Amber Carnegie, Author at Things&Ink

August 27, 2019

Holly Astral: ‘The Art of Tarot’ Project

After seeing sneak peeks and behind-the-scenes pics from some of our favourite tattoo artists taking part in ‘TAROT the art of Tarot’ we couldn’t help but be intrigued!

We caught up with Holly Astral, the woman behind ‘TAROT the art of Tarot’ and Gravity Tattoo Studio to find out more about the project and how you can get your own piece of it…

Poster for Tarot, The art of Tarot project by Holly Astral

What inspired you to start the ‘TAROT The Art of Tarot’ project? It just came up spontaneously! Me and the girls in the shop love reading tarot, and one day we started talking about how fun it would be to design some tarot cards between us, and the idea for the show just clicked into place! Since I got the keys to the building that is now Gravity Tattoo Shop I’d always said I’d like to hold an art exhibition in the ground floor reception area, and this seemed perfect!

You’ve taken part in exhibitions at galleries across Europe and America, was this part of your motivation for the tarot project? Totally! Before I was a tattoo artist I was a toy designer, and ran my own line of designer toys. During that time I put on a couple of collaborative art shows in London, and one in LA. Each one showcased toys which has been customised by other designers in the industry and were so much fun to put on. My main motivation for this show and those that I’ve organised in the past is to showcase the talent of those around me – I figured I’d put on the kind of shows I’d like to attend.

Poster for the Tarot Tattoo Project

What message do you hope to spread? I’m interested to get the conversation going about tarot cards, and how people view them. I am relatively new to the concept, having dabbled a little as a teenager. I had a very rough start to this year and got into it as I was looking for answers. I don’t believe in divination or mediums, rather my take on tarot is that whatever you latch onto within a reading is your subconscious trying to tell you about a part of your life you need to look a little deeper at, or maybe an answer that you already know and need permission to bring to the surface. We all have the answers to our problems inside of us and activities like tarot reading can help us to bring the answers to the surface.

The Tarot project aims to raise funds for Hula Animal Rescue, does that charity mean a lot to you? Absolutely! We raise money for them throughout the year, and last year put on a flash day to fund raise for them. Gravity is a vegan tattoo shop and animal welfare is important to us, Hula are a wonderful small charity doing great things for animals.

Sneak peak at the Tarot Project Exhibition

You’ve brought together 78 individual artists for the tarot project – how did you pick them? Well at first we were going to do just the 22 major arcana from the tarot deck, so we asked some friends if they’d like to design a card for the show and it just got bigger and bigger! Before I knew it we had the entire deck being created, we were just blown away by the response.

Is there a wide variety of styles, mediums and interpretations? It has been incredible seeing all the artwork come back for the show! We left it up to the artists how they wanted to create their cards – any medium was okay, the only proviso being that it needed to fit in an A4 frame for the show layout. We have paintings, drawings, digital artworks and even a couple of embroidered pieces in the show. Seeing how everyone interpreted their card’s meaning has been so fun to see, with so many unique and interesting designs coming back to us. All the pieces they’ve created for the show were available to purchase for £100 each (a steal!)

Will they only be available to purchase at the show? First dibs on purchasing artwork from the show will be given to everyone who attends on the night of the party (August 24th 6-9pm) with any remaining artworks sales being opened up to the internet in the weeks after the show.

Sneak peak at the Tarot Tattoo Project

Will tarot sets be available to purchase too? We can’t wait to do a reading with them! Yes! Pre-orders are now closed but were available through our big cartel: gravitytattoo.bigcartel.com/product/tarot-cards.

Celebrating the art, design and creativity of tattooing will the tarot project be exhibiting anywhere else before the pieces go to their new owners? Nope! Tarot is a one night event!

Holly Astral - The Art of Tarot Tattoo Project

You used to create your own plush toys ‘Cavey’ and even exhibited at ToyCon, was this integral to deciding to create a physical product from the exhibition? My background in product and the toy industry definitely helped, and I also recognised that not everyone can afford £100 for an artwork and wanted to make an item that everyone could afford, so they can still contribute to the charity. Making the deck of cards seemed like the perfect idea, and a great way to showcase all the great art from the show! We enlisted the help of a local printers to help us make the cards as fab as possible.

This is your first exhibition at your studio Gravity Tattoo Shop, has doing the Tarot project given you a taste for curating tattoo art exhibitions again? Absolutely! We’ll be doing another, different show, next year!

Tarot Tattoo Project Poster

Don’t miss the launch of ‘TAROT The Art of Tarot’ on August 24th at Gravity Tattoo Shop in Leighton Buzzard from 6pm- 9pm or follow over on Instagram for more information!

Interview by Amber Carnegie originally posted on the Barber DTS Tattoo Supplies blog.

November 29, 2017

Interview: Sublime with Rome

As part of their short UK run of shows and penultimate performance before Boomtown festival, Sublime With Rome landed at Bristol’s O2 Academy on 12th August to release their infectious mix of reggae, rock, hip hop and ska.

Before their set, music blogger Verity Vincent sat down with lead singer Rome Ramirez who has led the band’s line-up since 2009, alongside Sublime bassist Eric Wilson and new drummer Carlos Verdugo. swr2 So how have the other UK shows been so far? The other shows have been awesome, just fucking packed, people have been screaming. The UK is always good and you’re so passionate about music so, it’s cool to come over from the US. In the US there’s a lot of bands that tour all the time and there’s a lot of competition so to be able to come over here and do that is awesome.

And you’re playing Boomtown tomorrow, have you done much of the festival circuit in the UK? We’ve done like a dozen or so festivals over here before, but this will probably be the biggest one.

I’ve never done Boomtown but it’s supposed to be like a mini Glastonbury… It’s funny you should say that because that’s what we keep hearing so, I’m excited for that!

And then you’re back in the US to tour with Offspring? We start that in about three weeks. We played a show in southern California together, just us two bands and it was a massive success, bigger than what we would draw without them, and for them without us. With the bands being in the same area, and having a lot of mutual friends, it was just like, why don’t we go on the road?

We did a test run in Canada for a couple weeks and that was just awesome success.

So after the summer you’re back in the studio? October we’ll be back in the studio to release next summer.

At this point do you feel like you have a clear direction with which way your sound is going? Nah every time it’s kind of new. I know a lot of bands do that, they have their “thing” and that’s cool but, I think every album just has a different inspiration.

You always manage to have a good mix of sounds that are heavier and then more acoustic etc Yeah totally. Sometimes you can put on a reggae or rock album and it’s just – the same – for a fucking, hour and a half y’know. My favourite part about Sublime is being able to mix all that up. I don’t know how we do it, I’m still figuring that part out!

Do you feel like there’s less pressure of what music people expect from you, now that you’ve been established as Sublime With Rome for so long? Yeah, I think for me personally, I’m older now and been doing it for so long. People that come and listen to us and support us have already heard the news that we’ve been a band for almost eight years y’know. As far as that goes, and public perception goes, it’s been a lot more positive and they’ve had time to accept it.

That’s the cool thing about music though, it’s always expanding. And for me there’s so much involved in making a new album, that’s where the pressure is.

With the younger generation, do you think they’re an audience that will have heard your music before listening to Sublime? I think for the younger generation it’s still the other way around, with being introduced to Sublime and then they’re like… Oh what? That’s fucking crazy, let’s listen to what they’ve got! Just because, you know, Sublime was so massive. But, it’s awesome to be here and be able to do this and people that didn’t see Sublime, can come to our shows.

swr

Tattoo wise, do you have any favourite pieces of yours or particular artists you like to work with? Yeah! Nic Westfall, he has his own shop in Sacramento, California, he’s an insane artist. So fucking good. This is one of my favourite pieces (uncovers an incredible portrait situated on his forearm, just above an equally perfect Ren and Stimpy tattoo).

My buddy Nate Siggard he’s done most of my tattoos, and he’s tattoo’d pretty much all of us. And Jason Fritze from Florida, he’s done a million tattoos on Eric. He’s only done one on me but it wasn’t a good concept it was just a, fuckin’ cirlcle. I was like, “man I want you to give me one of those good tattoos!” but we were in the studio and didn’t have time. But we usually fly him out to our days off on the tour and he’ll come and chill for a day or two. Or if we’re at the studio, we’ll just invite him down and set up shop for a couple days and get some tattoos.

After speaking with Rome their set was insane launching with ‘Date Rape’ it perfectly set the tone for the rest of evening. Covering Toots & The Maytals ’54-46, That’s My Number’ among Sublime’s back catalogue and sprinkled with the bands’ own tracks including ‘Murdera’, ‘You Better Listen’ and ‘Panic’ from the 2011 album Yours Truly.

Rome, Eric and Carlos closed the night in timeless fashion with ‘What I Got’ and ’Santeria’, leaving the crowd in Bristol with an experience that had no doubt for most, been a long time coming.

October 31, 2017November 5, 2017

Interview With Lauren, The Ghost With The Most

We chatted to Lauren about her love of all things Hallows Eve, her tattoo collection and her home which we are desperate to visit…

Firstly, a little bit about yourself, where are you based? I’m based in Liverpool. Born and raised here!

What do you do for a living? I have a very mundane job working in a bank, but it funds a lovely social life and many a (regular) tattoo trip!

[Luke Jinks]

Where did your love of Halloween come from? I think I’ve always had an obsession with quite morbid and macabre things. One of my earliest memories is of playing different characters with friends, and I’d always want to play a girl who died, very tragically, and returned as a ghost to haunt them.

Do you have favourite Halloween horror films or book? Some of my favourite films now are ones I obsessed over as a kid. I loved Hocus Pocus and Return to Oz. I would read Goosebumps and Point Horror books at every available opportunity, and my favourite TV show was Are You Afraid of the Dark? I read Roald Dahl’s The Witches religiously (at least seven times!) as I loved his twisted humour and obsession with creepy individuals.

[Mark Cross]

Halloween seems to reflect in every part of you, tell us more about your personal style and accessories, how do your tattoos fit in with this? I don’t think I have a set style any more as I’ve never wanted to be pigeon-holed as looking a certain way, or fitting into a specific trend. I guess my tattoos are a permanent reflection of my likes, or things that I’ve always/will always love, whilst the way I look and dress changes.

I’m quite open to experimenting when it comes to clothing, but there’s usually a little nod to my love of all things spooky. I have found though, that the more tattoos I acquire, and the more patterned my skin becomes, the less patterned clothing I wear!

Does this creativity spill into your home? Your IG is full of fantastic treasures you’ve collected – do these influence you at all? It doesn’t so much these days. I studied Fine Art at uni and my final project was based on hoarding, collecting and taxidermy in art, but I rarely make anything these days. My boyfriend is an artist, though! He goes by the alias Daggers For Teeth and a lot of what he creates stems from his love of horror-punk and retro Halloween ephemera, so I feel like I live vicariously through his work!

How do people react to your tattoos Very positively, which is often a surprise! I tend to expect comments along the lines of, ‘but what will you do when you’re older?’ or ‘what about when you get married?’ – they’re things people have said to my tattooed, female friends! I’m lucky that I’ve not had anything negative said about mine, the majority of people tend to ask if they’re real, or if I’m wearing patterned tights. The nicest comments I tend to get are from tattoo artists who are happy to add to my ‘collection’, or people asking for recommendations.

Do your tattoos help you feel more confident, or help you to see your body differently? I’m not too sure. I’m quite shy, which people tend to be surprised by as they think that if you look ever so slightly outlandish, it’s for attention or that you’re an extrovert. I definitely love the idea that I’m decorating my body in pieces by artists who’s work I adore, and I’m honoured and so lucky that they agree to do it! So I’m happy with how I look with tattoos as opposed to not! But sometimes it does warrant unwanted attention which makes me feel a tad uncomfortable!

[Jemma Jones]

Do you have a favourite tattoo artist That’s a tough question! I have so many favourites! I’d love to get tattooed by Toothtaker, Daniel Octoriver, Diana Leets and Jon Larson! Also, all of the guys at Smith Street!

I consider myself so lucky to have been tattooed by a lot of my favourite artists within the UK already.

[Jemma Jones]

Do you have any favourite halloween tattoos / or can you take us through some of them? Yeah! I have a pumpkin lady by Harriet Heath where her boobs are where the ‘eye-holes’ should be! I also have an old witch and moon in some crazy-bright colours, that I got from Mark Cross whilst on holiday in New York last year. I love to find out what tattooers are working in cities I’m planning to visit.

I have a ghost with the word ‘spooky’ across it, so that the OOs make up the eyes, by Louie Rivers. Also, a little devil baby in pram with ‘Rosemary’s’ across it, by Jemma Jones, my mum’s name is Rosemary!

[Harriet Heath]

Have you got a favourite costume you’ve dressed up as for Halloweeen? I do! I dressed up as Lydia Deetz from Beetlejuice, in full wedding garb, the year before last. I’d planned it for a good while and made parts of the outfit. She’s one of my movie heroines! My boyfriend, Craig, and I also dressed up as the Grady twins from The Shining this year. He looked pretty hysterical with a wig, moustache and dress!

Any future tattoo plans? Always! Craig and I are off to Barcelona next week so we’re going to try and book something whilst we’re there. There are some incredible artists there! We love all of the artists at LTW and have been tattooed there twice before.

Other than that, I tend to book tattoos on a whim.

August 16, 2017

Ones to watch at ArcTanGent

Music writer Amber is getting ready to celebrate ArcTanGent’s 5th year at Fernhill Farm, the ultimate festival for music lovers. Guaranteed to bring you the best in math-rock, alt-rock, post-rock and basically any kind of hyphenated rock with everything in between.

With such a diverse line-up Amber has created a list of bands you cannot afford to miss.

arctangent-tshirt-text-950x1343

Thursday

Nordic Giants

Possibly the most immersive live band I have ever seen, Nordic Giants submerge you in cinema as the duo drive you through a narrative with their mesmerising soundscapes.

Heck

Last night it hit social media that ArcTanGent would be Heck’s final show. The most hopeful and hilarious comment on the thread said ‘This is where you announce your new album called ‘The Last Show’ at ArcTanGent’ but if it isn’t this then it’s everyone’s last chance to make it count.

Friday

H09909

I got my first taste of H09909 (Horror) when they supported on The Dillinger Escape Plan’s final UK tour. I got a split lip and I was just a casual bystander. Finding itself somewhere between experimental hip hop and hardcore expect plenty of tentacle fingers and wedding dresses.

Listener

It’s about Listener time made it to the ArcTanGent line-up, especially on the biggest stage, Arc. I have never seen Listener in such a large environment but I guarantee it will an experience to remember.

Saturday

Employed To Serve

Employed To Serve are taking over and it’s easy to hear why. Their abrasive sound posseses each of their strengths in a way that forces crowds into each other. They are pushing the forefront of the British rock scene and are unmissable this weekend.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRf_2zA6jL0

Tricot

The perfect mix of unpredictable patterns and intricate upbeat rhythms, Tricot are not to be missed. Live, their intensity is met seamlessly with their brand of frantic rock appearing effortless in their epic talent.