Rosalie Hurr, Author at Things&Ink

January 9, 2016

The Floral Fox

Amy Rose is a 29-year-old artist from the Cotswold, who creates soft pencilled botanical art in muted tones. We chat to Amy about what inspires her and her tattoos, and she created the piece Winter’s Hand just for us…

Winter’s Hand

Do you have a background in art? The only art course I have done is a Btec national diploma in Fine art when I was 16 and I had no idea what I wanted from it. I have been drawing from a very young age and haven’t stopped ever since.

What inspires you? Mostly I am inspired by botany and the natural world. I am also a trained in florist, so my flower knowledge helps me when I am looking for botanical inspiration. I also get inspired by objects that I collect which can be anything from antique books, framed moths and bugs, bones and other curiosities like that.

What do you like to draw? Anything botanical, animals, insects and oddities. I usually spend hours reading up on certain plants, flowers or animals and finding out about natural habits and behaviours before I start a piece. I have a big collection of natural history books and botanical books that I have collected and inherited from my grandad that keep me inspired.

What medium do you use? I use coloured pencil on coloured paper, normally soft prismacolor. I also like to use black ink but find that with botanical work it looses certain elements when you don’t use colour.

Where can people buy your art? I have a shop on Etsy.

Do you have any tattoos? What do you think of tattoos in general? I only have five tattoos so would love to add to them in the future. I love tattoos, I love how diverse tattoo culture is and how it keeps evolving, there is so many different styles my favourite being botanical black work.

January 8, 2016

Film Review: San Andreas

Our guest blogger is hobbyist film and TV series reviewer and writer Harry Casey-Woodward. On th-ink.co.uk Harry will be writing a series of posts in which he will be sharing his opinions on things he has watched…

San Andreas, 2015, Cert 12, dir Brad Peyton

Why do big budget American filmmakers insist on making disaster movies and expect us to be entertained by them? Even worse, why do they ask us to take them seriously? If you wanted to make a movie about the power of the human spirit overcoming disaster, you could make a documentary about real tragedies like the recent earthquakes and tsunamis in Asia. However there has been a pattern of American disaster movies pitting everyday Americans against fictional natural calamities. The problem with these films is that they try everything they can to get sympathy for their everyday American characters. Nine times out of ten they fail through bad writing. San Andreas is no exception.

The only good point I can think of for this film is that it is based on some real geology, or geology I remember learning at school. The San Andreas fault line is a crack in the Earth’s crust which just happens to sit under the west coast of America. Regions that sit over divisions between the tectonic plates (like Japan, to give another example) have suffered horrendous earthquakes because the plates are constantly moving and rubbing each other, causing tremors. On the San Andreas line, the plates are moving apart and a small piece of the American West coast will eventually break off and become an island. This process is depicted in the film, just speeded up. Somebody clearly read about this theory and thought it would make a great movie.

The fact this film is loosely based on some geology doesn’t save it from being a ridiculous farce. For one thing, the hero is a rescue helicopter pilot played by ex-wrestler Dwayne ‘the Rock’ Johnson. Johnson has made a name for himself as a muscle-bound action hero for the 21st century, being cast in such suitable roles as Hercules and the Fast and Furious franchise. So when I’m watching a film with Dwayne Johnson I expect him to play an action hero. I do not expect emotional drama.

Johnson is playing a heroic pilot but he also happens to be a father going through a divorce. In the middle of his emotional turmoil earthquakes of mighty magnitude strike the San Andreas area, endangering his various family members who he attempts to round up and save. So he performs various action man stunts like pulling distracted drivers out of their wrecked cars and even knocking out a looter with his own gun. But there are also scenes where he has long intimate conversations with his wife about their family situation and a previous daughter who tragically drowned. The screenwriters have clearly gone to some lengths to build some family history for the main characters to get the audience interested. But it doesn’t quite work when the male character is a towering body builder and the female’s hair is always beautifully styled despite said woman surviving collapsing buildings and floods. In short, as hard as the actors tried their characters and their situation just weren’t believable.

While watching the film, I was getting confused about whether I should be paying attention to the good-looking everyday disaster survivors overcoming their marital strife or the spectacular, CGI scenes of tumbling sky scrapers and flooded streets. In fact, I always find it worrying when these disaster movies present earthquakes and tsunamis as excuses for epic set pieces to entertain audiences, when the devastation they cause in the real world is all too clear.

I felt the makers of San Andreas needed to decide whether they were making a tasteless exploitation of natural disasters or an intimate family drama. You can’t really do both. Worse still is to turn this mess into some form of American patriotism. The film begs sympathy for American citizens by placing them through grand suffering and destroying their famous landmarks, then emphasising how great they are with the few triumphant survivors. It felt a little like the filmmakers were creating their own 9/11. I’m not saying Americans don’t deserve sympathy for their tragedies, but I can’t help feeling that the amount of effort and money spent on San Andreas could have been used, as I said before, to raise awareness of real natural disasters or even to provide relief for the victims.

It is unclear what the intentions of the makers of San Andreas were, but they have made an action-packed slice of nonsense you can stick on in the background and vaguely pay attention to while you do more important things. You also get to see Kylie Minogue in a very minor role.

January 7, 2016

Collection Tattoos

Just like tattoos, the things people collect are personal and unique. Guest blogger Amber Bryce decided to explore the ties between the two by speaking with three toy collectors, to see what inspired their collections and how these in turn have inspired their tattoo choices…

“When I was a kid, I would daydream through every Saturday morning ballet class about finding the next thing to add to my collections. These ranged from Spice Girls photos for my fluorescent pink album, to sparkly Pokemon cards and miniature car models. Collecting has always helped my mind to focus in on something and block out the chaos of the world, creating soothing rhythms out of mundane objects.

Still to this day I can’t let go of my collection of Pokemon cards or Spice Girls photos. There’s just something about childhood nostalgias that’s so comforting and aesthetically inspiring. Perhaps this is why toy collecting in particular is so popular, as it allows people to hold onto the fleeting moments of growing up, and the joy such things brought us.

There’s also a very close connection between toy collecting and tattoos. Candy-coloured My Little Ponies, perfectly accessorized Barbies and the tall, bright hair of trolls all prove how the charismatic designs of our childhood toys make the perfect kitsch tattoos.

I spoke to three lovely Instagram ladies about their toy collections and which tattoo or tattoos these have inspired”:

Name: Jenna Greenwood Location: Bradford

I have always been a hoarder and collector ever since I was a child. A lot of the things I have from the 80s and 90s are my original toys that I could never seem to part with. When I was little my mum and dad would recall with joy a toy from their childhoods, and when questioned as to where it was or if they still had it, I would always get the same reply, they’d gotten ‘too old for it’. My brother and I used to be horrified at the thought of getting rid of our toys! I never wanted that to happen, so I stockpiled all my favourites. Now it’s a case of reclaiming my childhood and the simple things that used to bring me lots of happiness. The nostalgia now is lovely!

I only get tattoos of the things that have or do give me great pleasure, I think if it’s a captured happy memory I can never go off it or change my taste. With that in mind, my right thigh is dedicated to my childhood and the things I used to love, so as well as my troll tattoo, there is an emerald for one of my favourite films Return to Oz, a mood ring, a dodo (a childhood obsession) and seaside paraphernalia. It’s not finished yet, but I’m hoping to add a tamagotchi and an ever-lasting gobstopper soon to complete it!

Jody Dawber has done all the pieces on my childhood tattoo. I found her work through Instagram and knew as soon as I saw it she was the one for this piece. Her style is fun and colourful with a grown up twist and I just fell in love with her work as soon as I saw it!

In the future, I’d like to factor in something Sindy and Sylvanian Family related too, but I’m not sure where they’re going to go yet. I might have to start on the other thigh if I keep finding stuff in my parents loft!

Name: Andrea Taylor Location: Adelaide South Australia

I collect lots and lots of dolls! My main collection is of Barbie, though. I always loved Barbie as a little girl, and had so many of them, but when I was in my late teens I got rid of a bunch. About 4 years ago I realised this was a huge mistake and spent a lot of time making a list of which dolls I had had and tracking them down again. It sort of snowballed from there and I’ve ended up with a lot more than just recollecting my childhood dolls.

This has inspired my one and only tattoo, which is of an illustration of Crystal Barbie. It was done by Sarah K at Pink Flamingo Parlour. She already had it drawn up with some other 80s/90s nostalgia and I saw it on her feed so I got in touch after some prompting from friends. It was exactly what I had been envisioning when I thought of my perfect Barbie tattoo.

In the future I’d love to get a 60s Barbie heart on my other thigh as the 60s and 80s are my two favourite decades for Barbie, so I’d like to pay tribute to both of them.

Name: Jessica Reeves Location: London

I collect so many things! Right now I am actively collecting Nevalyashka dolls (Russian roly poly dolls), Sonny Angels, kewpie dolls, Blythe dolls and any vintage toy that catches my eye (usually something that squeaks or moves or plays music in some way). But I also have a pretty large collection of kitsch vintage ceramics – mainly cats and deer – that I have been collecting for about four years now. I haven’t added anything new to this collection for a while but the objects I already own bring me a lot of happiness! I am drawn to many of these objects for their nostalgic value but also their aesthetic just really appeals to me and I love to surround myself with things that make my environment an inspiring, relaxing and beautiful (to me) place to be.

I actually have a few tattoos inspired by my collections! On my left leg I have two fairly large homages to my collection of vintage ceramics. Both of these tattoos contain so many elements that I just adore – cats, deer, sweets and Pearl Jam lyrics! They are so personal to me and I adore them both. On my right leg I have a super-cute tattoo of a Nevalyashka doll, inspired by my ever growing collection of these vintage roly poly dolls and a tattoo of a kewpie doll covered in tattoos. My boyfriend has a matching kewpie, which also makes this tattoo extra-special.

Both the tattoos on my left leg are done by Amy Savage and I chose her for her beautiful use of colours and personality that she brings to the animal portraits she has done a lot of in the past. The roly poly doll is by Rachel Baldwin and I chose her for her awesome cartoon-like style. I love that my nevalyashka tattoo kind of looks like a sticker, it’s just so bold and perfect! The kewpie was done by Luke Kempton and I picked him because he can turn his hand to any idea and style, and he has made some rad tattoos on my boyfriend in the past.

I love how personal my tattoos inspired by my collections are and I don’t see that connection becoming any less powerful in the future. And as my collections evolve over time there always seems to be some new object to commemorate on my skin forever!

January 6, 2016January 6, 2016

Does it Hurt? A Compilation of Tattoos and the People They Collect

We chatted to AJ Taheri, Frederick, MD, writer and editor for Weeva, an online company that create personalised scrapbooks and family history books, about his new project; Does it Hurt? A Compilation of Tattoos and the People They Collect.

What is the Does it Hurt? A Compilation of Tattoos and the People They Collect project? Weeva makes memory books. A lot like scrapbooks, you add your stories and photos into as many sections as you like. You can send out invitations via Facebook or email, requesting friends and family to join in as well and expand your book. Typically we make them as anniversary gifts, birthday surprises, for family reunions, memorials, etc., but lately we’ve been making a lot of community projects. What that means is that everything is the same, except that there’s no invitation necessary. Anyone can participate and add their stories and photos, and that’s what this project is: a collection of stories and photos of tattoos that anyone can add to to share their art, their personal expression, and their passion for ink.

How did the project start? Starting the project took no time at all; once I decided I wanted to do it, all I needed was a title, and then boom, there it was. Having so many tattoos means people are always stopping me to compliment them, ask questions about them, and share their own stories, and I’ve heard so many interesting things that way. I figured it would be really cool to give people a place to share their own tattoos and the stories behind them in a place other than a blog or a Facebook status. This begins online, but eventually it’ll be a printed book, something more tangible and permanent than just posting something quick on a passing internet thread.

What inspired you? Tattoos are more common today than they have been in the past, but there’s still a bit of a stigma surrounding them. I just find it really fascinating hearing how many different reasons people have for getting tattooed, seeing what they chose to have on them forever, and knowing what their lives are like behind that. Yeah, some tattoos are on gangsters or prisoners, but some are on millionaires, rockstars, investment bankers, old men, young women, etc. The point is that there are people from every single walk of life who have tattoos, and they all have unique stories. Those are the ones I love to hear.

How can people get involved? Getting involved is literally as easy as clicking here and sharing your experience. It doesn’t cost anything, you can sign in via Facebook, and you aren’t obligated to purchase the book once it’s created. All you’re doing by getting involved is adding your thread to the tapestry, making the story better for everyone who wants to go there and read them or buy it when it’s done.

I put a story into each thread to give people an idea of the kinds of things I’m looking for with this project. My own tattoos are mostly video-game themed, most of them go back to my childhood in some way or another. My entire right arm down to my hands and fingers is a Pokemon-themed sleeve, with the exception of a couple of Legend of Zelda pieces on my knuckles and forearm. I grew up on those games and I think the artwork is just really beautiful, really colorful and engaging. I’ve got all three rows of my knuckles tattooed, and the last one says LEFTOVER, because I toured with a band a while back called the Leftovers with some of my good friends from high school.

Can you tell us about your tattoos? I’ve got a full chest piece of a bleeding winged heart, and it doesn’t mean anything at all, I just got it because I like the art; a lot of people seem to have trouble understanding why you’d get a tattoo without a meaning behind it, but it’s just art to me. I’ve got some World of Warcraft pieces on my chest as well, a salute to a few years back when I almost played the game professionally. I could go on and on, I’ve got too many tattoos to name them all, but that’s the gist of it. They’re mostly gaming pieces and nods to important things in my life, but a few are just there to look cool.

January 5, 2016January 5, 2016

My Dog Sighs: Quiet Little Voices

Our guest blogger is 34-year-old Southsea creative Alanna Lauren, founder of RubyxRedxHeart, attended ‘quiet little voices’- an exhibition by street artist My Dog Sighs in November last year…

My Dog Sighs outside the shop by the mural he painted for the show

It was 7am on Friday the 13^th of November and already people were queuing outside Play Dead tattoo studio to get a tattoo by Samo White, fine artist turned tattoo artist, making Samo the perfect person to take My Dog Sighs limited (one time only) tattoo designs and paint them into skin.

After having a manic year with collaborative exhibitions not just in the UK, but internationally My Dog Sighs had a very short period of down time where friends graphic artist Lex Luthor and tattoo artist Samo White opened up a tattoo studio and street art gallery, just around the corner from his own studio. This was the perfect opportunity to go into the studio, relax with friends in a creative hub and come up with some ideas for a solo exhibition of his work, the first solo exhibition of his in the UK for two years.

Samo and My Dog Sighs

Sat in a tattoo studio/ art gallery called Play Dead, opposite a graveyard and planning for the exhibition to be on Friday the 13^th My Dog Sighs started to explore in his sketch book a darker side of work which he hasn’t done before, something different from the norm and from these elements rose his exhibition ‘Quiet Little Voices’.

As well as working on art for this show My Dog Sighs was also working on larger scale pieces for group shows in LA (Nov 2015) and Miami (December 2015) and after Christmas break working towards a show in New York in May 2016.

Follow My Dog Sighs on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook for more artwork and news of future events.