At first glance, Bee doesn't have much in common with inventor Thomas Edison. Bee, a 34-year-old Clifton tattoo artist, is wearing a blue-and-white shirt with a swooshy dragon design. An American Spirit cigarette dangles from his lips.

Tattoos cover his exposed limbs and presumably the skin underneath his clothes. The artwork is intense and boisterous, both in design and color - a skull, a lotus flower, a mask, tribal designs.

Bee is educated about modern tattoo techniques and equipment and is equally fluent in tattoo history.

The back of his shop, Beelistic's Tattoos at 2510 W. Clifton Ave., is covered in antique flash - tattoo artwork from as early as 1901 that depicts Popeye-like anchors, hearts and curvy bombshells. Bee's collection extends to antique tattoo guns, which he says are more responsive than many modern units.

Bee also knows the most intricate details of his work, such as that Thomas Edison invented the engraving machine that was later adapted to be the first tattooing device.

In the spirit of the inventor, Bee also creates his own tattooing machines.

"Anything you research and build yourself will work better than anything mass-produced," he says, sliding his fingers over the steel framework.

Bee, who was raised as Tim Gundrum on the east side of Cincinnati, had a formal education as an artist. He attended the commercial art program at the Scarlet Oaks Career Development Campus in Sharonville with the intention of designing logos for the rest of his life.

And then Bee got his first tattoo, a pterodactyl, on his arm.

"It's like the whole world opened up and I discovered what I wanted to do," he says.

He found that tattooing required the same dedication, the same precision and the same creative spirit as other visual arts.

"It's just that I'm doing it on people now, not paper," he says.

Bee worked in tattoo shops for five years in Philadelphia and another 10 in San Francisco before returning to Cincinnati.

During that time, the mostly self-taught tattooist became well known in the industry. He gathered numerous accolades, including first-place awards for male and female tattoos at the 1995 National Tattoo Convention and was named one of the top 25 tattoo artists in Tattoo Magazine.

Beelistic's, which opened May 1, sits near the University of Cincinnati in a small, but cozy, shop. The floors are covered in soft leopard print carpet, the wood trim is painted with a marbled effect, courtesy of Bee's sister, and most walls are covered ceiling to floor with flash of every kind.

But most impressive about the place is the attention to cleanliness. Sterilization is done in a separate room, which has a window so patrons can see the autoclave equipment, a heat/steam/pressure sterilization unit used in hospitals. Most tattoo materials are used only once to prevent contamination, though certain reusable materials are put through the autoclave.

Bee is also stringent about whom he tattoos - he never does ink on anyone who is drunk or under 18 years old.

It's a sharp contrast to the tattoo shops publicized in the media. In May, Tony Pippin of Colerain Township pleaded guilty to running an illegal tattoo shop for teenagers out of his apartment on Banning Road. Because Pippin did not use proper sterilization methods, at least one teen became ill. As many as 150 students could be affected.

In a world where one irresponsible person put dozens of lives at risk - possibly transmitting hepatitis, tuberculosis or HIV - it's refreshing to see a tattoo shop taking every conceivable safety precaution.

For Bee, it's all part of love for the craft. That's why he often shows up in a suit and tie to show he means business. That's why he works with customers to develop unique and custom designs. And that's why he spends time doing what most other places don't, like soldering his own needles to get the best finished product possible.

That sounds like something that might be said by Edison, who with five dots on his left forearm, also had a tattoo.

E-mail mdowns@enquirer.com