The Horror Issue starring Emily Alice Johnston

She’s recently moved to London to work at Into You, and now tattoo artist Emily Alice Johnston, 26, is star of The Horror Issue in a photoshoot that emulates the essence of one of her bad-ass babe drawings come to life… 


The Horror Issue Cover Emily Alice Johnston

Issue 12 of Things&Ink magazine features the full set of ‘Femme Fatale’ images and an interview with Emily about how she got into the tattoo world, her favourite horror films and how she felt about the photoshoot we created for her… order your copy now from our website: thingsandink.com

PHOTOGRAPHY » PROKOPIOUSET AND PROP DESIGN » PANAGIOTIS POIMENIDIS | MAKE-UP » KEELY REICHARDT using Nars cosmetics | STYLING » LUKE ANDERSON  | HAIR AND WIG DESIGN » DORIS DESIGNS | CLOTHING » supplied by FLORENCE DRUART florence@torturegardenclothing.com |  Swarovski X McQueen ‘Savage Beauty’ claw by Dennis Song | Shoes by Natacha Marro | JOROGUMO corset, Torture Garden Clothing

Front and back horror issue

Reading Festival Street Spotter

Our music writer, Amber Carnegie, had the time of her life at Reading Festival 2015… and she spotted this awesome lot (Reading Festival attracts a cool, tattooed crowd) and their horror themed tattoos while she was there (all in honour of our upcoming horror issue due out next week). She also asked them to reveal their favourite horror film of all time. What’s yours?

Name: Amy Azarinejad
Age: 25
Job: Public Relations
Tattoos
: Devil – Harry Harvey at Vagabond / Candle Skull – Harriet Heath at  The Dungeon / Snake Jar – Phillip Yarnell
Favourite horror film: Texas Chainsaw Massacre

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Name: Holly Montana Devine (Brunette)
Age: 27
Job: Retail Management
Matching tattoo by Viktor Nagy – Custom Tattoo in Kingston
Favourite horror film: The Exorcist

Name: Emma Gisby (Blonde)
Age:27
Job:
Hairdresser
Matching tattoo by 
Viktor Nagy at Custom Tattoo in Kingston
Favourite horror film: 
Dawn of the Dead

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Emma and Holly
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Emma and Holly

 

Name: Matt Reynolds
Age: 26
Job:
Vocalist & Guitarist in HECK and Bar Tender
Tattoo by Tom Hayball– Ginger Toms Southampton
Favourite horror film: The Shining

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House of Butterflies

Justin Taylor and Charlie Lane  are the creators of House of Butterflies, a small online business that sells framed butterflies, moth and beetles. The couple set all of the specimens themselves from their home in Maidstone, Kent. We chatted to Justin and Charlie to find out more about their arty adventures… 

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How did you start House of Butterflies? What do you create?  The House Of Butterflies started from an idea we had at a craft fair, where Charlie was selling prints and original artwork. We thought it would be fun to do something together, we both share a common interest in taxidermy and art so thought why not combine the two. The framed butterflies idea came from Justin’s grandparents house as they have a small collection of framed butterflies hanging in their hall way. We both thought how great they look and wondered if we could make something along the same lines. We sat and researched the idea for a month or so before finally taking the plunge and having a go.

What inspires you? The inspiration for our boxes comes from the idea of preserving something beautiful. They are inspired a lot by the seasons, nature and by things we really like.  We find when we sit and talk about ideas we tend to inspire each other. We try to choose the butterflies or moths first and then try to match the background to them rather than the other way around. The art in general is inspired by the outdoors; gardens, plants and animals.

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Do you have a background in art? 
Charlie: Yes, I studied at Maidstone UCA and have a degree in print making. I learnt a lot about etching and I helped with adult courses in a print making studio. I have done a lot of commission work for small businesses, band logos and for special occasions. I spent a couple of years in the tattoo industry working in a couple of small studios.

Where do you source your items from? We source all of our specimens from a entomologist based in the UK. He sources all of his specimens from butterfly farms abroad, people hear “butterfly farm” and usually think how terrible. When actually they are the most ethical way to source specimens, they bring employment to poor areas and stop the practice of wild collecting which has had a devastating affect on some species. Finding an ethical source and supplier was a big thing for us, a lot of time and effort went in to finding the right supplier with the legitimate source.

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How do you create them? What is the process? The process is a fairly long one and takes time and patience, we had a few disasters at the beginning. We are completely self taught when it comes to the setting of the butterflies and it was a total case of trial and error. Internet videos make it look easier than it actually is.

The process starts by having to relax the butterfly, moth or beetle as they arrived to us in a dry/closed state. The specimens go into a relaxing tub which has a mild chemical solution in it. The chemical solution breaks down the enzymes in the specimens body making it pliable again. The specimens stay in the relaxing box until the reach this state, once there you can remove them and start the setting process. Opening the specimens is always the most fun part as you get see the true glory of what your setting. We pin the specimen to a setting board, which is a board with a small channel down the centre to hold the specimens body in place when you spread the wings. Then we very carefully pull the wings into the position we want using tweezers and then with strips of wax paper pin the wings so they are secure. We then leave them to dry out again for a number of days, depending on size. Then we unpin the specimen and then you have a set specimen, which is always very rewarding.

The vintage frames we stain ourselves to give them that old look, then we add the vintage artwork and add specimens we think work well with the artwork.

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Where can people buy pieces? Do you do commissions? We have a small Etsy shop where people can buy from us, we update regularly with new items as we like to keep a good variety of pieces on there. We can be found on Instagramwhere with have a direct link to our store.

We take on commission work and our always up for a challenge, whether it be artwork or a specific butterfly or a combination of the two, we will always try our best to accommodate.

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What are your plans for the future? We are hoping to keep going and maybe expand more, we do a lot of craft stalls, especially in the winter months leading up to Christmas. The big plan is to have a small high street shop where people can come in and browse.

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How did you meet? How long have you been together? We met through a mutual friend who Charlie was tattooing, she thought we would get on well, turns out she was right. We had a few dates, realised we shared a lot of common interests and thats about it, and people say romance is dead! We have been together now for two years.

Can you tell us about your tattoos?
Charlie:
My tattoos are a mix of things that remind me of all the places I have lived across the world as a kid, and pattern work that I’m really into. I like the geometric and dot work tattoo styles as it is how I myself draw. I like the work of Vana Chanelle, who has tattooed me a few times, along with Dan Frye who done a stunning traditional style Indian bride on my arm. I have tattooed myself a lot.

Justin: I’m a big fan of traditional style tattoos and love fat lined pieces. I have a lot of skateboard related tattoos as it used to be my favourite past time. I have a bit of a mix of black and grey, traditional colour and pattern work. I have my good friend Ben Griffiths to thank for a lot of my work, also Dan Frye and his partner EJ Miles.

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Love your body with Laura Vudé

 Laura Vudé is a 25-year-old Australian artist, photographer and plus size model. We chatted to her about being a body positive advocate, her style inspirations and the tattoos on her body…

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How did you get into modelling? I was photographing people and realising my selfies were killer and wanted to have people take my photo because I’m super vain. I’m only half joking. Then people on my tumblr started to respond to them, so I started collaborating with Melbourne based designers like Lunasea Creations last year and realized that it made me feel so positive and like I was doing something worthwhile so I continued from there. It also helped being surrounded by beautifully creative folk.

Do you have any tips for readers for loving themselves? Or not giving a crap about what others think? I get comments most days which are so kind coming from women who are so happy to see a fat beautiful person (because yes, we exist.) and for so long I felt the same way. Try and surround yourself with people who make you feel on top of the world. Who don’t put you down and who honestly make you believe you are worthy of love, kindness and push you to not only better yourself but help you strive for what you are after. I am so, so fortunate to have such an incredible network of close friends who are as body positive and are all differing sizes and willing to talk about it.

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Photo: Michael Brock

How have you become body confident? Honestly through taking a lot of selfies. I used to do a lot of self portraiture back in 2009 when I suppose I started to really feel beautiful and I really liked my eyes. Then a few years later once iPhones were a thing, I found myself taking more and more images. I started taking pictures of myself in lingerie because I hadn’t seen anyone who looked like me in lingerie anywhere. The internet responded well and was mostly women responding to them and it felt like something special. The body positive movement on tumblr really helped me become more confident as well, just seeing other plus size women flaunting their beautiful selves was very inspiring.

What does plus size mean to you? Do you consider yourself plus size? I do consider myself plus size, curvy, fat, whatever you want to call me I’m fine with. It took a lot of time but when you break it down they are just describing words and it’s the inflection the person uses, is really how it will always be taken.

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Photo: Lucy Dickinson for 35mmstyle

How would you describe your style? 50% mesh, 20% lingerie goddess, 25% pastel princess, 5% goth.

Where do you get your inspiration from? Sounds super cliche but I’m inspired by my friends and the queer community. Im inspired by femmes wearing pastel lipstick and outrageously high platforms. I’m in love with colour and will usually look to be one of the more colourful folks in the room.

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Photo: Hana Haley for Alexandrea Anissa Lingerie

Can you tell us about your tattoos? Okay I’ll go feet, up: On my ankle I have “me” in a heart to remind myself that I’m the best by my friend Kyle. On my left calf I have an avocado and avocado tree surrounded by mountains because my favourite thing is avos. Which was a stick and poke done by Grant.

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My right thigh has a pin up named Audrey, who isnt actually based on Twin Peaks Audrey but it kinda just turned out that way. I’m pretty into it. By Kat Weir at Fox Body Art in Collingwood, Melbourne. My left thigh has a pink jacket with the words “it’s like the rules of feminism” written around it- a Mean Girls quote. Mean Girls was important for me as a teen, which was one by someone at Third Eye Tattoo in Carlton, Melbourne but to be honest was a bit of a jerk who almost mispelt feminism on my body. What an ass.

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Above that I have another new pin up who’s still in the very beginning stages. Chris drew me a chubby witch and I had to have her. Whilst I was in New York I got a beautiful fern by my friend Moritz and it’s one of my favourites. Keeping New York close to my heart.

Just this week I got a hand holding lavender and baby’s breath flowers done by Amelia at Berserk Tattoos, who’s a doll, whilst a friend of mine was down from Brisbane.

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Which was your first? Do you still love it? My first professional tattoo was my pin up, done at Fox Body Art in Collingwood Melbourne by Kat Weir. She’s a super talented, sweet babe and I’m so happy with how my pin up turned out. My first tattoo ever was a home job by a friend of a friend. I had just moved out of home and was feeling super free and felt like having femme written on my body was very important for my own identity. Still is.

I love all of my tattoos. I love my body. Even if I end up disliking some at some point I’ll remember the time when I got them and that’s part of the great thing about tattoos. They show a significant or not so significant decision in your life. It’s a beautiful mark.

Do you have any tattoo plans? Not too many because I somehow have gotten four tattoos in the past month! I do want to get a cute girl power tattoo at some point though, something really simple with basic line work.

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Photo: Michael Brock

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?