Tag: news

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Tattoos for the Future: The Order of Ink

The Order of Ink brings a new experience to tattoo artists and tattoo and art enthusiasts. An inspired collective that spans four continents with the mission of elevating the art of tattoos by creating the first Web3 platform for tattoo artists.

Taking tattoos from the physical world to the digital world.

The collection is made up of 4444 NFTs that are non-generative, hand-drawn art on the Ethereum blockchain. The Order of Ink’s genesis collection is an eclectic and art-focused collection that covers many different faces of the tattoo world.

It will serve as the access pass for everything that’s coming next in the digital tattoo world.

The Order of Ink has 14 trailblazing artists from around the world in their collection, seven of which are women. Let’s meet them…

KATUSZA @_katusza_

My main goal as an artist is to create a deep connection between my tattoo pieces and the human body.

Katusza started tattooing because she was looking for a place to express her creativity and imagination. Her biggest passion is designing tattoos, painting and creating prints.

She is a big fan of abstract painting and the work of Hilma af Klint, Kandinsky and Malewicz. Katusza founded @pregi_tattooshop_ in 2019 and has been living her dreams as a tattoo artist.

MERRY @merry_tattoo

Wearing tattoos is a way to show one’s individuality and one’s soul.

Merry is deeply attached to botanical tattoo art. At home she has a beautiful garden filled with a mix of vibrant and subtle colours and delightful smells. Her garden has always inspired her to make art. Merry also loves to travel, explore new places and learn something new every day.

I am grateful that tattooing allows me to do all of this. Seeing my clients excitement and appreciation after a session is one of the best feelings in the world.

ANINHA @aninha.tattoo

Now, here I am, moulding fine lines and minimalist designs into a piece that fits each client’s story.

At 16 Aninha thought she had permanently lost the ability to move her hands, which meant all she had ever loved would be lost to her. But after several surgeries and extensive rehab, she was able to make art and music again. Not long after that she was inspired to create tattoos by a friend who loved one of her designs.

She has always loved art and there is nothing in this world Aninha would rather do full-time than be a tattoo artist.

AMAIA @amaia.arzatattoo

One of the things that I love about my job is being able to travel to different countries, which allows me to meet new artists, learn constantly, as well as discover new cultures.

A couple years ago, Amaia was drawing non-stop, she started practicing on synthetic skin, and then little by little she started making her first tattoos on her friends. Amaia lets herself get carried away by her feelings and emotions when working on her tattoo pieces. Just like Picasso, Amaia also dabbles in cubism along with her two main styles – abstract and minimalist designs.

JOHANNA @johanna_tattoo

Tattooing is the one thing I love doing the most and can’t imagine life without it.

Because her mother is an artist, Johanna started drawing at three years old and hasn’t stopped since. Her career as a tattooist started when a tattoo artist from her city praised her drawings and offered to teach her how to make tattoos.

Her tattoo style is a mix of blackwork and white ink detailing – the darker, the better. She absolutely loves the mystical genre of witchcraft, potions, magic, fairytales and feminine vibes.

YAIZA @yaizadecastrotattoo

I like to combine realism with geometry to create compositions that adapt to the body.

The world of art and tattoos has always caught Yaiza’s attention. Yaiza started tattooing when a local tattoo artist in Asturias gave her a tattoo machine and taught her how to use it. Her designs are inspired by ancient sculptural art, and the modernist and surrealist movements. In gher style of tattooing she mixes realism, geometry and fine lines.

FLOR @cati_tattoo

I always try to pay attention to the placement and how the tattoo will interact with the body, adding a natural flow in a sexy or interesting way.

Flor’s favourite design to create and play with are flowers: she is always searching for new flower variations and styles. Flor has a floral catalog where her clients choose a flower from. This flower is then used by Flor to create custom designs for each client as she never repeats her designs.

Flor only works with women, not because she dislikes men, but since she started tattooing she made the conscious decision to be a tattoo artist with whom women can trust to make their tattoo ideas come to life.

The Order of Ink: For this world and the next

For artists:  We’re passionate about onboarding new artists to Web3 and we’ll be with you every step of the way. As you mint your first NFT, set up your wallet and get paid in ETH for the first time. 5% of primary sales from The Order of Ink’s genesis collection will be added to a fund to support our artists’ future Web3 projects — whatever artistic shape or form they take on. 

For collectors:  We’re building a community of artists and collectors who are passionate about the opportunities digital art and Web3 create for the tattoo world – we live at the intersection of where physical tattoos meet the digital space and our future directions are open to where the community wants to lead us. 

Mint Details
Mint Date: Early JAN – DATE TBA
NFT Supply: 4444
INKList Mint Price: ~0.08 ETH
Public Mint Price: ~0.123 ETH

Follow along on Twitter, Instagram, and via Website for more info about how to mint your The Order of Ink NFTs and for more deatails about the project details.

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Plastic in the Tattoo Industry: Time to Kill the Waste

Everywhere we look there is plastic and it’s starting to become a big problem. Plastic waste is the environmental crisis of the 21st Century and it threatens to choke our seas and decimate aquatic ecosystems. Writer and tattoo enthusiast Matt Haddon-Reichardt met up with vegan tattooist Ashley Thomas to find out if anything can be done by the tattoo industry to cut the waste…

Ashley Thomas (11)

“I would say that my shop, Echelon Tattoo probably generates 1300 bags of trash every year, and fills six sharps containers. Since we are an all disposable shop, the sharps container contains probably 80-90 percent plastic (cartridges, disposable tubes and needles, razors), and our trash bags are probably about 40 percent (gloves, rinse cups, ink caps, blue medical bib backing, equipment barriers, and the trash bag itself). That’s a lot of plastic but most of the waste I would say is a serious mountain of paper towels and gloves.” Ashley explains as we sip black coffee.

Ashley owns Echelon Tattoo in Midvale, Utah, and is a passionate vegan, environmentalist and artist. She has been tattooing for 13 years and is acutely aware of the plastic waste problem. I ask her how plastic heavy tattooing actually is.

“Ink caps, razors, cartridges, gloves, rinse cups, equipment barriers and medical bibs are all items that either contain or are composed of plastic in varying quantities. The good news is that industry manufacturers are starting to consider this and coming up with new products to address the growing concern over plastic. Black Claw now produces disposable tubes made from cork, and Rose City Supply was offering biodegradable equipment barriers. I think you’re going to see more artists and shops look for these products too as awareness increases. In terms of metal tubes, I think there’s still a fair amount of waste; there’s still the matter of the autoclave bags that need to be used daily, and the water and electricity to run each load in the autoclave and the plastic container for the distilled water used in the autoclave. I think whether or not to use cartridges or plastic tubes vs. metal tubes will always come down to personal preference of the artist.”

We can all make a difference to the plastic problem and Ashley is doing her upmost to eliminate plastic from her tattooing:

“I am always looking for ways to reduce waste and be more environmentally friendly at work, just as I am at home and in all aspects of my life. It can be really tricky in tattooing; so many plastic items keep both us and our clients safe. I don’t know of a current alternative for gloves, but I am looking to try out biodegradable trash bags. I was using the biodegradable equipment barriers from RCS, but I believe they’re discontinued as I haven’t found another supplier that carries them.”
One problem with tattooing is that contaminated waste must be disposed of safely.  Ashley appreciates that it’s not just a matter of eliminating plastics but how we process then when they are thrown away. “Waste disposal in general is woefully inadequate when it comes to factoring in environmental impact. I think it would require working with environmental and health officials to come up with the greenest possible solution to this problem. I’m certain that manufacturing and using biodegradable options whenever possible would be helpful.”

Many artists are now going vegan when it comes to tattooing. Ashley feels vegan tattooing is the future when it comes to managing waste products including plastics.

“I believe using a vegan option is generally always a good thing. Animal agriculture, and therefore animal products and by-products, consume larger resources to produce than their plant-based counterparts, so production waste is typically less. In terms of plastic that’s obviously not a win for the environment, that’s why we need more plant-based, biodegradable solutions.”

One big waste product from tattooing is the cling film used to cover fresh tattoos. I ask Ashley if there are any alternatives.

“I believe a barrier is absolutely necessary to keep the customer, the artist, and everyone else in the shop safe from cross-contamination until the customer leaves the premises. I think, again, that we really need to work with the industries that manufacture the products we use to come up with biodegradable alternatives – biodegradable barrier films, tapes, razors, ink caps, etc, would all be a huge win for us and for the environment.”

Words: Mathew Haddon-Reichardt
Image: Ashley Thomas

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Extreme Tattoos

Photograph by Mark Leaver as part of his Facial Tattoo Project

Fifty-eight-year-old Keith Gordon claims that it is his OCD that has pushed him into tattoo addiction. Obsessive Compulsive Disorder has ruled him all his life and it is this condition that has driven him to have his whole head tattooed.

At seventeen he had his shoulders and arms tattooed but changed his mind, he chose to have  painful skin grafts to remove his teenage ink.

In the last five years Keith has spent almost £15k not only having his tattoos redone but adding more to his body and face.

Watch the short video to hear his story.

More details at news.uk.msn.com

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Adam Pearson – Suspicious tattoos.

Adam PearsonRight or wrong?

Should someone be pulled off a flight for having tattoos?

Adam Pearson, an LA food stylist was asked to step off a flight as another passenger had reported his ‘suspicious-looking’ tattoos. Soon after Pearson twittered “Just pulled off delta flight, passenger said I was suspicious looking due to my tattoos @DeltaAssist not happy at all #goldmedallion fail”. This tweet kicked off an online furor of angry foodies and tattoo enthusiasts.

The question is; was this the right thing to do? Should flight attendants have listened to one prejudice passenger who judged someone purely by their own standards? Or should the passenger who complained have been asked to move instead? Who in this crazy world is in the right?

Photo: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com