We recently spotted Ella Eve’s tattoos and artwork on Instagram. As soon as we saw her botanical babes series and nature-inspired tattoos, we knew we had to find out more…
How long have you been tattooing and how did you get into the industry? I’ve been tattooing for six years and I’m currently tattooing at Blind Pig Tattoo club in Brighton. My journey into the industry was a little unusual. I knew I wanted to be in a tattoo studio environment and Initially I took a job in a studio doing nail art for a short time. Consequently it was through the people I met in that space I eventually plucked up the courage to ask for advice from my friend who was a tattooist, and her guidance pretty much led me to where I am now, so I’m very thankful for that.
How does it feel to be a woman in the tattoo industry, do you think this has an affect or impact? I remember when I started tattooing I felt and continue to still feel very empowered to be a female tattoo artist. However, as a previously very male dominated craft, it’s hard to not feel slightly mismatched to the job at times of insecurity, and quite often there’s an underlying feeling of having to prove yourself. It can be hard not to overthink what your place is within an already quite judgemental industry, and especially now that social media plays such a huge role within advertising and promoting services.
In terms of being a female, I’ve heard from some clients that they prefer to be tattooed by women. Some completely inexcusable behaviour from certain male tattooists really tarnish it for the rest of the completely respectful men in this industry which is really awful. Hopefully we will put a stop to those people who abuse their positions of ‘power’ by calling them all out. I do feel I need to say, I wouldn’t explicitly say that I myself hold the opinion that being tattooed by a woman is a favourable experience to that of a man, I think it’s all dependent on the clients preference at the end of the day. As a tattoo can be such a private experience in terms of placement, it’s understandable some would specify a preferred gender anyway.
On the whole, it’s so great to see so many women making incredible work all over the world, making a stand for huge changes within the industry and also to personally know some insanely talented female artists too.
What inspired you to get your first tattoo and then become a tattoo artist ? I got my first tattoo at 18 because I was driven by a need for self expression and rebellion which is pretty much exactly what everyone would say I expect! I come from a big family of artists most of which are women and so finding your own identity was a lot harder.
I loved the idea of having something permanent on my skin that was mine and also back then I wanted to design everything I got myself. I think when you have been creatively driven your whole life, self expression is like the air you breathe and getting tattooed was another way of tapping into that.
As for inspiration for becoming a tattooist, the hardest years of my life were those where I put a cap on my desire to create and just existed in a more ‘realistic’ job making ends meet. I spent a lot of time, maybe too much, determining where I belonged in the world. It’s funny because when I think back, the concept of me working as a tattooist when I was 18 was completely terrifying to me. I was so afraid of failure, had no belief in my abilities and the pressure attached to adhering something permanently to someone else’s body was just mind blowing.
I was fascinated with the process of tattooing, the development from ancient tattooing and the current modern day abilities of tattooists. So, the desire was always with me but I had no idea who I was or how to find the confidence to do anything with it. It’s so scary to present your work to someone and ask for a chance, you really do feel like you’re laid bare waiting to be torn apart, and it was a whole eight years later that I eventually found the courage and thankfully it paid off.
Are there any artists you admire or female tattooers that helped you get to where you are? There are SO many artists I admire, it’s hard to whittle them down to just a few. Artists such as Greggletron, Kamil Czapiga, Tyler Pawelzik, Jack Peppiette, Kelly Violence and Suflanda are hugely inspirational for their consistently flawless work. There are some pretty special ladies I admire for their incredible talent and hard work also such as Tahlia Undarlegt, Liz Clements and Jo Black, the gals at Black Moon in Frome, and Deaths Door in Brighton. All of which have helped me in various ways, they may or may not realise.
What do you love about tattoos? Adorning your body permanently with whatever you feel and want is one of the most powerful things you can do. There aren’t many things in life where we have the ability to take complete control of something to that extent. In the same breath, being able to be part of that process with someone can be seen as nothing less than an honour. There’s no other feeling like it.
Can you tell us about your own tattoos? Do they change how you feel about your body? I would honestly say that I have never got a tattoo to change how I feel about my body. I genuinely see an incredible piece of tattooing and want to own it. Most of my tattoos are a homage to the people who made them and their talent. It’s also awesome to collect tattoos from friends who are tattooists, that feels pretty great. There is so much to learn from getting tattooed when you are a tattooist which just makes the experience even more invaluable.
When it comes to the tattoos you create how would you describe your style? What inspires you? I am a nature freak through and through. There seems to be a running theme through anything I do. It’s not as recognisable as some other people’s practices, but there is something that has innately captured me when it comes to the intricacies of nature. I love repetition and sequences in the natural world and without literally focusing solely on sacred geometry or mathematical sequencing translated into imagery, I think there is always an underlying botanical theme in whatever I do.
My belief is that people should appreciate the benefits of going outside and actually looking at the insanely amazing intricate natural world we live in. That’s definitely something lacking in the modern technological world. I’ve seen that lockdown seems to have reignited this in people a bit more, which I’m hoping will carry over when the world is up and running again.
You’ve been doing a series of botanical babes, we love the one you did of our editor Rosalie. How did these come about and how can our readers get involved? The botanical babes project started during the early stages of lockdown and Initially it was a way of giving back to my clients and followers, giving people something to look forward to and get intrigued and excited about, and of course keep me busy!
The idea carries directly over from the work I was developing within my tattoo practise beforehand so it was also a great way to develop those ideas further. In turn it’s become something so much more than I expected. The feedback I’ve received from people on a personal level about seeing themselves in a totally different light due to these drawings has been amazing. I really didn’t expect that. I’m also so grateful for the amount of submissions I’ve had so far. I’m still open for more, so any readers can just visit my Instagram, drop me a follow and a message with a photo of themselves. Submissions are completely free and open to any age or gender, and physical prints are available for £20 each.
What do you love to tattoo and what would you like to do more of? I love to tattoo portrait style pieces, especially within the style of these botanical faces I’ve been doing recently. Having done my botanical babes project I’d love to go back to work and be able to tattoo more developed pieces within that vein. I love the ‘nature on nature’ element of these pieces. I’ve literally joined the beauty of the human form with the beauty of nature and I’m excited to be able to work more on this concept.
Do you have any guest spots planned (obviously when lockdown is over!) This year was meant to be my year for travelling! Typical! But I’ll definitely be rebooking the guest spots I had planned before the pandemic. These include Parliament in London, Northgate in Bath, Easy Tiger in Leeds and Two Snakes in Hastings. I also had plans to travel to LA and San Francisco in October which I don’t think will be going head, but I’m hoping to rebook those dates also. Thankfully, I did manage to attend my guest spot at Black Moon in Frome, and I’ll now be doing regular guest spots with those very lovely guys in the near future!
