Embracing female tattoo culture
We just love Halloween, it seems that you do too, what with all the Halloween inspired tattoos we’ve been spotting lately on our feed. From your favourite films to spoopy bats – there were just too many for one blog post, so we’re doing a mini series…
If you’d like your Halloween tattoo to be featured on a future post send it to hello@thingsandink.com
24-year-old tattoo artist Alice SB at Forever Bound tattoo studio in Bristol has been tattooing bravery medals to raise money for Papyrus – the national charity dedicated to the prevention of young suicide. We caught up with Alice after the flash day to find out what inspired her to raise awareness for suicide prevention and World Mental Health Day…
The flash day took place on Friday September 28th at my tattoo home, Forever Bound in Bristol. The inspiration for the day came from so many different places. I’m lucky to have never been immediately affected by suicide but I’ve had mental health issues for as long as I can remember. I’ve been in some pretty nasty places, but I’m so crazy proud of myself for being where I am now. And I don’t tell myself that enough!
Locally, Bristol has quite a bad rep for suicide rates. A lot of my customers are students, and Bristol Uni had one of the highest suicide rates in the country last year, and I think the first place to start to deal with that stuff is open conversation wherever and whenever it can happen. I’m super lucky to have amazing customers who are so open with me about their own mental health, they are a constant inspiration. I can’t emphasise enough how amazing my customers are.
I think the designs mostly came from my own experience, every day with mental health means a new challenge even if it is just leaving the house or getting out of bed, and we one million percent should be rewarding ourselves more for the things we conquer. I find that having depression/anxiety makes me such more encouraging of other people’s recovery, but less so of my own. So I thought it would be nice to do something a little more self love focused.
The conversation on the day was super varied! We all did a lot of laughing and a bit of crying. Some of my customers were super positive about the whole thing, There was a lot of really positive talk about personal growth and about my customers finding their own coping methods and ways to love themselves. But equally, some of the day was really heavy. I had a couple of customers who had been really immediately affected by suicide, be it a friend or a family member, and some themselves. It was really rad to think about how they might use their new tattoo medal and how it might help to change the way they view themselves and the wider world.
The general feedback was super positive all round, and everyone was so happy to contribute to Papyrus. They are such an amazing charity, who’s work is focused around youth suicide and it’s prevention. They offer support and education about suicide from a young age in loads of different formats.
All in all the day was really amazing. I really hope the girls’ new tattoos will help to remind them of how far they’ve come, and how tough they are. And to know that we can maybe contribute in a small way to improving the wellbeing of other young people with mental health issues is the best feeling ever. I’d like to thank them all too, if you can put that in there! For the support, and the trust, and for generally being top notch little human beings.
29-year-old Brittany Roe is a nail technician and a cosmetic tattooer, who
specialises in Microblading eyebrows from Mansfield, Nottinghamshire. We chatted to Britt about her tattoos, creative nature and what she loves most about her job…
How long have you been working as a nail and brow technician? I’ve been a nail technician for about seven years and I’ve been microblading for just over a year now.
Have you always worked in the beauty industry? Is this what you trained to be? I’ve only worked in the beauty industry since training to be a nail technician. Before that I did school and uni, while working bar jobs from the age of 17. I trained to do both nails and microblading to be able to qualify and to be fully insured for both.
What does a regular day look like for you? A regular day consists of me working from home and having my clients come to me for nails, or sitting on the sofa with my dog Opie, drinking coffee. I work from my hairdresser friend’s salon Thirteen Hair and Beauty Lounge in Mansfield doing Microblading. I rent a little room from her and do that Thursdays and Saturdays.
What do you love about your job? I love my job when people come to me with exciting nail art choices, my clients are awesome so there’s always something fun to do. I also love creating my eyebrow client’s new brows, when they need a better shape and fullness. Eyebrows really shape your whole face, and it’s great to see them after especially when my clients can’t believe they get to keep them!
Your work is very creative does this spill into other aspects of your life? I think I’m a creative person in general, so probably not the most academic. My creative side definitely spills out into most of my life. The way I dress and being really into houses and interior design, I’ve decorated and designed my whole house interior. It was recently in Style at Home magazine, which was really cool, as sometimes I forget how lovely my house is, so to see it in print was great.
How would you describe your style? Do your tattoos reflect this? My style changes a lot I think, at the moment I’m really into 70s styles, floaty dresses, platforms, tassels etc. I tend to just where whatever I want, I’m not scared of a snazzy shirt or a bright colour. But I also love a band tee and a pair of vans. My tattoos reflect certain aspects of my life, but some are also just stuff I’ve fancied and not thought too much about.
How old were you when you got your first tattoo and what was it? I got my first tattoo at the age of 18. I wanted one before and always bought tattoo magazines, but I had a few friends in school who got them underage and they were shit, so I decided to wait because I didn’t want that for me! However, I am currently getting my first one covered up with a back piece I’ve just started so.
Do you have a favourite tattoo? I’m really lucky, I have some really amazing work by some great artists. I have a few faves. My chest piece by Jody Dawber, her work is amazing, and I’m super lucky to have a few pieces from her. My left sleeve by Toby Gawler, as it’s all to do with my grandparents. I don’t usually get too many tattoos that have meaning so my arm is really special, and my grandmother cried when I showed it to her and explained it all.
I have two of my dog, Opie. One on my foot by Alastair at Creepin’ Reaper Tattoo and one of me holding opie, recently by Harriet Heath. I love him so much I had to get two tattoos of him. Me and my fiancé, Joe are getting married in a few weeks in Las Vegas, and travelling to LA after, and Jody dawber is going to do us a matching wedding tattoo, so I think that could possibly be a new favourite.
Have your tattoos ever affected your work career at all or have they helped it? Being self employed my tattoos don’t affect my work. I think with Microblading my clients kind of like it, as a few of them have mentioned they feel more at ease for me to tattoo their face, because I have them myself. With nails my regular clients are really cool, some are similar and the others just know me and it doesn’t really matter. It’s other aspects of life I feel it affects more, like wearing a dress in summer and getting stared at by everyone!
48-year-old Matthew S. Kennedy from Paso Robles in California creates ceramic tattoo art by using a tattoo machine to draw images onto clay. He specialises in handmade one of a kind memorial and celebratory plates and urns…
Were you a tattoo artist before you worked with pottery? Or do you have a background in art? No, I have never worked as a tattoo artist tattooing on people. I am fully self taught in ceramics by reading 100s of books/movies on the subject and just working hard to create my own style. Not a lot of background in traditional art in school or anywhere else.
How did you make the move to ceramics? Or have you always worked with this medium? I have been working with ceramics now for about 23 years. Ever since I got sober from alcohol. My AA Sponsor suggested I get a toy potter’s wheel and to take a up a new hobby. I was playing pool for a living at the time. About 2006 I was watching a reality show called Miami Ink on TV. About a month later I was attending a tattoo convention in Pomona Ca. and noticed a tattoo kit for sale. I wondered to myself, “could I could use that on my ceramics?” I bought the tattoo machine, took it home and the rest is history. Find out more here.
What inspires your designs? Do you do commissions? I have a coloring book on Amazon called Ceramic Tattoo Art Coloring & Maze Book: Color for Balance. It is a book of my designs. I started drawing geometric shapes about six years ago while I was going through a rough time with my Mother. I just started drawing them and then coloring them in my AA Meetings to help me cope. I now add them to my ceramics. I do special commissions all the time. I usually do special orders for memorial pieces. I just recently created this piece for a woman that was 37 years old a recently passed away from cervical cancer. Creating pieces like this really gives a special meaning to my art and I feel blessed to be able to do it for people.
It’s time to pull out those fluffy jumpers, sip on pumpkin spiced lattes and fall in love with the sound of crisp leaves crunching under foot. What better way to celebrate the new season than a collection of some of our favourite autumn inspired tattoos?
