Fashion Pearls of Wisdom: New Tattoo Blues

Our guest blogger is Natalie McCreesh aka Pearl, a fashion lecturer,  freelance writer and creator of Fashion Pearls of Wisdom. This is the second of many posts to appear on th-ink.co.uk, in which Natalie will be telling us about her life in tattoos. Read the first in the series here

I woke up with a deep crushing regret for the tattoo I’d gotten the day before. Thoughts of laser removal and cover ups running through my mind. Don’t get me wrong it was an utterly beautiful tattoo by a talented artist, it just wasn’t the tattoo I thought it was going to be…

These thoughts and feelings weren’t all that alien to me, nor did it seem to others too. Only days before my friend had confessed that details of her latest addition had been lost in translation with an Italian artist. I too bore in mind the first large and highly visible tattoo I had, a rooster stretching from ankle to knee. Bold and unapologetic, dark against my pale skin. It was something on me, rather than part of me. Yet as it healed and settled into my skin, became smooth to the touch, my eye grew used to seeing it everyday, my body and gaze accepting it as part of me.

Cockerel by Max Rathbone 

As the day went on I found myself going through a series of emotions, I felt like I was betraying my artist by admitting my concerns, whilst feeling ashamed of myself for ending up in this position. Why hadn’t I put across any specifics that I wanted to the artist, before letting someone etch this onto my skin for the rest of my life?

In truth I was exhausted that day. It was the third time in a week I was getting tattooed. For the past few months I’ve gotten tattooed on average 2-3 times each month. You could say I’d become a bit blasé about the whole thing, when you have most of your body covered in tattoos another small one really doesn’t make that much difference – or does it?

I’d decided on the design based on the artists flash and asked her to do something similar. I didn’t see the design till the night before, again nothing unusual – in fact for all my other tattoos I’d not seen the design until right before it was to be tattooed. I choose artists because I like their work and I trust their judgement. But of course you are the one who will carry this art on your body for the rest of your life (possibly). I’ve never been too specific in my tattoo requests, I’ve given indications  and let the artist get on with it.

So why was I so upset about this tattoo? This was the first tattoo I’d gotten which had meaning, real meaning on a personal level.I have a Japanese bodysuit on the go and lots of Western traditional tattoos so yes of course in the symbolical sense all my tattoos have some meaning, however this one held personal meaning. It was my heart on a plate that I couldn’t explain away. It was my soul laid bare in a great big heart on my thigh. I realised I wasn’t worried about explaining the tattoo to anyone else.

Tattoos by Kelly Smith, Holly Ashby, Max Rathbone & Paul Goss 

No, the shock was in admitting to myself what I had actually done. This tattoo I got because of my boyfriend, not for him, not a gift, not an unyielding declaration of my love. He knows that without the need to permanently mark it on my body. I got it for myself. As a reminder not to run away when things get tough.

Now the swelling has gone down, the blood and plasma washed away, my new tattoo somehow fits.  I like to trace the tattoo with my finger whilst it’s still raised. If I had the chance to alter it now to what I’d previously imagined it to look like, I can safely say I wouldn’t – a tattoo that would have sat alongside my others, small and hidden, no that doesn’t seem right now. I adore this tattoo, its mine, its part of me. It might not have been the tattoo I first expected, but it’s definitely the tattoo I needed.

Post script: My tattoo is now healed and I utterly adore it, the overly emotional state passing in two days leaving me puzzled at how I could ever question such a perfect tattoo. I think we underestimate our bodies sometimes and the endurance we put them through in life. My advice, if you choose an artist whose work you adore and you trust them you can’t go wrong. Getting a permanent addition to your body is a big deal, let yourself be emotional about it but also give yourself time to adjust to it.

Grace Garcia Illustrates No Cure Magazine

Spanish illustrator Grace Garcia  has created a series of drawings for Issue 7 of No Cure Magazine, an Australian indie art culture publication.

GIRL POWER is 84 pages devoted to the many kick-ass, talented chicks out there creating cool shit for those of us who appreciate cool shit.

Grace’s illustrations perfectly capture this notion as the women are covered in self-made tattoos and doing a whole host of sporting activities.

Katie Edmunds Illustrates Things&Ink

Fashion illustrator, Katie Edmunds from London, was inspired by Things&Ink magazine and created the original illustration (below) of blogger Yanin Namasonthi, who she has followed for a while and loves her style. 

We chatted to Katie about her artistic style, where she gets her inspiration and of course tattoos. Katie has also recreated a few of her favourite previous Things&Ink covers… 

Do you have a background in art? Yes I’ve always chosen related art subjects through education and I’ve just recently graduated from London College of Fashion.

 How would you describe your style? I love illustrating people’s expressions through portrait drawings. I have a realistic style, which I tend to juxtapose with playful, and colourful elements through use of watercolours, adding a raw quality to my work.

What medium do you use? Pencils and watercolour. I like the precision and detail of the pencil and the unpredictability and possibilities which stem from watercolour and ink on paper.

Where do you get your inspiration from? I’m hugely inspired by female empowerment. My illustrations tend to play upon women who control and employ power over the male gaze, but with a tongue-in-cheek approach.

Do you have tattoos? So far I only have one, it was in the spur of the moment with my friend during St Patricks day in Dublin- a small celebration of a shamrock on my wrist. I keep illustrating different designs but as an illustrator I keep altering and changing what I want.

Are there any artists you admire? In terms of tattoo artists I really admire Keely Rutherford, like my own work hers is very colourful. I like her use of pastel colours and the way in which she translates that into tattoo art. I also like her fantasy aesthetic; it reminds me of Alice in Wonderland.

What drew you to Things&Ink? I was drawn to Things&Ink magazine as I feel it takes a look at both tattoos and the wider tattoo culture. Being an illustrator I really respect the artwork of tattooists so I love that it profiles the very best tattooists and shines a light on their illustrative skills. My work really focuses on feminist ideals so I was drawn to the strong women that are represented in Things&Ink magazine.

How did you decide which covers to draw? The first cover I chose to illustrate is my favourite of all the issues so far, issue 11 The Fruity Issue to me perfectly represents female empowerment. I love the bright and colourful aesthetic, which is something which I try to achieve in my work and I’m also really drawn to portraiture so I always tend to illustrate detail in faces.

 Can people buy your art? Yes,  I also do commissions and can be contacted by email katieedmundsillustration@gmail.com
Follow Katie on Instagram and Twitter for more art work

Interview with a tattoo artist: Schuyler Abrams

Celebrate all things fruity with the recent release of The Fruity Issue. Here at Things&Ink we love discovering new tattoo artists who also share our love of fruit and fruity tattoos. We chatted to 29-year-old Schuyler Abrams who works at Savannah Ink in Savannah Georgia to find out more about his spooky and fruity bat tattoos that he has become known for…

 

How long have you been tattooing? I’ve been tattooing since July 2013, so I just hit my two year mark! I’ve still got a lot to learn and room to grow in this industry.

How did you get into the industry? I’ve always considered a career in the art world but it wasn’t until late 2012 that I actually started giving tattooing a serious thought. I was working multiple jobs and doing a bit of freelance artwork at the time. One day I came across an internet post from a good buddy of mine who had recently become a tattoo artist himself. His post was a picture of his tattoo machines with the caption: “my job is better than yours.” I figured, “he’s probably got a point”, so I got a portfolio together and asked if his shop had an apprenticeship available. He talked it over with the owner, Duke, and got me an interview. Duke took one look at my artwork and gave me the apprenticeship on the spot and the rest is history.

Do you have a background in art? Aside from a high school art class and hours of Bob Ross videos, just about all aspects of my artwork is self-taught. I’ve done a few cool freelance jobs doing band posters and album artwork, but that’s about the extent of my professional art career.

How would you describe your style? My style is something that I’ve been trying to cultivate for years. It’s a bit of new school with some touches of old traditional. I love taking weird/macabre subject matter and juxtaposing it with bright colors and bold lines. The way I draw is constantly evolving the more I learn.

Where do you get your inspiration? I get most of my inspiration from 60s and 80s horror, Saturday morning cartoons, anime, and dad jokes. Jamie Hewlett’s work on the Gorillaz really changed my life as well.

 


What was your first tattoo? First tattoo I ever got takes up the length of my left forearm. It’s a drawing I did of an octopus jack-o-lantern (Oct-O-Lantern as I like to call it). I got it tattooed by Johnny Theif of Seppuku Tattoo back in 2007. I was hooked instantly!

Who would you like to get tattooed by, are there any artists you admire? There are so many great tattoo artists out there these days! I’d really love to get pieces from Kelly Doty and Timmy B. Their attention to detail and the smoothness of their techniques is outstanding! I really admire a lot of local tattooers as well, including Cory HandCorey Steverson and Josh Hilliard just to name a few. All rad dudes who do rad tattoos.

 

We love your fruit bats how did these come about? The fruit bats actually evolved from an idea that Michael Ferrera had. He came to me asking for a tattoo. When we were discussing ideas, he described  “a strawberry with bat wings! …fruit bat! Get it?!”I loved the idea so I made a mental note as he rambled off other tattoo concepts. I drew it up, but when he came to get tattooed we ended up going with a completely different design. I held onto the fruit bat drawing for a few months until one day my co-worker’s sister came into the shop. She took one look at the drawing and fell in love with it. It was a slow day at the shop and I was really itching to tattoo it so I zapped it on her as a favor.

A few months later one of the Savannah Derby Devils saw the strawberry fruit bat tattoo and commissioned me to do a grape version. Little did I know that that was the beginning of the fruit bat trend. Since then it’s become a team initiation of sorts for the Savannah Derby Devils to get a fruit bat tattoo. I’m currently up to seventeen different fruit bats with more already on the way. This weird trend I started doesn’t seem to be slowing down. Hopefully I don’t run out of fruits to draw!