BEWARE OF THE THING! A charity exhibition.

Our Australian contributor, Fareed Kaviani, tells us about his Thing Gallery project and why he curated a charity exhibition of tattooed silicone hands at Melbourne’s Neon Parlour. 

A selection of tattooed silicone from the BEWARE OF THE THING! exhibition.
A selection of tattooed silicone from the BEWARE OF THE THING! exhibition.

 

On February 26th, I presented an exhibition of tattooed silicone hands and sheets at Melbourne’s Neon Parlour. All profits from the sale of these tattooed sheets and hands went to SafeSteps and WIRE, two Melbourne based organisations dedicated to providing support to women and children experiencing domestic violence.

 

Lauren Winzer's hand in a dome from Daseti.
Lauren Winzer’s hand, wearing a ring from Metal Couture, in a dome from Daseti.

 

Hand tattooed by Mimsy
Hand tattooed by Mimsy.

 

With support from INKED magazine, Things & Ink, Melbourne Permanent, Sailor Jerry,Protat, Temple Brewery, Mulbury, Daseti, and Metal Couture, the event was a unique opportunity to view the work of many world-renowned artists such as Sasha Unisex,Grace Neutral, Guy Le Tatooer, and David Cote, including national talents such as Alvaro Flores, Matt Deverson, Lauren Winzer, and Mel Wink.

 

Tattooed by Guy Le Tatooer.
Tattooed by Guy Le Tatooer.

 

Tattooed by Alvaro Flores.
Tattooed by Alvaro Flores.

 

Tattooed by Terry James.
Tattooed by Terry James.

 

Tattooed Palms by Terry James and Laura Yahna
Tattooed Palms by Terry James and Laura Yahna

 

Each silicone hand was individually moulded from a unique cast of my own hand. With no prior knowledge of prosthetics or experience making moulds or using silicone, the process was one of trial and a shit load of error. Initially, the idea was to make one hand and write a ‘how to’ piece for INKED magazine, however, after investing over 3 months researching materials, contacting professionals, and sitting through hours of YouTube tutorials, it felt like an article would be a premature ending. Plus, I didn’t want to part with my newfound skills in silicone moulding that easily. So, naturally, I contacted over 30 international, national, and local tattooists asking if they were interested in tattooing a hand or sheet that we could sell to raise funds for two incredibly important organisations, Safesteps and WIRE. And you can’t exactly say no to that! Lo and behold, these artists refused to shy away from the challenge and instead dedicated their time and demonstrated their artistic talent to bring us a beautiful and curious array of tattooed extremities and sheets.

 

With the exhibition complete and over $2000 raised, Thing Gallery will continue to exist by commissioning artists to tattoo silicone hands for the public to purchase through www.thinggallery.com. Artists are also invited to express their interest. Blank silicone hands and sheets are also available for purchase.

 

 

Fareed would like to express a huge thanks to all of the participating artists, Neon Parlour, the sponsors, and especially Protat for donating $500 to WIRE.  To view the complete exhibition please head to www.thinggallery.com, or follow Thing Gallery on Instagram at @thinggallery. His previous Things & Ink articles can be read at www.the4thwall.net.

#tiarchive bidding extended 

Our exhibition The Archive #tiarchive has been a wonderful celebration of the end of the printed magazine and new beginnings (you can read more in editor Alice Snape‘s final letter)… And it has been incredible to see our back catalogue of Things&Ink magazines turned into stunning works of art, to raise money for The One Love Project.

Thank you everyone who has been bidding for the #tiarchive over at galabid… We would like to announce that we have extended the auction to end TOMORROW Sunday 17th April at 7pm! So don’t miss out on your favourite items and get bidding!


By Dexter Kay


By Julia Seizure


By Lain Freefall

 By Drew Linden

Place your bid over at galabid.com HAPPY BIDDING

The Archive Bidding extended

Jessica Gutteridge Illustration

 22-year-old Jessica Gutteridge is a student and illustrator from York, UK. We chatted to Jessica about her dark gothic film inspired drawings and her tattoos…

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Inspired by Things&Ink Jessica created a tattooed Tiger Lily just for us… 

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Do you have a background in art? How and when did you start drawing? I’ve been drawing all of my life, but up until I was seventeen I wasn’t very good at it. I took graphic design, illustration, fine art and photography at college, where I was able to develop my drawings to a stage where I could draw a realistic figure. I applied for a fine art course at university because I knew there would be no boundaries to artwork I made. I’ve found with fine art they really push you to not do illustration, so I keep my university work very separate to the illustrated prints I put out into the world. Weirdly I never though I wanted to be a full time artist even with taking all those creative subjects, only until I created my online store Jgdrawings in 2014.

What inspires you? I absolutely love everything gothic, mythical and mystical, especially in films! I’d say film culture is my biggest inspiration, along with the tattoo world. I’ve always loved films and especially the old ones like Beetle Juice, Lost Boys, monster squad…anything before 1999. When I started illustrating my family and friends always said my designs would make great tattoos, I guess that was what made me realise my style of drawing and where I find inspiration from. I tend to always be attracted to colourful pieces of art and tattoos but always draw black and white pieces and get black and white tattoos!.

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What medium do you use? How do you create each piece?  I always use pen or black ink to draw my illustrations, but as of this year I’ve started to branch out and create art using other mediums I love, such as acrylic paint, watercolour and embroidery. When creating a piece I start making shapes using pencil to get a composition/scale going, then I use pen for all the finer details. A fine marker for lines and then usually a 0.2-0.5 ink pen tip for the detail and dots. I love crossing dotwork with watercolour, you get the fine cluster of detail from the dots with the wash of colour poking out! Everything I do is hand drawn and then I edit it on photoshop. I’ve started also doing needlepoint and sewing little characters, it’s a medium I touched on at university and really enjoyed.

What kinds of things do you draw? I draw whatever I’m inspired by, whether that be a character from a film, to flowers, animals, mandalas, palmistry bits. I follow popular culture and if anything pops up that speaks to me, I go with it. Yesterday I sat on a plane watching Peter Pan and needed to draw a Tiger Lily character, that same day I read through the Love copy of Things & Ink and needled to draw myself some lovey dovey bits! I am always open to anything so custom projects are perfect, I’ve drawn logos, website bits, present prints, cards and family portraits for customers and its great!

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Describe your style, has it changed? In drawing I’ve always used pen. My style is still quite gothic with the characters I draw, the black and white print but just of late I’ve wanted to branch out with new content that I’m getting into. I want to make more pieces with colour, I love the shades of acrylic paint I have so really positive, bright illustrations would definitely be a huge change.

Do you admire any other artists, do they influence your work?  The artists I get inspiration from are feminists such as Louise Bourgeois and Sarah Lucas, but when it comes to me physically drawing I get my inspiration from tattooists. Instagram is a great platform to view art constantly, keep up to date with my biggest inspirations in the tattoo world such as Alex Bage, Cassandra Frances Arianna Fusini, James Armstrong, Thomas Bates, Mister Paterson. Obviously there are so many more, but every time I see a new upload I just want to grab my pens and doodle all day. Definitely yes, I’d say they influence my work in the sense I want to also get to their level of mastering a craft, or more so style.

tiger print

Can you tell us about your tattoos? What was your first, do you still love it? How do they make you feel?  I have three in total, a big leg piece right on the shin, a cobweb on my shoulder and a pair of plastic Halloween fangs on my arm! The fangs were my first tattoo and I absolutely love it, it reminds me constantly of my favourite time of the year. I got it when I was 19 and it’s still in great condition, it was the perfect time for me to get a tattoo and I love to show it off. My tattoos make me feel great, like I have a style of art which I am passionate about forever on my skin.

Do you do commissions? Where can people buy your art? I certainly do! My art is all available on my big cartel Jgdrawings, where I sell pre-made art prints, custom one off prints, t-shirts, tote bags, embroidery pieces and stitched dolls. For commissions and any other enquiries I am always reachable at jessicalgutteridge@gmail.

Differently Abled Women Taking Back the Beach

Online women’s lifestyle website Refinery29 created a beautiful and inspiring photographic series titled ‘9 Stunning Photos Of Differently Abled Women Taking Back The Beach‘. The series showcases four stunning women who all have disabilities enjoying their bodies and holidays as well as the stories behind their bodies… 

Despite often facing additional logistical challenges, women who are differently abled “take back the beach” in their own way, whether that means making their way through the sand in a wheelchair, overcoming insecurities around removing prosthetic limbs in public, or simply asking for help when they need it.

And since we don’t see enough of these women in ads or on the pages of magazines, we decided to spend a day at the beach and the pool with four differently abled women and find out what their experiences are really like. Of course, these four stories don’t represent every single differently abled woman out there, but they’re definitely a start.

 

danie

Danielle Perez Age: 31 Location: Los Angeles, CA Job: Comedian

 

beach

Kristen Parisi Age: 31 Location: New York Job: Public relations executive

 

bbba

Lacey Henderson Age: 26 Location: Phoenix, AZ Job: Professional long jumper for the U.S. Paralympics

 

bbbbbbb

Caxmee Age: 26 Location: Brooklyn, NY (originally from Haiti) Job: Fellowship/program manager at the office of the mayor of New York City

 

Apprentice Love: Kathryn Kirk

We spotted the work of apprentice Kathryn Kirk, 27 on Instagram and instantly loved her dark art and black tattoos. We chatted to Kathryn to find out more about her life as an apprentice at Addiction Tattoo & Piercing Bangor, Northern Ireland where she works… 

katkirk

Inspired by Things&Ink Kathryn created this feathery babe just for us… 

illustrationforthingsandink

How long have you been tattooing? I have been tattooing just under a year now.

How did you start? What did you do before? Before tattooing I had just graduated from Queens university Belfast, working for a music venue and in retail part time. I was drawing and painting but it took until I was 25 to work up the courage to put together a portfolio and publicly seek an apprenticeship. I was very lucky to have spent time working reception and apprentice duties in one of Belfast’s most reputable studios. Since then I have been keeping my head down, learning my craft and working very hard.

Do you have a background in art? From a very young age I was always making or painting something. After leaving school I studied performing arts and drama for six years with a focus on design work – costume, sets, installation pieces, film, etc. I enjoy the process of planning, making and completing something with a hands-on approach.

katkirk3

What drew you to the tattoo world? I grew up listening to punk and metal music with a lot of tattooed musicians so it always felt hand in hand to me. As far as I can remember, Uncle Allan was the first tattooist I paid attention to because he was mentioned in a band interview I read in a magazine. I was such a big Brody Dalle fan so seeing a woman in a punk band being a badass with tattoos was just everything to a 14 year old me! I had older friends that had tattoos and that along with reading music and tattoo magazines and seeing the array of artists and styles made me want to get into the industry. The more I saw and learned about the tattoo world the more I wanted to be a part of it.

Describe your style, how has it changed? I wouldn’t say I have a style, being so early in my career I’m trying my hand at everything. At present I’m flirting with traditional and geometric tattooing, but ask me in a few years!

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What medium do you use for your illustrations? I use fine liner pens and technical pencils for drawing and tattoo ink to shade- mostly black. I like to use my illustrations to create hand printed candles and various homewares, which I think are a nice change to flat tattoo prints.

nightmare
What inspires you? Inspiration comes from anything, I to follow so many amazing artists through social media and I’m exposed to so many different styles of work, textiles, old photographs, movies and music, books, the list goes on! My family and my boyfriend are a massive inspiration to me. They give me the motivation, inspiration and confidence to tackle every challenge. My father has owned his business for 26 years and to this day still works on developing his skills and progressing with fresh ideas. He works incredibly hard with little recognition but he always makes sure the standard and quality of his work speaks for itself. That’s something I aspire to and his work ethic inspires me to keep going. Hopefully I haven’t embarrassed him – sorry dad!

What would you love to tattoo? There’s so much I would love to tattoo, and that’s what I work towards everyday. I can’t wait to be creating pieces that make people go ‘wow, how did you do that?’

katkirk5
What is a typical day like for you? Because I tattoo part time and have a job on the side, every day is different but I guess a typical tattoo day for me is up early, in for cleaning, any drawing and prep for the tattoo, station set up and making sure I have snacks and a good playlist. I spend a lot of time drawing and researching, my main objective at this early stage is putting the best work out there that I can and constantly improving. I have a high expectation of myself and what I want to achieve so that’s what I work towards.

Do you have any guest spots or conventions planned? Not at this point but I definitely want to meet more artists and studios so would love any opportunities as soon as I’d feel confident enough. Through selling my work online I have been very lucky in being able to send my art all over the world, and I hope someday I’ll be in the position to tattoo in these places too, but all in good time.

katkirk1
Can you tell us about your own tattoos? I like collecting pieces from different artists so I’ve picked up some lovely work from both local and travelling artists, or when I have been away somewhere. My right arm is all traditional but my favourite pieces are a reaper from Joseph Deegan (Shamrock Classic Ink Dublin) and a switch blade my boyfriend and I both got by Tanya De Souza-Meally in AKA Berlin. I have a Tibetan half sleeve on my left leg by Chris Crooks (White Dragon Tattoo) which was done about seven years ago. My most recent is a rose on my right hand by Danielle Rose.
I’ve been mindful of the scale of work I want to get over the next few years so I have left a lot of big areas blank. I’d love work from Laura Yahna, Guy Le Tattooer, Scott Move, Gakkin, Jondix and Rafel Delalande… so lots and lots of black work!