The Maki is a legendary creature formed by the collection of red dust blown by the Wyoming winds. Long disputed to have invented the note B flat, Maki took on the shape of a human male and journeyed in a caravan of samurais stealing sake and virgin daughters. It is still uncertain if Maki is or ever was, but it is rumored he lives underground with his wife and his dog.

- A biography of one of the Ink Spot tattoo artists, posted on the lime green wall at the Metro next to a portrait of an octopus-pinup girl hybrid.

Justin Maki was, and still is, because he emerged from underground seclusion Wednesday afternoon long enough to work on designing a star tattoo at the Ink Spot on East Yellowstone.

Some may have spotted him Monday night in an unnatural habitat for the Maki - an art show featuring his work.

Maki is one of six tattoo artists who shed the "tattoo" part of their titles this month, and showed that their bodies of work extends beyond bodies. Their paintings and drawings will grace the walls of the Metro Coffee Company through February.

Maki painted long before he began to tattoo for a living. So when the Ink Spot's Ryan Tinnelli - "a tattooist and coffee fanatic," Maki said - broached the idea of an art show at the Metro about a year ago, everyone was all for it. It remained just an idea until about two months ago, when Tinnelli barged into the Ink Spot and told his coworkers, "Hey, we're actually gonna do it."

It's nice to get a chance to show your art in a different environment, Maki said. And it provided the staff a rare opportunity to show off their abilities in an environment outside of the studio, where, as Ink Spot owner Cyndy Canfield-Wheeler warned one customer Wednesday, "Some people get light-hearted and faint."

Canfield-Wheeler's work on a female customer - a back-encompassing land-and-seascape crawling with leopards, dolphins, fish and more - is the only photo of a tattooed subject on display. The woman's back took 30 to 40 hours to complete over a two-year span, she said. The same portrait runs in the March 2007 issue of Tattoo Magazine.

Aside from the tattoo picture, the artists submitted paintings and drawings with subjects varying from pirate ships to wildlife to psychedelic designs in media from oils to graphite. It's not just flaming skulls and "Mom" hearts.

"There's probably a certain type of stereotype with tattoo shops," said Justin McGuire, who submitted, among other works, a rendering of lilies.

The show opened Monday night, with about 30 or 40 friends and family members gathering to celebrate the event. Several people offered to buy some of the works, and there's talk of making this an annual event.

Canfield-Wheeler's mom entered her stuff in local contests, and some of her work ended up on display at the Nicolaysen Art Museum. But that was 10 years ago. Many of the other artists never had the opportunity to show their art off.

"I just think that's super cool that Metro does that," Canfield-Wheeler said.

Contact reporter Cory Matteson at (307) 266-0589 or cory.matteson@casperstartribune.net.