Category: Guest bloggers

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Fashion Pearls of Wisdom: Ink Poisoned

Our guest blogger is Natalie McCreesh aka Pearl, a fashion lecturer,  freelance writer and creator of Fashion Pearls of Wisdom. This is the fourth of many posts to appear on th-ink.co.uk, in which Natalie will be telling us about her life in tattoos. Read the first, second and third in the series. 

nattta

I just tapped out during a tattoo session…

It’s one of the biggest fears people have before their first long sitting but for those of us regularly taking 3-5 hours at a time we are used to the process and become a little blasé about it all. Don’t get me wrong, there’s been a few places I’ve been tattooed that have made my eyes water – I very nearly did a little cry having my ribs tattooed. Once you know what to expect however, you learn to eat something beforehand, drink some water throughout and breathe deeply to get you past the tough spots.

Tattoo by Tacho Franch 

I generally enjoy getting tattooed, it’s exciting, it’s fun chatting to your artist and hanging out in the studio. I don’t even mind the Bepanthen rituals in the days that follow, the Clingfilm wrapping and the bizarre clothing choices you have to make to avoid any rubbing. The past few times however I’ve not been as enthusiastic, confessing to my boyfriend ‘I really don’t want to get tattooed today’. But when you’ve made the bookings and you really want a piece finished you just put those thoughts to one side and get on with it.

I went into the sitting without any worries, we were going to finish off the little bits of colour on my back piece and get the lines in to extend it down the back of my legs. I’ve got fairly big tattoo in that area already which wasn’t a problem so I had no feelings of apprehension.

I knew I was in trouble after the first line, I couldn’t relax into it like usual. Not a word was uttered as I hid my head under my hoodie. My amazing artist sensing the struggle just cracked on with it as fast as possible. How I even managed an hour I have no idea, by that time I was shaking all over, boiling hot and feeling sick. My body simply couldn’t take it and I tapped out. After some food and a hot drink, I calmed down and felt much better. The guys at the studio really looked after me as always and I was able to continue the rest of the session just with some little bits of colour on a different area – certainly no more lining!

After that we agreed that my body needed some TLC, I’d pushed it too far. I usually only have one sitting a month at most but I’d had four in a month, three of those in just one week. I usually heal quickly, within 6-7 days for the main stages but I still had unhealed patches from two weeks earlier. These patches struggled to heal well and ended up in deep sores, which will now have to be retouched. So my artist has put me on a tattoo ban for two months, during this time I am also going to take a much needed holiday in the sun. Falling back into unhealthy eating habits and missing out on gym time due to unhealed tattoos had taken its toll.  This break will be hard for me, especially if I end up at any conventions in the meantime, but it’s been a real wakeup call that we have to love our bodies from the inside just as much as the outside.

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Is there more to getting a tattoo than changing your appearance?

Here at Things&Ink we think there is so much more to getting a tattoo than merely changing your appearance. Things&Ink reader,  Hannah Keningale explores how tattoos have changed her, her lifestyle and even how she approaches situations.

For some, getting a tattoo is a very simple act of wanting to change their appearance; a transaction that will make them more fashionable, or perhaps help them pay homage to something they love. But for others, there is more to getting a tattoo than discussing a design and sitting in a chair wincing for a few hours. We often read stories of people who have made connections with others through their mutual love for art and permanence. We have seen beautiful images of colourful wedding days, amazing designs covering painful scars, and difficult journeys that have been celebrated and remembered with ink.

Pug by Abbie Williams 

So, how about me? What have I gained from getting tattooed? Do I have an amazing story to share? To be honest, the impact has been somewhat more subtle for me, yet in my eyes still very important. I remember the excitement of getting my first tattoo, and also the anticipation. I wasn’t too worried about the pain, but more about how to handle myself and what to except. After reading many websites, blogs, and magazine articles, I had gathered there was certain etiquette to follow. I was a little worried I might not conduct myself in the right way. Would they think my design ridiculous? Would I do something to offend the artist? Would it go wrong simply because I hadn’t made the right decisions? These are some of the thoughts of someone who suffers from anxiety. I go through this process almost every day with even the most mundane situations. I have to tell you, it’s not fun!

Tattoo by L’ain Freefall

I chose a studio called Evil from the Needle in Camden, London, and was lucky enough to get tattooed by L’ain Freefall. Everyone was so welcoming, and we talked all the way through my tattoo. No one laughed at me. No one said my design choice was stupid. The whole experience was really fun and I was actually a little sad when it was all over. From then on, tattoos have helped me build confidence. I love my body a lot more now.  I felt like I had something I wanted to show the world finally, and also enjoyed the affect of putting on the simplest of clothes and still having something colourful to my appearance. The biggest thing I have gained though is a sense of belonging. When I walk into one of my favourite studios I’m greeted with smiles and hugs. I’ve been able to share excitement with artists over design choices, been given gifts, compliments, even tea!

It may sound silly to some, but I feel truly at home when I’m sat in a tattoo studio, and I’m always planning my next visit. Tattoos have become part of my lifestyle now. I have prints adorning my walls, I can’t tear myself away from Instagram, blog pages, and tattoo magazines, and I even buy different clothes now that my body has changed. I think for many of us, there is more to getting tattooed than simply following fashion. While a lot of people still reject the idea of being tattooed as “acceptable” or “normal”, I actually feel more accepted and happy now than ever before.

Ice Cream by Paula Castle

So is there more to getting a tattoo than simply changing your skin? Well for me I’ve also gained new friendships, made new journeys, gotten over some of my anxiety, shared stories, shared laughs, and had a lot of fun. The experience changes you as much as the ink.

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Music Review: Atreyu

Our guest music writer Robert Moody continuously trawls the country for live music. In this post he reviews Atreyu and Shvpes who played a sold out Rescue Rooms in Nottingham last week.  

Atreyu

The ‘Sold Out’ signs were on display at The Rescue Rooms on Friday night, as Metalcore pioneers Atreyu descended on the venue as part of their first full UK tour in nearly 5 years. Following a lengthy hiatus, the band had torn apart The Underworld in Camden back in April of this year, and were now playing the similarly sized Rescue Rooms as a warm up show for their appearances at the weekend’s Reading & Leeds festivals.

The sole support for the evening came from Birmingham quintet Shvpes, who wasted no time launching into an energetic set to get the crowd warmed up. Shvpes are an interesting band to critique – having previously been known as Cytota, they have been touring for several years now and feel like a familiar name.  Yet the band are still very young as they played their first shows when most of the band members were under 18. Because of this where many bands have had time to hone their craft in the confines of smaller venues, this band have done so in the limelight, often supporting much larger bands. Since bringing in new vocalist Griffin Dickinson just under a year ago, the band have really begun to gain momentum, and watching them tonight it is clear to see why. Griffin commands a great stage presence and has a powerful voice to complement it, notably on latest single ‘State of Mine’. By the end of the set the pits were breaking out and the band left the stage to a warm reception.

But there was no doubt which band had sold the tickets for this show. Atreyu walked onstage to a thunderous applause, and launched into ‘Becoming The Bull’, which like every song in their set was well received. However, it was fair to say that throughout the set, the deeper Atreyu went into their back catalogue the more raucous the crowd became. Such that the intro riff to ‘Right Side of the Bed’ was enough to open up a large space in the packed room. Moments later bodies were flying across the room and as they moved straight into ‘The Crimson’ the room erupted.

As the band revealed to us in an interview before the show, they are not planning on playing live shows as frequently as they did prior to their hiatus, and instead want to focus on giving their absolute all to every show they play. This is firmly evidident throughout the show with drummer Brandon Saller still managing to deliver a great vocal performance during the most complex drum beats. Whilst bassist Porter McKnight even found himself out amongst the crowd towards the end of the set, with them promptly organising a circle pit around him. Lead vocalist Alex Varkatzas seemed slightly more muted on stage, but later revealed that his initial jump into the crowd 2 songs in had not gone so well, so on this particular occasion he was understandably forgiven!

The band’s hour long set covered everything fans expected and had come to see, right down to their cover of Bon Jovi’s ‘You Give Love a Bad Name’. Yet it was pleasantly surprising to see the first of the band’s new songs ‘So Others May Live’ generating a huge reaction from the crowd. By the time the band closed out with the classic ‘Ex’s and Oh’s’ the capacity crowd were in little doubt that Atreyu are not just back, but they are back at their best. Fans of the band can only hope that the decision to the title their upcoming album ‘Long Live’ is as much a reference to the band’s future as it is to their past.

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Playlist to get you moving

Our music writer Amber Carnegie has created a playlist to get you moving,  give it a listen and let us know what you think!

We are all guilty of loving those tracks that get us moving. I can’t resist a catchy chorus or something I can wield my leg as a pretend guitar to. So no apologies if this gets your feet tapping or if it makes you question your dance moves but hopefully as these playlists pick up you’ll be engrossed in throwback tracks or something you may have never listened to before.

The Dillinger Escape Plan – Milk Lizard
The Dillinger Escape Plan were kind enough to come to the UK to play two festivals over my birthday this year so I cannot help but picture myself dancing around in a field as soon as the jazzy intro kicks in. Regardless of my questionable moves when their labyrinth of riffs pick up.

Billy Joel – We Didn’t Start The Fire
If you are familiar with the American version of The Office then you will agree when I say when anything goes wrong in my life I can fit the blame into the lyrics of this song.  There isn’t a better way to get over something rubbish happening.

Every Time I Die – We’rewolf
What gets you dancing more than a cowbell?

The Ghost Of A Thousand – Knees, Toes, Teeth
Every Birthday and Christmas I wish for this band to reform but as it’s yet to happen I’ll probably just continue to get my hopes up every time I hear this song start up.

Four Year Strong – Wasting Time
As cheesy as it is this is ‘my jam’ I cannot believe I just typed it – but it’s true.

Jason Derulo – Trumpets
I’d love it if someone felt the same way about me as Jason Derulo does in this song… or if they at least came with a marching band.

Frank Turner – Photosynthesis
Do you have a song that makes you dance like an idiot but it’s so good you couldn’t care less? This is that song. When the club lights come on and your spinning in circles with your best friend singing ‘I won’t grow up’ there isn’t a better way I could think of ending a night out.

Images from Itunes & YouTube

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Drawing Inspiration: The Journey to a Tattoo

25-year-old novice Yogi Leanna Daley based in West Bromwich, has yet to go under the needle, in this post she talks about when she first became fascinated with tattoos and what ideas are inspiring her future tattoo choices… 

I remember as a child listening to the gentle chords of an acoustic or the energetic sounds of my uncle playing his electric guitar. Curious, I always found myself wondering (sneaking) into his room and exploring all the hidden treasures. This expedition is where I first came across tattoos. I would look through the bits and pieces of paper I found that showcased the tribal tattoo designs my uncle would sketch up in his free time. Then one day, he came back with a sprawling black tribal tattoo snaking from his wrist, circling his elbow and creeping all the way up to his neck. As a child I was consequently amazed. So growing up I was used to being around motorbikes, video games, sketches of all kinds and magazines.
Then, there is my mother, free spirit and hippie at heart who over the years would come back with another new tattoo adorning her body. Whether it is the midnight black cat, colourful butterflies or random Tinker Bell, it now results in her boasting nine small to medium tattoos, with intentions to expand to larger designs of candy-coloured skulls and a watercolour style design. Tattoos and hippy vibes were always part of my upbringing.

One of Leanna’s mum’s tattoos

Then there’s me. Always having the intention of getting tattoos and searching tattoo designs, but at 25 I am yet to go under the needle and my skin remains (frustratingly) untouched. I’ve always admired and perceived tattoos as pieces of art rather than a permanent statement of “coolness”. I’m a perfectionist at heart and that could be one of the reasons why I haven’t got tattooed yet. I think to myself “If I’m going to go through all that pain, I better choose a  design that I will love!” Tall order in reality as tastes change, but on the other hand they are permanent reminders of what you once were and who you are today. A visual ink diary, as you will.

The other reason simply put, The Fear. It is that threshold where you are intellectually aware that it will hurt, but due to never experiencing it, in reality you have actually no clue until you take the plunge. As my mother always says so eloquently “Leanna, it’s basically a needle scrapping through your skin. It’s going to hurt. End of.” There’s not much I can say to that.

Henna from a holiday in Marrakesh

And lastly, there is the constant stream of ideas filtering my head space; “dream catchers, wolves, the moon, native American goddesses, skulls, watercolour, a scaled skinned Mystique out of X-men crossed with Grendel’s golden serpentine mother in Beowulf with the headdress of a lion with scorpion and lion like features- a hybrid (they would represent my Pisces sun, Scorpio moon and Leo rising).” Filtering comes to mind here and thus with all of the above, my mind becomes overstimulated with possibilities. So I am determined to start my journey to getting a tattoo before any more ideas take hold. I’m done with persistent imaginings and feel it is the time now to put them into physical form. It all begins with visually compiling the inspirations and ideas that have been floating around my brain for way too many years.

Pisces

As an avid astrology fan, anything to do with astrology especially Pisces, Scorpio and Leo inspires me every day. However, not in the popular designs you see on a day-to-day basis. I tend to lean to a more physical representation of the Zodiac signs. In addition astronomy has always been high on my list. I spend hours looking through NASA’s Instagram page and dream of the endless possibilities of tattoos with hints of watercolour to give that comic dreamlike effect.

Moons

A year ago I bought The Wild Unknown Tarot deck and was fascinated by the illustrations by Kim Krans. They all had a dark sketchy and haunting look, but was brought to life with the subtle vibrant hints of colours, again taking on a watercolour effect. Subtle shading, bold lines and geometric designs added variety to the deck. Then there is the ever present moon in all her glory. Visually I connected to the illustrations in the yearly calendar created by the Free People graphic team. The use of black and white strokes mixed in with inky watercolours gave that mystically dark edge that I seem to gravitate towards.
There’s constantly a stream of inspiration I come across every day in different mediums and now it is time to put that all together to create an actual tattoo! Next step? Discussing my ideas with a tattoo artist that can make these ideas into an actual form of art.

Have you started your tattoo journey, where do you gather your inspiration from?