Embracing female tattoo culture
“I met a lady in the meads,
Full beautiful, a faery’s child;
Her hair was long, her foot was light,
And her eyes were wild.”
– from La Belle Dame Sans Merci by John Keats
Full “stripped back” beauty photo shoot in issue 9, Things&Ink.
Art Director – Marina De Salis
Photographer – Philip Rhys Matthews
Makeup, Hair & Styling – Adrianna Veal
Model – Elena Wood
Are you linked by ink?
Back in December 2013 (issue 5, The Celebration Issue), we launched a competition to win wedding photography for your big day. The best, tattooed love story would win… And the entrants were amazing – so amazing that we have picked three finalists (they’re so cute). The engagement shoots in this blog post, by photographer Heather Shuker, of Brighton-Photo, will help us pick the ultimate winner. Who is your favourite couple? Let us know on Instagram @thingsandink.com or facebook.com/thingsandink…
The final winner will be announced on Christmas Day! Watch this space…
Vicky Morgan & Lee Withey – 31 and 27 from Nottingham
Where did you meet? Vicky: ‘He bought me a drink to congratulate me on getting a receptionist job at the studio he worked at, that was 10 years ago.’
How were tattoos involved? Vicky: ‘We worked together for over 10 years in a tattoo studio, and he also played a big part in helping me learn to tattoo.’
Have you already planned your day? Vicky: ‘We are getting married in Phuket, Thailand, on the 4th of February 2015.’
How do you see your wedding day? What are you most excited about? Vicky: ‘I want it to be magical. We got engaged in Phuket under a full moon and it will be the same for our wedding, but with our closest friends and family, a baby elephant and fireworks. Every Disney princess needs fireworks!’
ROXANNE DONOVAN & GREG FURBER, 28 AND 31, FROM LONDON
Where did you meet? Roxanne: ‘On a film set. My first job was on Fantastic Mr Fox and Greg was one of the assistant directors on the film.’
How were tattoos involved? Roxanne: ‘On my first day, Greg was asking me my interests and at the time I was reading this book about dragons (which I thought was a bit dorky). A bit embarrassed, I told him about the book, to which he replied: “I have two large dragon tattoos on my back.” Call me weird but, SWOON! We also have matching tattoos that we got while in Coney Island, NYC. It was Halloween and we were a bit tipsy (read: drunk as a skunk). We ended up in a bar called Tattoos and Shots, you can see where this story goes… Needless to say the next morning we woke up with two matching skull tattoos on our wrists with no recollection of getting them. The weekend after that Greg proposed!’
Have you already planned your day? Roxanne: ‘We are getting married on 28/08/2015 at Trinity Buoy Wharf, London. The wedding has snippets of Romany Gypsy traditions in memory of my granddad. Also Spanish Culture as we are travelling South America for our honeymoon and we love everything Spanish.’
How do you see your wedding day? Roxanne: ‘Our wedding is all about partying and rum. On the morning of our wedding we’ll meet at a tattoo parlour and have our wedding bands tattooed onto us. We wanted to make sure in all of the wedding crazy, we had a moment to be together and really make a mark on our day.’
TANYA MAYOR & CHRIS BAKER, BOTH 26, FROM STOKE-ON-TRENT AND BARNSLEY
Where did you meet? Tanya: ‘We met on Instagram.’
How were tattoos involved? Tanya: ‘Chris had been asked to draw a pin-up burlesque dancer (he’s a tattooist), so he searched for reference on Instagram and I popped up in the results. He contacted me and asked if he could draw me for a tattoo on a client. Since that moment, barely a day has gone by that we haven’t spoken to each other. Chris even came to live with me while I nursed my sick nan and he worked at a studio in Stoke-on-Trent to support me. After this, we began to look for our own studio, so that we could grow artistically as a couple. It has been the biggest struggle of our lives, but we now run a studio together. Tattoos are what brought us together.’
How do you see your wedding day? What are you most excited about? Tanya: ‘We would love to get married in a low-key ceremony with a few select close friends and family. We want to custom make most things for the wedding, including the outfits and wedding favours, and we want candles and fairy lights. It’ll be romantic and based around a twisted theme, taking influence from Tim Burton and Sailor Jerry. We are most excited about getting married and making the further commitment to each other.’
Let us know your favourite couple… and the winner will be announced on Christmas Day.
Today on the blog, we’re lusting after the work of Iain Macarthur …
My work can be described as surreal and unique in its own way. Using mostly pencil, watercolours and pigment pens, I create portraits of ordinary people but create them in a unusual way by, embellishing patterns and watercolour effects into the portrait to give a vivid explosion effect — transforming their faces from something plain to something entirely bizarre and wonderful at the same time.
Says Iain about his beautiful work.
All images via iainmacarthur.com
Our favourite time in the Things&Ink calendar… the cover reveal!
And issue 9 is an iconic and very special issue of Things&Ink. We have created three beautiful covers, and you can choose which you’d like to add to your collection. Perhaps, more significantly, and for the first time ever, we have featured both sexes. With our recent change in brand identity (from Embracing Female Tattoo Culture to Independent, Tattoo, Lifestyle), we felt it was important to truly represent this, not just inside the pages of the magazine, but on the most important page, the one that first draws you in – the front cover.
The covers feature four different artists – one woman, one man and one couple – just as they are. Not staged or art directed, all natural – stripped back. Flo Nuttall, Brian Wilson, and Yann Brenyak and Delphine Noiztoy, were all a pleasure to photograph, and each of their personalities shines through in their covers. You can read their personal interviews, view their work and the rest of the photos from the shoots in the issue, which is available to purchase from our website, www.thingsandink.com/buy.
Let us know which is your favourite…
1/3 Flo Nuttall, photographed by Heather Shuker
Make-up Keely Reichardt
Styling Olivia Snape
Covers designed by James Gilyead
2/3 Brian Wilson, photographed by Céline Aieta
Beard styled by Ema Findley, using Bear Face Beard Oils
3/3 Yann Brenyak and Delphine Noiztoy, photographed by Mark Leaver.
Make-up Keely Reichardt
Styling Olivia Snape
Interview with tattooist Marie Cox, age 32, Folklore Tattoo Studio, Tamworth
What first attracted you to the tattoo world? I can’t really remember a specific event, I’ve always been surrounded by tattoos and loved various forms of art, so I guess it was a natural transition, or fate I suppose.
When did you decide you wanted to become a tattoo artist? and how? I’d never really thought about it as a conscious decision, I worked as a workshop tech at a college. I decided to get a machine to tattoo leather as I was formerly a sustainable design graduate, so I loved recycling things and making jewellery and trinkets. I’d been drawing designs and watching tutorials so I could apply the techniques to tattooing leather. It was my partner and dad who encouraged me to pursue tattooing people. Someone I knew mentioned there was a guy opening a studio and I should go meet him with a portfolio. He offered me an apprenticeship on the spot and here I am six years on doing what I love.
How would you describe your style as an artist? I’d say my style is neo-traditional mainly, with some realism elements. I’m not sure really I just try to stay true to nature in my work.
Tell us a little bit more about your studio… My studio, Folklore, is based just outside the Tamworth town centre, and everything we do here is custom. There’s my illustrative style artist Adam who keeps me sane and my apprentice Tom, they’re awesome and very supportive, I feel blessed to have them. My clients say my studio is kind of nautical and homely, so I’ll go with that.
What’s next? For the studio I’d like to take on more artists and expand. We’ve discussed and all agreed that we’d like to hit more conventions, do some guest spots and try working abroad too. I’m excited to see how things unfold. It makes me happy and proud to watch our little tattoo family grow, can’t wait to see what the future holds!
Follow Folklore on Instagram @FTS_TATTOO