The LeBron James More Than A Game Tour hit the nation’s capitol for its second stop. The second edition of the Air Max LeBron VII followed suit.

The rule of thumb: white, with green trim. The end result? The respective city’s artist greatest whim. And with DC as the backdrop, “community” served as the central theme.

Cynthia Rudzis approached this shoe design like a tattoo: the balance of positive and negative space, with a nod to traditional imagery. The traditional image of choice: the St. Vincent-St. Mary team huddle - with cheering fans in the background.

From there, the shoe represents the head-on idea of a tattoo sleeve: one side slammed full of line and color; the other balanced in its natural state. An artistic hint of design ties the two together.

The end result: a “sleeved-out” left shoe complimented by a right shoe with traditional script.

With a long career steeped in graphic design and art direction, Rudzis left a corporate design tenure to pursue an apprenticeship as a tattoo artist. The evidence of her ability to embrace both solid design sensibility and a deep respect for Traditional American tattooing is more than evident in the final product:

The heart of the nation’s decision-making core.

Oh, and the DC Artist Series Air Max LeBron VII.

Check out the photographs, and tell us what you think in the comments.