Tag: Tattooer

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Interview with Luke Ashley

24-year-old tattoo artist Luke Ashley tattoos out of South City Market which can be found in New Cross, London. If you’re an avid tattoo Instagramer you’ll have seen Luke’s palm tattoos that he’s now known for, we caught up with Luke to find out how it all started…

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How long have you been tattooing? How did you get into the industry? I’ve been tattooing full time for the last five or six years. I managed to get myself an apprenticeship quite young at the age of 16 in my local studio where I worked weekends and in the week around my collage schedule. I was super grateful to get my foot in the door and have a space to be amongst tattooing.

How would you describe your style? I’m not sure how I would describe my style, I’ve worked in street shops my entire life so I’m used to accommodating to what style my client is after. I think creating your personal style is one of most important things an artist has to do. But I’ve never wanted to turn my nose up to a tattoo as there are tricks to be learnt from all different styles, which can then in turn can be used across the board. My favourite thing to tattoo is definitely linework pieces and I love using different line weights in my work.

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You used to tattoo in colour, what drew you to blackwork? I still love doing colour and I still tattoo a lot of colour pieces but I’m definitely enjoying the blackwork style. Like I said I really enjoy most styles of tattooing and enjoy a challenge so am game for anything!

When did you do your first palm tattoo? Do you like tattooing palms?  I did my first palm tattoo on my friend Stu who I was working with with at the time and he just asked me to do it, witch I initially said no to because I’d heard how they would fall out and are really painful. But we did it anyway and it didn’t turn out great, I said to Stu ‘I think I was afraid to hurt you too bad’ so we did his other palm the next week and I didn’t hold back and I did it how I thought it should be done and it healed perfectly and is still super solid to this day. After that I just convinced friends to let me tattoo their palms because it was super satisfying to get it in properly and see it heal up solid.

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How do you find working on this area of the body? Everyone’s palms are different so you kinda have to get used to adapting your technique depending on the person’s palms. Like a builders hands in comparison to an office workers are going to be way more calloused and tougher to get through. But its definitely my favourite place to tattoo.

What kind of designs would you like to do? I would love to do some more double palm projects covering the entire hands and all up the fingers. I’m also looking forward to tattooing more soles of feet. I enjoy geometric and line work tattooing but I also love tattooing traditional and neo-traditional designs. As long as its a cool idea I’m into it!

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Do you have your own palms tattoos? I do. My first palm tattoo was done by Brody Polinsky. His bold lines and designs are incredible, I’m hoping to go and visit him soon to extend my current palm tattoo. I also let my friends Dash  and Stu do they’re first palm tattoos on me as they let me practise on theirs when I first started. I see my palm tattoos as really personal and look at them all the time.

Can you tell us some more about your own tattoos? The linework tattoos I have on my front and head are made by Kieran Williams. I had my first session over five years ago when I got the front started and then took a little break when we got to the top of my chest, as I wasnt sure if I wanted visable tattoos at that point. Now I am so happy with how its progressed and flowed up onto my neck and now head.
Im pretty open to the tattooist deciding what they want to do, i chose the artist for they’re style so I’m happy for them to run with it. None of my tattoos have much specific meaning to me but they are more like time stamps. I remember getting all of them and what I was doing in my life when I got them. I have one foot dedicated to friends doing little first tattoos on me, witch is always fun.

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What sorts of reactions do your tattoos get? I get a lot of positive reactions from people. Lots of times people ask if getting my head tattooed hurt and are really interested and compliment them which is nice. I’d say its 95% positive.

Does the pattern work you chose represent anything in particular? Not to me no. I originally asked for a church/cathedral but when I turned up Kieran had designed some more Thai looking designs and I was into it so thats what we did!

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Do you have any future tattoo plans for your own body? I’m trying to save the little bit of space I have left. But I reckon I’ll just get everything done pretty soon!

Do you have any travel or guestspot plans? I’m hoping to make it to Madrid this year and maybe Berlin but I haven’t made any solid plans yet. I’ll be heading back to Brighton/Hove to Nine Lives Studio and hopefully to SixtySix at some point this year too!

I’ve just started working at South City Market, it’s a brand new studio opened by Ricky Williams. It’s filled with talented artists and I’m so pleased to be a part of it. You can come find me there slamming out the palm tattoos!

Photography by LadyKaat Photography 

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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…

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“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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Interview with Tattoo Artist Liv Frost

24-year-old tattooist Liv Frost works out of Tattoo HQ, Chesterfield, UK where she creates amazing blackwork tattoos. We chat to Liv about her recognisable style and love for patterns found in nature…

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When did you start tattooing and what made you want to join the industry? I joined Tattoo HQ seven years ago in March. I had been searching for a shop to take me under their wing as an apprentice for quite a while beforehand and then I got introduced to Brenden Jones and Chris Cross the owners. Who I not only look up to as inspirational tattooists and bosses but also like father figures (I’ve got a tattoo for them on my leg saying “HQ Pops”). Truly lucky and grateful to have to them in my life and for everything they have done for me over the years.

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What did you do before tattooing? Did you study art? I did an art and design BTec at Chesterfield college when I left school, specialising in ceramics and jewellery making in my first year and then textiles in my second year. Looking back at old sketchbooks and pieces drawn/made throughout this time, they all reference tattoos, whether that be the style or the history. Tattooing was something I’ve always just been drawn to and interested in. I’ve always had a strong mindset – if you want something bad enough, you have to go out and do it, regardless of what others say, you’ve got to do it for you!

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How would you describe your style? What drew you to blackwork?  I originally started out wanting to tattoo traditional based work, but something wasn’t quite right. I’m a lover of textures, a mix of line thicknesses and patterns. I think that’s why I use a heavier lines for the main outline of my work though as I like that bold statement that traditional work gives. When I was apprenticing I used to draw on little wooden boxes to sell and Bren and Chris suggested I tried some dotwork out on them. I loved it and I would happily sit for hours dotting away on them. I then drew flash sheets of bugs and butterflies in this style and it all started from there. Just black, dots and lines. Various textures creating depth and forever learning what liner would create the best dotted fade or how adding the smallest of line details can make such a great impact on a piece. When tattooing I only show the customer the main outline of the piece and add all the fine linework and dotwork as we go along. I find that this way, the piece flows better! Trusting customers are everything!

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What inspires you and what would you love to tattoo?  I love butterflies and moths, the unique prints on them and just like leaves and petals, the impressions from their veins. I love tattooing floral pieces and mandala/pattern work, I’ve found they go hand in hand with each other for creating larger scale work! Another of my favourite things to tattoo is small frilled hearts with anything inside them – often writing or something Disney related! I’d love to tattoo more large scale pieces, I’ve got a few back pieces coming up that I’m really looking forward to and this year I’m definitely going to focus on drawing up more flash sheets based around nature, patterns and of course some more Disney will pop up in there!

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Do you have any guest spots or conventions planned? I currently don’t have anything lined up for any guest spots or conventions but I’m definitely going to change that! My books reopen in March so by that time I’m hoping to have a few shops booked for guesting at! I always post about anything up and coming on my Instagram and work Facebook page!

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Interview with Tattooist Artem Iam

32-year-old tattoo artist Artem Korobov Iam works out of a private studio,  in Tel Aviv Israel and creates tattoos in what he describes as a graphic style. We chat to Artem about his unique tattoo pieces and what inspires his abstract work…

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How long have you been tattooing? How did you become a tattooer? I work at my private studio in Tel Aviv Israel. I opened this space together with Shiran, my girlfriend who is also a tattooer – our shop is called DUMIYA. I’ve been tattooing around four or five years now. I become a tattooer when I was in Spain, that’s when the idea of tattooing came to me. Before tattooing I worked a lot of different jobs – almost most of them shitty.

What drew you to the world of tattooing? I’ve been drawn into the world of tattooing, mainly because I think the time, place and everything was right and felt right. Everything was exactly how it needed to be! I know that now I have found myself!

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How would you describe the tattoo scene in Israel? What sorts of reactions to tattoos get over there? The tattoo scene in Tel Aviv is a little bit better than in the rest of Israel. Because Tel Aviv is the centre, and Israel is not a big country, most of the good artists can be found in Tel Aviv. I don’t really have a lot to say about the scene in Israel but it is good. Everything is moving slowly here, but the clients that are here have open minds which is so good! You can also find some super unique artists here as well. But you can count them on one hand, if you know what I mean.

I love to tattoo in Israel though, it’s my home. From a really young age I grew up in this country, although I was born in Siberia. So I love Israel, when people ask I say I was born here. I also really love my clients, well almost all of them! They are open minded with me, which is great for me as I can do what I love and what I like which is a great thing!

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How would you describe your tattooing style? I would call my style graphic Avantgarde. I mix different techniques with some graphic realism, abstract texture or different kinds of elements. Some of these I make on my iPad and some of them I draw, or I make the parts on Photoshop and then mix it altogether to get the design. Sometimes I make some abstract works that are all freehand.

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What inspires the pieces you create? Everything is inspiring to me, it could be a sport, a player or fighter. It could be music, good movies, lyrics from songs or writers that I love. Other times it can be the weather or the atmosphere around me – really I think I am inspired by everyone and everything.

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Do you admire any other artists and do they influence your work? There are a lot of good artists that I love and that I am inspired by. I travelled around the world for two years meeting loads of good people, whose work I loved as well. My good friends are from Brazil, they’re like my brothers and they inspire me a lot. But also lots of the other places I have been have an affect on my work too.

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What do you like to tattoo, and what would you like to do more of? At the moment I like to tattoo women’s faces with a mixture of different emotions. I also like to tattoo abstract stuff, I like to improvise and experiment. Every time I do this I am finding more and more out about myself! I don’t really know what else I want to tattoo, I do want to progress. I’m always looking to make something, new and fresh, or at least try to!

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Interview with Caroline Derwent

39-year-old tattoo artist Caroline Derwent works out of Dust n’ Bones Tattoo in Plymouth, UK where she creates an array of dotwork and colour tattoos in her girly traditional style…

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When did you start tattooing and what made you want to join the industry? I left school , went to art college and then to Manchester to do a degree in interior design, however, it wasn’t for me. I always wanted to do something art related, creative and something I loved. It wasn’t until eight years ago I began my career in tattooing. I was working a supervisor role in a print shop which was unfulfilling. A friend who worked in a tattoo shop asked me if I wanted to learn and I thought I’d give it a go. I learned alongside two other jobs and when Neil opened Dust n’ Bones Tattoo, I worked weekends and evenings, just on friends at first.

I was made redundant from my print job and thought it was time to give it my all and started full time down at Dust n’ Bones. It was a slow burner, and a lot of hard work building a client base, and eight years later, here I am. Working along side a strong team, still at the studio where I started out with a great client base, continuing to work hard and improve my skills. You could almost say I was in the right place, at the right time and I never take it for granted, being where I am today.

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How would you describe your style? I would describe my style as a girly traditional, without the heavy black ink! I love pastel colours to make cute and pretty tattoos but I also do a lot of blackwork as it seems quite popular at the moment. I am very lucky to have loyal clients who love my artwork, it’s very fulfilling knowing my work is out there permanently.

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What inspires you? My favourite things to tattoo are Harry Potter designs, Star Wars, Disney and just anything cute and girly. Floral work is always popular and I love tattooing that style too. I myself have mainly colour work tattoos, it’s just my preference and what I love best to tattoo. I love to see the end result of a colour tattoo. I am always wanting to improve, and luckily I am surrounded by talented colleagues and friends in the industry who I have met through doing guestspots and conventions.

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Do you have any guestspots or conventions planned? I have worked at Blood and Honey, Cheltenham, I will be working at Black Moon in Frome in February, and then Jolie Rouge in London in April. I am always open to new guestspots as it’s nice to be able to reach out to new clients that can’t make the journey down here to Plymouth.

In the past I have worked Leeds Tattoo Expo, Sheffield and Manchester Tattoo Tea Party, which I loved. I’ve just booked to work Manchester Tattoo Tea Party in March, and will maybe do some others this year too.

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I always remind myself to stay kind and to be thankful for where I am. I often get overwhelmed when people travel to get tattooed by me and feel very humbled to be where I am today. Hard work pays off after all.