and friends enjoy the blank canvas the ink provides, doodling and distorting its original appearance with shapes and colors. The original premise of the tattoo, however, is never lost to Montague.

-Compiled by Joanna Silverman