Category: Photo inspiration

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Sasha Nicole: The Black Heart Project

Tattooer Sasha-Nicole works out of Gold Irons Tattoo Club, Brighton and is the founder of the black heart project. Sasha tells us all about the creation and inspiration behind the charity tattoo project and how you can get involved…

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The black heart project is something I created a couple of years ago, with the sole purpose of raising awareness and funds for mental health. Primarily the charity ‘Mind’. I designed a simple image to hold a word relevant to the client’s own experiences, whether that be their struggles or their triumphs, to display as a badge of honour in place of the stigma we’re often subjected to when it comes to these things. I wanted people to be able to be proud of who they are, despite how difficult things may be.

black heart wrist

I was going through a particularly rough time myself. I’ve struggled with a variety of things in my lifetime, and I guess I just wanted to put that energy into something positive and help other people along the way.

We all know that we need to talk more, and that doing so helps enormously, so the idea was to create a chain through these blacks hearts.

One person has a black heart tattoo, someone may then ask them about it, opening up topics that may have otherwise not come around, they may then tell someone or even get one themselves, and so on. When people come in for these tattoos they really open up to me, whether I know them already or have never seen them before in my life. The tattoo chair is a fairly vulnerable place and with this project solely based around mental health, I think it kind of gives people a safe avenue to open up and talk about it. I’ve seen people around town who have come up to me weeks or months after their tattoo, and they update me on how they’re doing, or tell me that their friend got one. I’ve had people from Brighton to Scotland get involved in this project so it’s nice to know that even a handful of people from different parts of the country have been made to feel a little better about what they’re going through.

black heart project

I generally advertise on my Instagram when I’m going to be doing a flash day, and then take bookings and cram as many people in as possible! I’m looking to expand this project over the next year, I won’t say too much now but I’m planning on taking it into schools (obviously not the tattooing element), but I want to spread the general idea as far as I can.

I get asked what word I would have in a heart on every flash day and I honestly still don’t know! I think I would probably have a blank one, just as a starting point for the logo and the concept, and then if people ask I can direct them to the black heart project from there!

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Interview with Tattoo Artist Liv Frost

24-year-old tattooist Liv Frost works out of Tattoo HQ, Chesterfield, UK where she creates amazing blackwork tattoos. We chat to Liv about her recognisable style and love for patterns found in nature…

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When did you start tattooing and what made you want to join the industry? I joined Tattoo HQ seven years ago in March. I had been searching for a shop to take me under their wing as an apprentice for quite a while beforehand and then I got introduced to Brenden Jones and Chris Cross the owners. Who I not only look up to as inspirational tattooists and bosses but also like father figures (I’ve got a tattoo for them on my leg saying “HQ Pops”). Truly lucky and grateful to have to them in my life and for everything they have done for me over the years.

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What did you do before tattooing? Did you study art? I did an art and design BTec at Chesterfield college when I left school, specialising in ceramics and jewellery making in my first year and then textiles in my second year. Looking back at old sketchbooks and pieces drawn/made throughout this time, they all reference tattoos, whether that be the style or the history. Tattooing was something I’ve always just been drawn to and interested in. I’ve always had a strong mindset – if you want something bad enough, you have to go out and do it, regardless of what others say, you’ve got to do it for you!

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How would you describe your style? What drew you to blackwork?  I originally started out wanting to tattoo traditional based work, but something wasn’t quite right. I’m a lover of textures, a mix of line thicknesses and patterns. I think that’s why I use a heavier lines for the main outline of my work though as I like that bold statement that traditional work gives. When I was apprenticing I used to draw on little wooden boxes to sell and Bren and Chris suggested I tried some dotwork out on them. I loved it and I would happily sit for hours dotting away on them. I then drew flash sheets of bugs and butterflies in this style and it all started from there. Just black, dots and lines. Various textures creating depth and forever learning what liner would create the best dotted fade or how adding the smallest of line details can make such a great impact on a piece. When tattooing I only show the customer the main outline of the piece and add all the fine linework and dotwork as we go along. I find that this way, the piece flows better! Trusting customers are everything!

LF

What inspires you and what would you love to tattoo?  I love butterflies and moths, the unique prints on them and just like leaves and petals, the impressions from their veins. I love tattooing floral pieces and mandala/pattern work, I’ve found they go hand in hand with each other for creating larger scale work! Another of my favourite things to tattoo is small frilled hearts with anything inside them – often writing or something Disney related! I’d love to tattoo more large scale pieces, I’ve got a few back pieces coming up that I’m really looking forward to and this year I’m definitely going to focus on drawing up more flash sheets based around nature, patterns and of course some more Disney will pop up in there!

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Do you have any guest spots or conventions planned? I currently don’t have anything lined up for any guest spots or conventions but I’m definitely going to change that! My books reopen in March so by that time I’m hoping to have a few shops booked for guesting at! I always post about anything up and coming on my Instagram and work Facebook page!

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Kewpie Tattoos

If you’ve been following us for a while, you’ll know that we’re just crazy about kewpies. We first shared our love for these adorable dolls in Number 3 of Things&Ink magazine – The Love Issue. Now we’re seeing that a lot of tattoo collectors and tattoo artists share our feelings for these little cuties… 

@rat666tat

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@drewlinden

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@_cattnip

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@jodydawber

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@juliazombitattoo

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@showpigeon

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@attackofthe50footwoman

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@monikadarling

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Do you have a kewpie tattoo? Tag us in your photo on Instagram so we can see it! 

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Visual Artist: Ginger Taylor

28-year-old Ginger Taylor is a freelance visual artist from Sydney Australia. We chat to Ginger about the art she makes, what inspires her and tattoos…

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How long have you been a visual artist and how did you become one? I’ve been properly freelance for just over two years now. I started out sign writing at JbHifi about three years ago and got a taste of a creative job, and I LOVED it. After years of very non-creative jobs it was like a breath of fresh air. Being able to go to work and draw in a tiny room all by myself and listen to music and podcasts all day was my little slice of heaven.

Where do you get the inspiration for your designs from? I would say travelling mostly. My sister lives in LA and when I go to visit her we go on a lot of road trips, eat in diners, stay in motels, go visit weird places. I also just recently visited Japan for the first time and I think you can see that through my work.

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What’s your favourite project you have worked on or piece you have produced? I’m always happiest when I get to paint on a large scale – so murals are my favourite project to work on. I just painted a mural at my local pub so that’s my favourite recent one.

What’s the process behind your pieces? Winging it! I paint bowling pins, watercolours, murals, motorbike helmets, tanks, jackets etc. anything I can get my hands on really so the process is different for everything I do.

How would you describe your art style and your fashion style? If there was a style that lived somewhere in-between a road side diner, a log cabin, and Harajuku – I’d say that.

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Does tattoo art have a big influence on your work? I’ve been into tattoos since I was a kid, even when I was six I remember drawing what I wanted to get tattooed one day (glad that didn’t turn out it was bat wings on my back, yikes.) I wanted to be a tattoo artist all through high school, So I’d say yes, even though I don’t particularly want to be a tattoo artist anymore I still think tractional tattoos make an appearance in my work heavily.

Can you tell us about your own tattoos, did you design any of them? I got my first tattoo when I was 18, it’s an anchor on my head. The rest of my tattoos all have funny stories or dumb ones like the cover up of an ex’s name, your 20s are for huge mistakes, right? I don’t take my tattoos too seriously – most of them have no meaning at all I just like they way they look. I actually just got my art tattooed on me for the first time, it’s a cowgirl with a canteen, snake and horseshoe. @emilyjanetattoo did it and nailed it.

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Tattooed Travel Photographer Kym Ellis

We chat to 29-year-old Kym Ellis, a technical marketing lead and travel photographer, about her tattoos and work. At the moment Kym has no fixed address and instead chooses to slow travel around the world – right now she’s in Chiang Mai in Thailand…

Kym Ellis

When did you get your first tattoo and what was it? It was on my eighteenth birthday and it’s a small pisces star sign symbol at the bottom of my nape. I wanted it when I was 16, but my dad who has very old tattoos which he hates, told me to wait until I was old enough. It’s not a very good tattoo but I still kept it as part of my back-piece.

What inspired you to start getting tattooed? Music mostly, I grew up in my late teens with MSN and MySpace and getting into punk and metal was the first time I felt like I had my own identity. I actually kept my music tastes a secret from my school friends for quite a while because I knew they were not into that scene.

Then when I turned 16 I decided enough was enough and changed my style overnight. I never looked back, it was extremely freeing to express myself in the way that I wanted to rather than trying to please others.

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Have tattoos changed how you see yourself and your body? Absolutely – getting tattoos gives me agency over my body and I definitely became more confident as I started to get more big pieces. Whenever I get a new tattoo, it only takes a few days for it to become a part of me. I often forget I have so many, and when I see old photos of a less-tattooed version of me I find it very strange to look at.

I still have some big gaps on my arms and legs that I want to fill up, but I am just taking it steady and enjoying the proces.

Stomach Piece By Romain Labordille

Do you think your tattoos affect how others see you?  Yeah, in both good and bad ways. To be honest I don’t get too much negativity about my tattoos these days, but it can happen occasionally because I travel so much and different places have a different perception of tattoos as a whole.

What sorts of reactions do your tattoos get? For the most part I get a lot of compliments about my tattoos and people often ask me where I got them done, how many I have, or how long they took. Sometimes people want to touch them, that’s kinda weird!

There are still certain places that I visit where tattoos are less accepted and I definitely notice people staring at me. But it really isn’t the majority of people, and my way of dealing with it is to be proud and confident.

If people ask me what the meaning behind my tattoos are, I show them the tribute portrait of my cat that I grew up with. I carry her memory around with me everywhere and yes I am aware that this puts me firmly in the crazy cat lady category.

Cat tattoo by Sam Stokes

My cat Tess, by my friend Sam Stokes

How do you find your work and tattoos mix? Can you show them freely at work? In the earlier days of my career when I worked for companies in the UK, I mostly had to cover my tattoos up. It’s not the worst problem in the world to have, but I never felt like I could take my full self to work and it did wear me down eventually. In hindsight I should have just had them on show. It probably wouldn’t have done me any favours in the workplace but I also don’t think it would have got me fired.

Ever since I started working remotely for technology companies, it’s been the complete opposite. I’ve always been accepted for who I am by all of my colleagues. I wouldn’t take a job where I have to hide my skin again.

Is your photography a creative outlet that allows you to share the real you? It used to be, when I started out with photography about eight years ago I did a lot of portraiture and used myself as a subject when there was no one else around to photograph. Alongside building my tattoo collection, this was a means of expression.

Travel photography is my main focus now, because that’s such a big part of my life. I share a lot of my photos for free on Unsplash.

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What future career plans do you have? I have made some big career leaps in the past couple of years, from finding my first remote job to becoming more of a technical marketer and improving my coding skills. I’m really happy with my career at the moment and in the future I’d like to move into senior leadership or marketing operations.

I’m going to keep travelling too – being able to work from anywhere is such an incredible opportunity. My next project is to learn how to sail a boat. Then my nautical tattoos will really come into their own!

How do you find travelling and getting tattooed?  It’s really hard to get tattoos when you travel a lot. From living in places where there aren’t many artists who do the style you’re after, to trying to get a booking when you’re only going to be around for a few weeks. I have a full back-piece that is still missing it’s colour because I need to get back to the UK so Ben Stone can finish it up for me.

Back Piece by Ben Stone

That said I’ve managed to get some really great tattoos during my travels. I got a mountain range on my arm when I was in the Arctic Circle, a beautifully gothic traditional tattoo at a convention in Cape Town by @jarretcrosson, a gorgeous snake and florals from @mooreahum.tattoo in Vancouver, and my stomach piece was by @romain_labordille in Bali.

tattoos by jarret crosson and moorea hum