Fashion Pearls of Wisdom: My Life In Tattoos

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

I got my first tattoo aged around 16, three four-leaf-clovers circling my outer wrist. A badly executed inking of a pretty little doodle I’d drawn. Aged 32 I decided after living longer with it than without it, the time was right to have it covered up with something that didn’t scream ‘crap teenage tattoo’. The ink was faded and it covered easily with a thick black traditional snake. That was the last of six teenage tattoos to be covered up. From the ages of 16 to 20 I had acquired the odd small tattoo over the years, growing up in the 90s I had earned my tribal and inaccurate Chinese kanji. I couldn’t tell you now what had prompted me to get tattooed back then, to be honest I probably couldn’t give you a reason as to why I get tattooed now. Perhaps it was some kind of rebellion, an attempt at carving out my own identity, a desire to be ‘tough’ and ‘cool’. Neither can I remember anything about the pain, I remember getting all of the tattoos, the shops, the designs chosen but nothing about the pain.

My second tattoo was a tribal-style design in black, green and purple on my lower back, they call them trap-stamps these days, I don’t think they did at the time, if so unbeknownst to me. I got it on holiday in Gran Canaria because a girl in the next hotel room really wanted to get a tattoo but was too scared to go alone. She got something similar on her foot and screamed the place down whilst holding my hand so tight I thought the bones would shatter. I remember leaving a wet bum print on the stool I sat on from my still wet bikini. The design was just a flash off the wall, I wonder how many others got that same tattoo? Do they still have it? Do they still love it? The tattoo ended up raised in scars as I disregarded the tattooist’s advice and went swimming in the pool right after having it done.

My third tattoo was another holiday venture, this time in Aiya Napa, Cyprus. The studio was called Alien Nation and I had walked past it every day for two weeks.  On the last day of my holiday the artist was sitting outside sketching tribal designs, I stopped and chatted to him. He altered the design he was working on to fit the curve of my foot. It was beautifully done, sharp and bold. He made me walk home barefoot warning of the damage the strappy wedges I had on would do to my new tattoo

My final tattoos of that time were three clumped together on my right thigh, a string of bad Japanese possibly Chinese, ignorant as I was symbols, a red and orange butterfly and a floral vine. I know that the butterfly and vine were the last but can’t remember where the other came in now. Done by the tattooist who had done my first tattoo, a guy called Buzzard, who I think I had a bit of a crush on due to his tattooed and long haired rough cut image. Nice guy that he was, draw he could not and the tattoos were really only scratcher standard. Patchy, wobbly lined and badly coloured. Did I mention the inaccuracy of the characters? I found that out thanks to the guy down the local take-away. It was meant to spell out my name, but in fact said nothing of any sense – I later would tell people it said ‘Won Ton Soup’.

Roses on foot by Kelly Smith

Anyway the butterfly and vine was another sketch I had drawn myself, again I was disappointed at the badly tattooed result. Yet I lacked the knowledge of how and where to get better tattoos from. As I entered my twenties the tattoos stayed with me, but my desire to seek out more faded. Tattoos were expensive and as a student clothes became my only luxury purchase. I never really thought about my tattoos, every now and again I might get asked about them but that was that. They didn’t bother me, they were just there.

A good while after university I found myself living in Sheffield, to me there seemed to be a new tattoo culture emerging, one where tattoos were pieces of art not small marks collected here and there. I came across some old books on Japanese tattooing and the historical tattooed ladies which captured my imagination and were the first prompt in me deciding to go and get tattooed once more. At first my sole desire was to have the bad Chinese (as it turned out) writing covered up, being surrounded by a lot more international students had made me slightly paranoid about it. The artist I had in mind was booked solid for a whole year, so I left my deposit and embarked on a series of laser removal to fade the tattoos on my thigh before the cover-up started.

Cover up by Paul Goss

I wonder now had I not had to wait for this tattoo would I still have ended up with 50% of my body covered in ink. If I could have had that tattoo right away would that have quashed my desire? Or would I still have been compelled to gain more – most likely. Either way during this time I scoured books, magazines and compiled online searched. Researching styles of tattooing, different artists and the history and meaning behind tattoo symbology. During my waiting time I decided to treat myself to just one more tattoo – at this stage I was still in the mind-set that I would only ever have discrete tattoos. I ended up with a huge Sailor Jerry style wolf head and rose on the back of my left thigh. This was the start of me getting four traditional tattoos by the same artist around that thigh. I can’t tell you when or how exactly my attitude to tattooing and tattooed women changed during that time, but my next stage was to embark on a full Japanese style back piece. I fell in love with the idea of having this vast amount of work invisible to everyone but those I chose to reveal it to.

 

Tattoo Artist Eva Jean’s Response to the Personal Tattoo Machine

Our guest blogger is Eva Jean a 31-year-old tattoo artist who works at 8 Of Swords Tattoo in Brooklyn, NYC. Our editorial assistant Rosie had noticed Eva’s Instagram post where she ranted in response to Jakub Pollág’s, a Royal College of Art graduate, who has developed the Personal Tattoo Machine. We chatted to Eva to find out more…  

The reason I’m expressing my opinion on this new ‘DIY’ “tattoo kit” created by Jakub Pollág was because I was asked to.  Let me preface this also by making it clear that I am not the be all-end-all of tattooing standards- BUT I have been in business for 12 years adhering to a strict set of health codes and laws.

At home tattooing kits that involve breaking your own skin or another’s, is just not satisfactory.

Regardless of provided provisions (the gloves, the sterile needle,the instruction manual included [I have not read it]).  I can not sit by in passivity and say that this seems like a decent idea. There are professionals for a reason.  Dentists, mechanics, salon stylists, etc. they have all attended the appropriate tutelage and exist under an umbrella of certain (professional and legal) standards.

A large portion of why tattoo parlours exist is for hygienic purposes.  The few excuses that Jakub has listed as a selling point (making the tattoo meaning more personal and bringing democracy into the hands of enthusiasts) is quite sad. To me it seems that this reasoning is an offensive ploy,  an attempt to further encourage the idea that this home-kit is something that should be available to the true adventurer.

Not so. Would you like to create some physical damage and potential serious harm to your own body?  How about your friend?  Better yet- if significant and ugly scarring isn’t enough of a risk factor for the adrenaline junky- how about we bring the light of potentially spreading infectious disease to one another? Sounds like a party now, doesn’t it? No!  It does not!

Whether the tattoo-desiring individual craves something of a high detailed creative project (like the cat portrait suggested by Jakub) or a singular dot.  The bottom line is this:  you get what you pay for. This especially for clients to be.  If you’re so concerned with making your tattoo personal and individual…put some thought into it. Do your research.  Allow yourself time, do not rush into buyer’s remorse, but ensure that you will get what you want, and nothing more.

 

Read Eva’s original Instagram rant below: 

Okay. I do not often “rant” on social media, but this particular article (featured on deezen.com) does make me raise my eyebrows big time. Okay deep breath. For a while now I have been grappling with the over popularization of tattoo-inspiration stemming off from websites much like Pinterest. I have just over 16K followers on my account here, which I am blown away by and flattered over. I would like to think that this has something to do with the fact that I sincerely do help try to push people and encourage their taste in a one of a kind, original tattoo.

That is done in a PROFESSIONAL, clean, and safe environment. That doesn’t make me an elitist or a tyrant. The attempted selling point of “bringing democracy” into the hands of tattoo-enthusiasts is pitiful and really just a far and sad reach to hopefully sway ignorant (look up the definition it’s not meant to be a slam it is a literal term) hopeful and excited individuals into believing that they have the right to poke themselves. They absolutely do. But wouldn’t you rather go to someone with 1. Years of experience who will safely and happily deliver your tattoo idea; who can make it look “jailhouse” if you so please? 2. Your original idea that is not a direct, carbon-copy of someone else’s already in existence tattoo?

Tattooers like myself are so happy to help you guys take your idea and make it into something that is not only just your own, but also you’re helping to keep a true art form and craft alive. I am worried that this public kit for sale will end up at drunk enough parties and where ever else one feels like whipping a needle out. This screams danger and cross contamination. I am maddened over this company’s audacity to speak out against tattooers in a voice which alludes to us keeping things out of the “well deserving hands of the public” You know what? Unless you study and in some states take a safety course, you’re not allowed to drive a car. So just because you are a car enthusiast you should be able to drive without a license? There is nothing wrong with a tattooer not wanting to hand over their machine to just anyone for good reason. The end.

Email Tattoosbyeva@gmail.com for appointments and follow her on Instagram for more tattoos

Music Review: Patti Smith

Our guest blogger is inventory buyer, freelance writer and creator of Typewriter Teeth blog,  Amber Carnegie. This is the second in a series of music review posts in which Amber will be documenting her experiences at various music shows. In this post she reviews Patti Smith who played at the O2 Apollo in Manchester earlier this month. (read first post here

‘Jesus died for somebody’s sins, but not mine.’ The iconic opening to ‘Gloria’ sees Patti Smith bring ‘Horses’ to the Manchester 02 Apollo in celebration of its 40th anniversary. The album has infatuated generations for decades and that is clear from the diverse crowd joining Patti to punch the air with every letter ‘G.L.O.R.I.A’ , which goes to show show that these performances are leasing a new life into ‘Horses’ with every distinctive moment.

‘Redondo Beach’ followed the sweet rhythms and brought around the first change in pace as the crowd settled into the track’s reggae tempo, before Smith emerges herself in the words of ‘Birdland’. Emoting every word that she recalls from the page until she is in throws with the piece, thrashing with every passion, locked within the lyrics, trapped in the torment of the track as the guitars wail around her and the incredible piano pulls her through convulsing in ‘Birdland’ grief.

Although we knew that we would hear ‘Horses’ from start to finish what you couldn’t predict were the anecdotes and insights that came with each track.  A pretty close impression of Bob Dylan brought the story to Manchester itself.  To the guitar shop that may or may not have been in ‘Don’t Look Back’ where Smith purchased a Rickenbacker in their first visit to the city. ‘All I can say is, husbands come and go, but I still have that Rickenbacker.’ Just one of the many stories that intertwined between tracks of love, loss and life.

‘Elegie’ completes ‘Horses’ in a moment of remembrance and celebration.  Originally written in the passing of Jimi Hendrix the track now goes out to honour all those we have lost. Smith closes the song calling out the names of dead, the audience joining in the memorial with names called throughout the 02 Apollo. Finishing the song and the album with a soft smile and ‘Yes, all of them’ in a beautiful moment of calm and remembrance not just for Patti Smith, the band or the crowd but for all those people ‘Elegie’ and ‘Horses’ has effected.

‘Because The Night’ instigated the last surge of vitality as the set drew to a close. The 70s anthem breathing life into its own title before the renowned protest chorus ‘People Have The Power’ has Patti Smith conducting her own demonstration.  The rally drawing to a close with their cover of  The Who’s ‘My Generation’ with Smith brutally plucking every string from her Stratocaster ‘Behold! The weapon of my generation. It’s the only fucking weapon we need’. Interestingly Patti only destroyed the strings, as if there was divine respect for the instrument that stopped her from trashing it.

Patti embraces the possession of the lyrics with ‘I don’t need any of that shit. I hope I live because of it’. The punk poet laureate commanding every right to her title closing the evening of the surreal and the sound with split strings swaying from her pale blue Stratocaster.

Image from The Guardian

Music Review: Brand New

Our guest blogger is inventory buyer, freelance writer and creator of Typewriter Teeth blog,  Amber Carnegie. This is the first in a series of music review posts in which Amber will be documenting her experiences at various music shows. First up is her review of the band Brand New who played at The Glee Club, Birmingham earlier this month… 

Earlier this year Brand New announced a small amount of intimate dates across the UK, in the minutes that they sold out, we were held in a sort of  limbo. Were we about to experience something that you can never find in an arena or witness knee deep in mud at a festival?

Mic-stands wrapped in flowers stood patiently waiting on the stage in a nod to The Smiths, before the band shook them as they opened with ‘Mene’, Brand New’s first recording in five years. Taking the lyrics ‘we don’t feel anything’ as our own before progressing into ‘Sink’ as if working back through their discography. In a raw instant the crowd was exposed and swept together into a close moment that could only be embraced in a venue like this. ‘Gasoline’ then followed the same fervent route, the distorted end constructed the quieter moments into ‘Millstone’.

For everyone in the room there is a track or an album that has pulled them through something or become a soundtrack to a period in their life. ‘The Devil And God Are Raging Inside Me’ illustrates something to me and that is what is so perfect about this set, to everyone in the crowd there was a meaning. But the moment that Brand New continued with ‘You Won’t Know’ is one that as fans we could share.

‘Sic Transit Gloria… Gloria Fades’ erupted into ‘Deja Entendu’, these favourite songs that still generate the same responsive passion that we all felt the first time we heard them more than a decade ago. Tracks that now stir emotional drunk sing-alongs at club nights and never fail to draw a crowd. ‘I Will Play My Game Beneath The Spin Light’ and ‘Okay I Believe You, But My Tommy Gun Don’t’ fittingly continued the teenage angst choir that had taken over the crowd with:

The kind of song that makes people glad to be where they are, with whomever they’re there with.’

Brand New persistently deliver incomparable shows, no matter where they play. With such a tight discography it is impossible to find a set list that doesn’t ensue an ardent atmosphere between the band and crowd. We were treated to an incredible full band version of ‘Brothers’ or ‘Untitled 03’ which is something I had never witnessed live before. Hearing a tracks like live for the first time really enhanced the night, making it stand out against all the other live shows I have been to.

‘Jesus Christ’ marks the final track to be performed by the entire band, winding down from an impassioned and perfect set, filled with everything that gets missed in a recording studio. Stirring every sentiment of nostalgia and of being in the moment.

Closing the show saw Jesse Lacey take the stage and lay every emotion out there for ‘Soco Amaretto Lime’. Usually at this moment the audience take the track for themselves,but in this close-knit venue Lacey clutched onto his words in an emotive and pained repetition with altered lyrics and a room silent in awe.

‘I’m just jealous cause you’re young and in love.’

White Ink Tattoos

Our guest blogger is psychologist, freelance writer and creator of the blog Dream Electric, Ally Richards. In this post she is asking the question are white ink tattoos beautifully “barely there” or barely worth it? 

Tattoos entirely in white ink have become particularly popular. Part of the appeal may be their subtly for those unwilling to commit to a very visible piece. They’re discreet and often easily hidden. Celebrities such as Cara Delevigne and Rihanna now have them. 

An oft quoted criticism is the perceived pointlessness of getting a tattoo that isn’t especially visible or durable. My own interest developed after discovering images online of delicate, filigree-style designs that had an almost “secret” quality to them. I have other tattoos so I don’t personally see white as a “soft” option and like the scar-like quality of the ink, so I made plans to get my own.

Trying to find reliable information on white ink proved both challenging and discouraging. I was unable to find artists who advertised as being experienced in white ink. Artists told me it was a difficult job that they were reluctant to take on, that the design would fade and wasn’t worth the effort. I saw images of designs that barely showed up or had blurred into an off-colour smudge. Many articles on white ink frequently confuse it with images of UV tattoos and even scarification and warn customers off.

Eventually I took a studio recommendation and the artist assured me they had experience, although they weren’t able to show me any of their white work. The design was a lace heart, inspired by mandalas and also the doilies of a traditional cream tea. 

 I had read that the stencil ink can bleed in and discolouring the tattoo and was particularly concerned about this. A blood-line technique is often recommended. The artist was confident that their stencil was suitable.

As soon as the tattoo was finished a lilac colour was very evident, which I was assured would go away during healing. The colour did fade but a blueish tinge stuck to parts, giving a bruised colouring. The artist did a free touch-up on the bluest parts. This did decrease the blue, but it was not entirely removed.

Over a year has passed since and my tattoo still has several blueish patches. Positively, the white does show up on my very pale skin. It’s slightly raised in an appealing way. I apply sun cream to prevent it yellowing. One edge is becoming fainter and I have accepted that it will require future touching up to maintain its visibility. Though others usually only notice it when very close, my tattoo regularly receives very positive responses. People frequently tell me they love it and they’ve never seen one like it. Other artists have told me it is actually a particularly good example of white ink, which is some comfort.

I do however feel disappointed with the outcome. At this point I plan on letting the entire tattoo fade then getting it all retouched. Another possible option is going over in light blue for consistency. I still love the look of white ink but I would probably think twice about getting another, due to the unpredictability of the outcome.

Do you have a white ink tattoo of your own? Have you encountered the same problems as Ally? Comment below and let us know your experiences…