I fell in love with Cris Cleen’s work the moment I first saw it.
Cris Cleen – artist and tattooer
His work encompasses everything I love in art and tattoos, he has a very traditional and antique style that also has a softness and femininity about it. He has created a world of ladies, flowers and butterflies that instantly drew me in when I saw his documentary short on Vimeo last year.
In this documentary, Cleen talks about the history of tattooing and how the old guys impact the way he looks and what he surrounds himself with. For Cleen, tattooing is about the whole experience, the way you look and act make a big difference and he is dedicated to giving people unique tattoos. His work and his style are almost of another era, but at the same time they are timeless and romantic, even erotic.
I have recently emailed Cris Cleen about booking an appointment with him when I go to New York next year. And luckily for me, he said he would happily tattoo me. Now all I have to do is save my pennies… (luckily I have this – New York ink fund).
New guest blog post from Christina Owen featuring the cutest little Russian doll tattoos I have ever seen…here is the story of Christina and Jess’s matching tattoos.
Christina and Jess
My friend Jess and I live a couple of hundred miles apart. She lives in Cardiff, I live in London. We work busy schedules and we don’t get to see each other much. We also both love tattoos and don’t take ourselves too seriously. So when I found time to go and see Jess for a couple of days in June, we decided the best course of action would be to get matching tattoos, for no other reason than because we are great friends, and because it will remind us that we’re always there, even though most of the time we’re, er…not.
It’s common for couples to get matching tattoos, but what about the ‘buddy tattoo’ (I may have just coined that phrase…)? When Lord of the Rings finished filming in 2002, the nine members of the Fellowship of the Ring got matching Elvish tattoos. Earlier this year, Adele and Joy Williams from The Civil Wars got a tiny matching friend tattoo after being on tour together.
Our friends mean the world to us. And we express that in different ways. Jess and I chose a little, girly Russian Doll tattoo, for no other reason than because we LIKED it (and that’s reason enough). Some of our friends shook their heads at us and called us silly, but to us (and to every girl out there who loves tattoos and is comfortable in her own – colourful – skin) it made perfect sense.
Jess headed to Physical Graffiti in Cardiff and spoke to Tasha Pollendine, whose cute and colourful style of tattoos we had looked up online and loved. Tasha drew us a pair of gorgeous pink matching dolls based on a picture Jess showed her. All that was left was for me to take the National Express to Cardiff and for us both to jump in the chair…
While we had our tattoos done, we both chatted to Tasha who was easygoing, friendly, patient and very talented. I grilled her, interview-style on how, why and when she got into tattooing, and made her snort with laughter and have to stop tattooing me at one stage, when I asked her if she’s ever sneezed and accidentally drawn a huge ink line down someone’s arm (probably better not to put a tattoo artist off like that when they are making permanent marks on your skin, guys). The atmosphere in the shop was relaxed, and we spent a fun couple of hours talking to the other tattoo artists and customers. Jess and I chose to have our tattoos in different places on our bodies (a nod to our own individual personalities) – she chose the back of her left ankle and I chose the back of my right upper arm.
I’m back in London now, and don’t know when I’ll see Jess next. But I now have mini-Jess on my arm to remind me that distance doesn’t really matter – good friends will always make time for one another.
I think that Mini-Jess is definitely the cutest tattoo in my collection so far. Thanks Tasha – I’m sure I’ll be back to get tattooed by you again!
This rose tattoo is one of the many photos that makes up a photo montage called ‘The Many Faces of Sarcoma’ a campaign to raise awareness about a rare form of cancer
The Many Faces of Sarcoma – 18-24 June 2012, Sarcoma Awareness Week.
Rose tattoo by Steve Vinall
This rose tattoo belongs to James from Papercut Pictures, not only have I worked with James on the London Tattoo Convention series, but he is also my boyfriend, so this is a difficult and emotional post to write.
James’s sister Katherine died from the rare form of cancer sarcoma just over a year ago. James wanted to get a tattoo in memory of his sister and Katherine had a rose tattoo down her side. It sits on his chest so she is always close to his heart.
Katherine’s Tattoo
Tattoos can mean so many different things and capture very different emotions. Katherine got her rose tattoo before she died, so she could live life to the full and experience as many things as possible. James got his rose tattoo, so that he always carries with him a memory of his sister.
Sarcoma UK is the main charity in the UK dealing with all types of sarcoma. Sarcomas are rare cancers that develop in the supporting or connective tissues of the body such as muscle, bone, nerves, cartilage, blood vessels and fat.
Sarcoma does not discriminate – there are around 3,200 new cases each year in the UK.
You can support Sarcoma UK’s campaign by uploading your own picture to The Many Faces of Sarcoma. You can also watch Papercut Pictures’ film All in it together – living with Sarcoma, Katherine features in the film, unfortunately she died two weeks before the film was launched.
A few days ago I received an email from the lovely people over at Hotel Street (the Sailor Jerry pop-up bar I blogged about recently) to see if I might be interested in meeting Henk Schiffmacher on Wednesday 13th June for a bloggers lunch. Urm, silly question really, of course I bloody would.
Henk has curated the gallery at Hotel Street with all the Sailor Jerry artwork, and is the founder of the Amsterdam Tattoo Museum. Henk has tattooed a host of celebrities including the likes of Kurt Cobain, Limp Bizkit and Robbie Williams. In other words, Henk is a bit of a legend in the tattoo industry.
Here I am with the legend himself, Henk Schiffmacher (excuse my stupid smirk)
So on 13 June, I, along with other excited bloggers and journalists, went to The Diner to have a lunch date with Henk and his lovely wife Louise van Teylingenm, who used to be his apprentice.
Husband and wife - Louise van Teylingen and Henk Schiffmacher
Henk talked to us about the changing image of tattoos, “it used to be more about you pick ’em and I’ll stick ’em”. In other words, the tattoo world used to be more about going into a shop and just picking something there and then and from a piece of flash. Nowadays there is lots more custom tattooing, where you work with an artist to create a unique tattoo. And people are becoming much more considered tattoo collectors. We also chatted about whether or not tattooing is losing its spontaneity because of this, spur-of-the-moment tattoos can be lots of fun and also a memory of a point in time.
But I think that is the beauty of tattooing, some tattooing is about creating a unique piece of art for your body, but a huge part of it is also about fun and memories – something that you choose to do just because you fancy it on the day.
Henk with a Th'ink business card under his hat - glad to see he is a fan of my blog
And of course, we all showed off our ink, too.
Henk's Sailor Jerry monkey and the pattern above it is a tattoo of one his children's first drawings (aww)Louise's Sailor Jerry tattoo
I love the story behind this one. Below is a little tattoo on Louise’s neck that a Japanese friend of hers did for her. The monkey is reaching up, because it is based on a story or myth that a monkey is always trying to grab for the moon.
Louise's monkey tattoo
The conversation also got round to how we feel about having names tattooed on us – something which always divides opinion. Names can be tattooed when you’re drunk, mistakingly or not, when you’re in love with someone or as a tribute. But I loved Henk’s opinion that people who have names tattooed on them are the most loyal people and that it is a huge compliment for someone to get your name tattooed on them.
Louise's Henk tattooLouise's Hank tattoo
Henk also told us how he would like the romantic part of tattooing to be kept alive. He doesn’t like the white, minimalist shops that exist now. Tattoo shops should have history, they should be places you feel comfortable, the walls should be covered in flash that the artists in the shop have created themselves. And I guess it’s a sign of the times, that there has even been a pop-up tattoo shop in Selfridges…
We chatted about so much more than that too. From tattooing being a kind of passport and how we can be drawn to fellow tattoo enthusiasts, to tattooing being a form of non-verbal communication – the mirror of one’s mind – and Russian prison tattoos – stars on the knees means that being in the hole did not break you. We even talked about April Flores’ Cyberskin pussy. And on that note I think I shall end this blog post…
Henk and Louise - tattooed hands
Henk is an extremely interesting man and I hope to go over to the Amsterdam Tattoo Museum in July to see him and Louise. And in the meantime, I would highly recommend you pop over to Hotel Street to take a look at the Sailor Jerry flash…
I am very excited to announce the introduction of a new guest blogger – Christina Owen. She is a Th’ink feature girl and tattoo collector. Here are her thoughts on women and tattoos.
Tattoos and the women who love them
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about women and tattoos, and what it is we love about them, and how they compliment or juxtapose our femininity, what they add to us and what they might take away.
I read this article in the Daily Mail by Alex Blimes, which, while written in 2008 (before LA Ink hit our screens and suddenly everyone was going crazy over Kat Von D) was nonetheless published in a time where tattoos (on men and women) had never been more popular. And the article implies (in fact, it doesn’t even imply. It SAYS) that tattoos on women are unsexy, badly thought out and representative of nothing other than a vague hankering to be like a celebrity with a crazy lifestyle. I wondered if this woman had ever had an intelligent conversation with someone like you or I?
And so I decided to defend our position. Research wise, I didn’t know where to begin. And as I’m not as scientist, or a historian, I decided to ask my friends what they thought. Smart, professional men and women in our twenties, thirties and forties, most of whom have tattoos and none of whom regret them. Their thoughts were many and varied and they seemed to respond to many different questions about tattoos that I hadn’t necessarily asked, but that nonetheless come up in everyday life.
This is what they said:
“All mine have personal meanings to me. Also, personally ,once I had the first one I found them addictive . I don’t care what people think about me or my tats, I got them for me and if people want to judge you cause you have them, that is their problem.”
“I was very excited to make the transition from non-tattooed lady to tattooed lady. I’ve always found good tattoos beautiful and fascinating. For me, it’s about getting a good piece of art. It doesn’t necessarily have to have a meaning (although mine does), I just want it to be a great piece of work that I will always own and will just be mine. Even if I don’t always hold much to the meaning, good art doesn’t suddenly become bad art.”
“When people say the tattoos will look horrible when I am old, I think that when I’m old(er) I’ll have varicose veins, paper thin skin that bruises and tears every time I bang into the door frame and I won’t use the upstairs of my house as it will take two hours to get up and two hours to get my breath back. If my mental capacity has deteriorated badly enough then I’ll probably look at the tattoo on my arm and wonder whose arm that is. It’s likely that I’ll faint when I stand up and if I drop anything, I ain’t picking it up as I’ll be going over myself – I suspect that how my tattoos look, will be the least of my worries !”
“Chicks with tattoos are HOT !” (Okay, most of us are smart too!)
“Tattoos are just a way of adorning your body and modifying it.”
“Tattoos on women, if done well, look amazing to me, and I try my best not to judge anyone based on their ink.”
“With my first tattoo I do remember distinctly lying in bed that night thinking “Oh good god I’ve permanently scarred myself…” but I knew it was the right thing to do. That first one was a little bit about being free from all of the ‘What ifs?’ and so part of why I had it was to deal with that moment of panic. I suppose I wanted to give myself something I could deal with, to try and show my stubborn brain that if I am happy with something (or some part of me or my personality) then it doesn’t matter what anyone else might think. And future be damned because we can’t plan everything. Sometimes you just have to jump in and hope for the best and not spend your whole life worrying about what will happen if you do something and it’s wrong.”
Nowadays there are so many different interpretations of what is attractive that does it really matter to one person if another is covered in tattoos? For so many of us, it isn’t just mindless and it’s not just a whim. We’ve thought about it, we love it and we love how having tattoos makes us feel.
