Under our Helmet: Bone Zone: Tatt2 Tammy

Once upon a time, on an acre of land in Madrid, New Mexico was a miniature city called Tiny Town constructed and inhabited by scavenger artist, Tammy Jean Lange, aka, Tatt2 Tammy. It had been a unique roadside wonder complete with saloon, church, courthouse and jail. All built by her own two hands from broken glass, rusted metals, old toys and amongst other things… bones. Tatt2 Tammy sees a certain beautiful macabre in the unwanted items that others would normally put into a landfill. And, the lovely bones which she carefully rescues from highways and byways are reserved for special creations such as the Tiny Town residents and “Gnarleys”, motorcycle sculptures. The “Gnarleys” range from life-size to table-top, the perfect use for those critters who met their unfortunate demise on the open road. To transform the bones from road kill to sculpture, Tatt2 Tammy buries, exhumes and meticulously cleans them to a brilliant pallor. "I resurrect the dead animals and I give them a new life," she states in a High Country News article. "It’s art that dies to live." Her work caught many an art scout’s eye landing an exhibit at the American Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland and numerous features in travel magazines nationwide. Nowadays, Tiny Town only exists in pictures and stories, but her artwork still remains in shops and homes around New Mexico. Rumor has it that Tatt2 Tammy is still working on reviving her collection while doing landscape work and tattooing.