Spirit of Art: Exploring Tattoos and Bartending

Giffard are a french brand of liqueurs and syrups that are distributed all over the world in cocktail bars, restaurants and hotels. Since 2015, Giffard have been exploring the interlaced world of tattoo and mixology. They’ve launched a book called Spirit of Art showcasing tattooed bartenders of Asia…

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Spirit of Art is all about storytelling. It’s a peek into the secret lives of drink makers across Asia, and a dive into the interlaced worlds of tattoo and mixology.
After launching in the UK in 2015, this year’s second edition covers the rich cocktail culture of Singapore, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok. Giffard’s liqueurs and syrups meet the top-shelf demands of the world’s leading bartenders and baristas.

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They as the binding ingredient between concoctions in the glass and connections across the bar. The perfect cocktail is born when bartenders pour their hearts, personalities and expertise into their creation, whether tattoos or drinks. Both ingredients and ink tell us where they’ve been, what they like, and who they are – cementing the relationship between these two subcultures.

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Interview with Karac Wilson

37-year-old Karac Wilson is a social care worker and tattoo collector from Sheffield. We caught up with Karac to chat all things tattoo…

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What inspired you to become heavily tattooed? Growing up my older brother was heavily tattooed when I was around 16 years old, he was tattooed before it was cool. I didn’t really give it much thought back then, but he definitely inspired me to get a tattoo. As I got older I remember watching guys like Lil Wayne and music videos of heavily tattooed guys and always loved the look. Allen Iverson the NBA player was my idol growing up he was heavily tattooed and had his own style that changed the NBA. He was seen as the badboy of the league due to his tattoos that’s why I have his portrait on my leg by (Gibbo0)

When did you get your first tattoo? What was it and do you still like it? My first tattoo I was 18 I was into Ja Rule. And he had a “pain is love” tattoo on his chest. I took a print out to a tattoo shop and had the exact tattoo on my chest. That tattoo later got lasered and covered. It was one of those tattoos you get when your young and I didn’t really think about it. Lesson learned.

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Has being tattooed ever helped you to get jobs or hindered you? My tattoos so far have not hindered me getting jobs, I currently work in social care with children with challenging behaviour and it’s a great ice breaker and a great talking point. On the negative side I worked in the probation service and they were not keen on all my tattoos and pretty much pushed me out because of it.

What kinds of reactions do your tattoos get? My tattoos get me plenty of attention wherever I go, even more so since my head was tattooed. I pretty much have people asking to take photos anywhere I go. Mostly positive reactions but you always get the odd negative one. But it does not bother me, each to their own and all that.

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Do you have any future tattoo plans? Are you working towards a body suit? I don’t have much space left for tattoos as my bodysuit is nearly complete. It’s a a case of being really picky about my last few spots. The last three months I’ve had my stomach, armpits and nipples tattooed and they were really painful areas. I’m working towards a bodysuit and I’m 90% there, I’ve got the majority of it done in the last three years. It’s been a fun journey where I’ve travelled to many artists and cities across Europe.

Did you make a conscious decision to only have black and grey work? What do you love about this style? I started with a black and grey sleeve and then that’s all I wanted. For me bodysuit work is better with one or the other in my opinion. I love colour tattoos but I think you have to look after them much more and have good skin. Black and grey is a solid heal every time, where colour can drop out depending on your skin and aftercare regime. I have seen some amazing bodysuits in colour but black and grey works better for me.

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If you could tattoo your body all over again would you go for colour or the same? If I could start again I think I would still go with black and grey I’ve been lucky to have work from Niorkz, Ben Kaye, Gibb0o, Matt Pettis, Dom Brown and Liv Frost. One black and grey artist id like a piece from would be Little Nick his work is unreal. If I could get a colour bodysuit it would have to be by Alex Wright and Ben Kaye, those guys are doing some unreal work.

All photos taken by Brendan Clayton

Darcie: Bound in Bone

27-year-old Darcie from Leeds, is a Content Executive for a Marketing Agency and founder of the blog Bound in Bone. We chat to Darcie about her style, living the goth life and what you can find on her blog…

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What inspired you to start your blog and how long have you been running it? I’ve been blogging since November 2015. I didn’t really tell anyone about it for the first few months because I was nervous about what people would think! I started it because I wanted my own space to write my own stuff and not have any restrictions (apart from my own nervousness). I’d been working in marketing for three years at that point and while I was creating content for other people, I really wanted something that was my own. It was weird that I had created so much for other people and nothing for myself!

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Does your day job help you with your blog, or vice versa? Yes, definitely. Keeping up to date with the industry means that I can be good at my job and be armed with the latest thinking to apply to my blog too. It also helps that I have people around me at work that can help me if I paint myself into a corner with SEO or when I’m liaising with a PR for my blog, for example.

What can readers expect to find on your platform? Gothy/witchy outfits, alternative lifestyle pieces and I’m hoping to write more about feminism as I get braver talking about the subject too!

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How would you describe your style? What is your favourite outfit or go-to outfit?  I can be quite eclectic in my style, but I would say it definitely errs on the gothy side of the “alternative” spectrum. I’m trying out more of a witchy style at the moment. I’m really inspired by the idea of the witch as a feminist icon.
I don’t really have a go-to outfit, but I do have certain pieces that make me feel like I can take on the world. My wide-brimmed hat, double-stacked doc martens and anything in faux leather are favourites.

What to you does it mean to live a goth life?  Oooh I love this question! To me, it’s about channeling a darker aesthetic in your personal style or tastes, but it’s also about questioning mainstream society’s ideals. How can you decide to be “alternative” in the way you look and yet not “alternative” in the way you think? It means not accepting everything you’re fed through the media and coming up with your own thoughts and values. It means being open-minded and willing to listen and accept other people’s points of view.

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Can you tell us about your tattoos? Do you have any future plans? I have three tattoos. I have an eye on the back of my neck, a pair of cat eyes on my forearm, and Beatles lyrics on my shoulder. My first was the Beatles lyrics, it’s actually a matching one with my best friend from school. When we were about 15 we would make videos in her bedroom. They were really silly because we were dorks (still are). On of the soundtracks was All You Need is Love. So that’s what I have tattooed. She has “love is all you need” on her foot.

The story behind my eye is based around The Illustrated Mum by Jacqueline Wilson. Even though she’s a very troubled lady in the book, I always saw her as beautiful, and I desperately wanted to have red hair and green eyes just like her. I wasn’t bothered by the tattoos at that point for some reason. She has loads of tattoos but one in particular that stays in my mind was an eye on the back of her neck, so that’s what I’ve got too.

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The cat eyes are based around my first cat, Myrtle. I’m a cat person through and through so I wanted something to commemorate that!I would love to get more – I really want something on my chest (I’m torn between a snake or moon phases – I haven’t decided yet), I’d love something to do with Medusa, and I’d love finger tattoos too – I just need to decide what to do first!

Pay Darcie’s blog a visit to see more of her gothic style and feminist posts.

Yoga on my Skin

Yoga On My Skin is a collective show curated by Rossana Calbi and Giulia Piccioni, in collaboration with Parione9 Gallery, Rome. On Saturday 24th February Yoga On My Skin came to its natural location: The Other Side of the Ink, the Roman convention dedicated to the art of female tattoo artists.

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Spiritual stability comes from the experience of a calm and clear state.

Yoga On my Skin is a project born from a collaboration between curators Rossana Calbi, Giulia Piccioni and Parione9 Gallery. The project traveled to amanei in Salina and reached Parione9 Gallery in Rome, a gallery that is always very interested in tattoo art.

Yoga is a sacred science. It is a science because it bases its principles on specific affirmations on the human nature and universe, it is sacred because it represents the interior path of the individual to gain awareness of his own divine self.

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In the middle of this inner path, there are asana, body positions according to the yoga discipline. Asana are postures, and asana is the art of using the entire body with a physical, mental and spiritual attitude. The structure of an asana is not changeable because each asana is a piece of art. In the Yoga Sutra, Maharishi Patanjali stated that when an asana is perfectly done, there is no duality between body and mind, spirit and soul. According to yogi T.K.V. Desikachar through yoga the mind and senses are directly connected to the consciousness and they are not perceived as separated or disorganized.

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The project consists of two asana for each chakra (from Sanskrit wheel or disc). The asana are selected according to the physical appearance of the posture and the relevance of the specific chakra stimulation. There is no asana for the seventh chakra because no postures directly stimulates it.

Yoga teacher and psychologist Giulia Piccioni embraced Rossana Calbi’s curatorial idea with the technical support of studio d’arte Candeloro to set up an exhibition that is a physical and mental experience.

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Art work is by Nicoz Balboa, Genziana Cocco, Cecilia De Laurentiis, Cecilia Granata, Marta Ierfone, Marta Messina, Roberta Kinney, Anita Rossi, Maria Grazia Tolino.

The next stop for Yoga on My Skin will take place in an abbey, in Italy. Find out more about the original location and the future projects here.

Shaded: Pot Yer Tits Away Luv

‘Shaded’ is an ongoing interview series created by 23-year-old Bournemouth-hailing music journalism student, writer and editor James Musker, which focuses on tattooists, the interesting people who wear their work and both the artist and canvas’s relationship to the craft.

Emma Low is a Leeds-based ceramic artist who creates pots that represent the human-form in all of its wonderful shapes, sizes and colours. At first gifts for those closest to her, Emma’s pots were soon in-demand, and the Glasgow-native found herself starting up her pottery business ‘Pot Yer Tits Away Luv’. Here, Emma speaks about her “inclusive brand”, tattoo tributes to her cat Trouble and how her work aims to celebrate differences and liberate women. “Tits don’t mean sex.”

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Tell us about ‘Pot Yer Tits Away Luv’?
 Pot Yer Tits Away Luv is a pottery business that I started in February 2017. My main inspiration is a realistic representation of the female form, but I also do some work with the male form as well. It all started with a Christmas present that I made for my boyfriend. I wanted to give him something that was personal so I made him a pot with my tits on it. It was okay for a first attempt, but it looked nothing like mine – regardless of that fact, he loved it. People saw it and wanted me to create pots that represented them, and then from there it’s just snowballed. I never expected that it would eventually become my full-time job. I now spend five days a week crafting pots with tits on them, which is pretty mad.

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What first attracted you to working with clay? My boyfriend had done a short course and really enjoyed it, so I thought I’d try it out! It was really difficult to figure out in the beginning, but like everything else, practise makes perfect. I then enrolled in a night class and learned more about the craft. I never made any tit-related items, though. It was all really basic, and most of it wasn’t actually that great.

As well as creating works that celebrate the human body, you also share the work of painters, illustrators and photographers that aim to do the same thing. Can you speak about your on-going relationship with the subject? I’ve always been fascinated by form. It’s amazing how we all have bodies that essentially do the same thing, yet they vary drastically in relation to what they look like. I grew up in a very body positive environment. To me, naked bodies were never deemed as sexual. I like to try and express that in my work – especially when it comes to the female form. Tits don’t mean sex. I think a lot of people misunderstand what my work is about. It’s supposed to be liberating, not about sexualising women. I always love to share other artist’s work because I think it’s important to express gratitude towards the people who inspire you. Social media can be such a useful tool when it comes to finding out about new artists or being exposed to new ideas. There are so many amazing artists who share similar views to me when it comes to feminism, and I like to promote those ideas.

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What’s your relationship with tattooing? I started getting tattooed quite late in comparison to most of my friends. I think I was 24. My first tattoo was done by my friend’s boyfriend when I went to visit them on holiday in Berlin. It’s a black heart with ‘Trouble’ running through it. Trouble was my cat, he passed away last summer but I’d had him for around eight years. The last tattoo I got was by Olivia Chloe Lewis, and it’s a vase! I think regardless of whether your tattoos have a specific meaning you can tell a lot about a person from their tattoos and that’s what’s always drawn me to them. I’ve only ever had my thighs tattooed, I wouldn’t want to move on to anywhere else on my body until my legs are completely covered.

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Your pots represent the human body in so many different ways – large and small, and sometimes tattooed. What is it you feel you are addressing with your all-embracing work, and how do you feel tattooing is part of that conversation? I just want to have an inclusive brand where everyone feels like they are represented. People who have tattoos usually want me to incorporate them into custom pieces, and I really like drawing them on because it can sometimes be challenging! Just like anything else; scars, piercings, moles, third nipples, freckles. Regardless of whether it was a choice, like a tattoo, or a mole you were born with, it all makes you the individual person that you are and that’s what my work is all about: celebrating differences.

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Who influences you? My boyfriend, Archer. He’s very creative, and I wouldn’t be doing what I do now without him. My best friend, Tammy, has built her own nail empire (NAF! Salon). She has shown me that it’s not at all about getting lucky, it’s about hard work, dedication and endless passion. When it comes to artists I absolutely love, the work of Sally Hewett. She is unapologetically honest. Her work is so well thought out and the end product is always so beautiful even if to society the subject might be seen as “ugly”. I have a massive girl-crush on Jen Gotch, founder of Ban.do. Her personal Instagram is so refreshing. She talks openly about her struggles with mental health, is a huge babe, dresses like a crazy old lady, and pulls it off, and somehow also manages to run a very successful business.

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What’s next for you? I have a few collaborations in the pipeline! The only one I can really talk about at the moment is a jewellery collaboration with Lou Clarke. We’re doing earrings! It’s such an exciting time for me. I feel like there are endless possibilities when it comes to doing fun things, but at the moment I haven’t really got a clear path. I’m just gonna keep doing what I’m doing and see where it takes me. I’m not really one for planning – plans stress me out! So yeah, to be honest I have no idea, but for now I’m happy just living in the moment.

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