Tattoos are exhibits on your skin, but this time they’re exhibits in a gallery. The opening reception for “Indelibly Yours” at Santa Rosa Junior College took place Nov. 13. The show at the Robert F. Agrella Gallery features the pieces of 10 tattoo artists and print makers from the Bay Area and other locations in California.

 
Many of the designs shown are known as tattoo flash, or stereotypical designs printed out and displayed as examples of tattoo ideas. Others were more esoteric – Jeff Rassier’s “You Krampus My Style” print, referring to the German Christmas beastie used to scare children into good behavior.

 
There are over 30 canvases on the walls, though many of them belong to sets of one design that’s been recolored or patterned in varying ways.

 
Gallery director Renata Breth commented on the theme of the exhibit. “We thought it would be a very appropriate subject for the students,” she said, “to examine the relationship between tattoo and printmaking, since they’re both forms of mark-making. One on skin, the other on a metal plate.”

 
One of the most striking pieces is a 1969 lithograph by Kenjilo Nanao that immediately catches the eye: “The Great Tattoo,” three canvases lined up in a row with six illustrated nude people displaying a great snake or basilisk stretched out across all of their backs.

 
Those in attendance ranged from ages 8 to 80, and many guests had “alternative” styles, with multi-colored hair and striped tights, while others took a fashion executive approach with elegant mantles and sharp-looking glasses.

 
“We are here for the students, and not only for the art students,” Breth said. “We hope that a lot of the non-art students will visit the gallery often.”

 
The gallery located on the first floor of the library, is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays, and 1-4 p.m. on Saturdays. “Indeliby Yours” runs through Dec. 11. For more info, visit santarosa.edu/art-gallery.

 
Master printer and lecturer Kathryn Kain will make a presentation from noon to 1 p.m. Nov. 17 in Newman Auditorium. According to the gallery website, she will be “exploring the connections between tattooing and printmaking.”

 
The “Indelibly Yours” exhibit catalog is available for purchase at the student bookstore for $29.95.