Embracing female tattoo culture
As regular Th’ink readers will know, it’s been a dream of mine for YEARS to get tattooed by Cris Cleen at Saved Tattoo. And tomorrow, I am off to NYC. My appointment is booked for next Monday and I couldn’t be more excited.
The New York Ink Fund that I got for Christmas has been smashed…
I will keep you all posted with pictures, and hopefully Cris will be a fan of Things&Ink, I will definitely be taking some issues for him.
EEEKKK – exciting.
xxxx
I fell in love with Cris Cleen’s work the moment I first saw it.
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).
Cris Cleen works at Saved Tattoo in Brooklyn.
Photos: criscleen.com and Saved Tattoo
Cris Cleen Works from Cris Cleen on Vimeo.
Documentary short – Cris Cleen.
Cris Cleen is a tattoo artist who has been tattooing for nine years. His tattoo style is “turn of the century” and “European influenced.” In this beautiful short documentary, filmed and edited by Andreas Tagger, Cleen talks passionately about creating a world of beautiful things and keeping beautiful art alive. Cleen explains the way he feels about the “tattoo experience”, as close-ups of his paintings and tattoos are filmed with a soundtrack that compliments the art perfectly by Dirty Peaches.
To explore his amazing portfolio of tattoos go to criscleen.com
