Since the Olympics began, I have been scouring the world wide web for athletes with amazing tattoos – there’s a lot of bad ones out there and I didn’t want to just blog those athletes who now wear the Olympic rings.
So, as Needles and Sins blog has already uncovered the Top Ten Olympic Tattoos, which I am not sure I can beat, I have instead discovered the talent of illustrator Clare Corfield Carr. She has a certain tattoo style about her illustrations and I love her recent Olympic-inspired pieces…
London Olympics 2012
Olympic cyclist sketch
Olympic cycling – Sir Chris Hoy
Olympic swimmer sketch
Olympic swimming
You can purchase Clare’s illustrations from society6.com, or follow her news on Twitter.
I fell in love with Cris Cleen’s work the moment I first saw it.
Cris Cleen – artist and tattooer
His work encompasses everything I love in art and tattoos, he has a very traditional and antique style that also has a softness and femininity about it. He has created a world of ladies, flowers and butterflies that instantly drew me in when I saw his documentary short on Vimeo last year.
In this documentary, Cleen talks about the history of tattooing and how the old guys impact the way he looks and what he surrounds himself with. For Cleen, tattooing is about the whole experience, the way you look and act make a big difference and he is dedicated to giving people unique tattoos. His work and his style are almost of another era, but at the same time they are timeless and romantic, even erotic.
I have recently emailed Cris Cleen about booking an appointment with him when I go to New York next year. And luckily for me, he said he would happily tattoo me. Now all I have to do is save my pennies… (luckily I have this – New York ink fund).
Independent craftswoman Pip Jolley and tattoo artist Tracy Demetriou have joined creative forces to create a timeless tribute to her Majesty for the Diamond Jubilee.
“One of Tracy’s flash pieces was of the Queen and it just hit me that we needed to do something for the Jubilee. We wanted to make a piece that was beautiful and reflected both of our work,” says Pip.
Tracy and Pip collaboration
Relocating from South Africa to the United Kingdom, London-based tattooist Tracy Demetriou has worked as a receptionist at at the Family Business studio, and then honed her craft at Haunted Tattoos and King’s Cross Tattoo Parlour. “I love the idea of the Queen,” she says. “It seems so exotic to me, coming to a country with a monarch where there is so much history and still having a Queen in this day and age.”
Gold ring, £59
For Tracy the project, which will be released in two sets, a high-end diamond detailed gold collection (£400-£500) and a more moderately-priced silver and gold plate collection (£50-£100), also took on a personal quality: “I have just become a British citizen so it’s a little celebration for me too! Pip and I met up in January and brainstormed what type of jewellery we wanted to do and, of course, with it being the Diamond Jubilee it seemed appropriate to use diamonds so we decided to create a fine gold jewellery project as opposed to a cheaper, costume jewellery option.”
Tattoo necklace, £390
Pip’s delicate accessories marry perfectly with Tracy’s bold take on traditional tattoo flash, presented in red velvet boxes with accompanying limited edition art prints, serving as the perfect luxurious celebration of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.
On sale until the end of the Jubilee year and the duo are currently in talks with stockists at major department stores. Visit Pip’s website for more info, pipjolley.com.
A few weeks ago I received an intriguing email from a lovely young lady named Helena Poole, from the Community Channel.
She told me about Arts360, which is a programme to encourage young people in and around London to embrace art and culture and participate in debate. Part of the show would feature tattooing as an artform and she wanted to interview me about how I felt about tattoos and their value as art. I told her I would love to be involved…
So here it is. My TV debut, talking about art and tattoos. Alongside the infamous Alex Binnie, who it actually looks like I am arguing with…
This extract just shows the tattoo section, to the view the whole programme, click here.
Tattoos aren’t fashion, they’re art. I don’t pick a tattoo in the same way I go to Topshop and pick a top.
Although I am honoured I was asked to participate in the show, I am slightly disappointed with the tattoo segment. It appears to be lots shorter than the other artforms (opera, graffiti) in the show, so therefore not as much in-depth discussion about it. I also feel the focus wasn’t so much on why tattoos are art, but more whether or not a young person should get tattooed. Some of the more arty stuff from my 15-minute interview didn’t get used, and that is slightly disappointing.
I understand why it is important for young people to think about tattoos before they get them, but I think that using this programme to explore the beauty of tattoos as art objects would make young people more aware of the amazing artists out there who they can get tattooed by. Opening people’s eyes to the the beauty of well done tattoos would do far more than telling a young person not to rush into getting tattooed (I know those are the exact words that came from my mouth, but I guess that’s TV and the wonders of editing!).
However I would love to be involved in more projects like this in the future, I thought it was a thoroughly enjoyable experience. And seeing myself on screen wasn’t quite as painful as I thought it would be – although, is that what I really sound like?
