Tag: goth

Posted on

Darcie: Bound in Bone

27-year-old Darcie from Leeds, is a Content Executive for a Marketing Agency and founder of the blog Bound in Bone. We chat to Darcie about her style, living the goth life and what you can find on her blog…

20171010_213645
What inspired you to start your blog and how long have you been running it? I’ve been blogging since November 2015. I didn’t really tell anyone about it for the first few months because I was nervous about what people would think! I started it because I wanted my own space to write my own stuff and not have any restrictions (apart from my own nervousness). I’d been working in marketing for three years at that point and while I was creating content for other people, I really wanted something that was my own. It was weird that I had created so much for other people and nothing for myself!

20171103_123822
Does your day job help you with your blog, or vice versa? Yes, definitely. Keeping up to date with the industry means that I can be good at my job and be armed with the latest thinking to apply to my blog too. It also helps that I have people around me at work that can help me if I paint myself into a corner with SEO or when I’m liaising with a PR for my blog, for example.

What can readers expect to find on your platform? Gothy/witchy outfits, alternative lifestyle pieces and I’m hoping to write more about feminism as I get braver talking about the subject too!

20171103_130430

 

How would you describe your style? What is your favourite outfit or go-to outfit?  I can be quite eclectic in my style, but I would say it definitely errs on the gothy side of the “alternative” spectrum. I’m trying out more of a witchy style at the moment. I’m really inspired by the idea of the witch as a feminist icon.
I don’t really have a go-to outfit, but I do have certain pieces that make me feel like I can take on the world. My wide-brimmed hat, double-stacked doc martens and anything in faux leather are favourites.

What to you does it mean to live a goth life?  Oooh I love this question! To me, it’s about channeling a darker aesthetic in your personal style or tastes, but it’s also about questioning mainstream society’s ideals. How can you decide to be “alternative” in the way you look and yet not “alternative” in the way you think? It means not accepting everything you’re fed through the media and coming up with your own thoughts and values. It means being open-minded and willing to listen and accept other people’s points of view.

20171008_132908

Can you tell us about your tattoos? Do you have any future plans? I have three tattoos. I have an eye on the back of my neck, a pair of cat eyes on my forearm, and Beatles lyrics on my shoulder. My first was the Beatles lyrics, it’s actually a matching one with my best friend from school. When we were about 15 we would make videos in her bedroom. They were really silly because we were dorks (still are). On of the soundtracks was All You Need is Love. So that’s what I have tattooed. She has “love is all you need” on her foot.

The story behind my eye is based around The Illustrated Mum by Jacqueline Wilson. Even though she’s a very troubled lady in the book, I always saw her as beautiful, and I desperately wanted to have red hair and green eyes just like her. I wasn’t bothered by the tattoos at that point for some reason. She has loads of tattoos but one in particular that stays in my mind was an eye on the back of her neck, so that’s what I’ve got too.

DSCN0501 (1)

The cat eyes are based around my first cat, Myrtle. I’m a cat person through and through so I wanted something to commemorate that!I would love to get more – I really want something on my chest (I’m torn between a snake or moon phases – I haven’t decided yet), I’d love something to do with Medusa, and I’d love finger tattoos too – I just need to decide what to do first!

Pay Darcie’s blog a visit to see more of her gothic style and feminist posts.

Posted on

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…

things

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

things and ink tiger

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!.

beetlejuice smaller uality

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!

moncher

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.