Paradise Tender: Interview with tattoo artist Shreya

Shreya is a multidisciplinary artist and traveling tattooist based in a private studio in New Delhi, India. We chatted to the tattooer about her organic textured tattoos, how their purpose is to bring more joy and connecting tattoo communities during the pandemic…

What drew you to hand poking? Can you tell us about your journey into the tattoo world? I first discovered handpoked tattoos at a college house party, and loved how accessible the art form was! I appreciated this new perspective of the intimate experience of getting tattooed by a loved one as the main purpose of the tattoo rather than a perfect piece or some design with deep meaning attached to it. Soon after I taught myself handpoke tattooing by watching YouTube videos, doing an online BBP course and practicing on family and friends.

Since then I have been quite dedicated at spreading the love of handpoke tattoos around India, and helping people take their bodies less seriously by giving their friends n fam’ imperfect but really special tattoos. 

 Self Portrait (all handpoked tattoos on Shreya done herself 

What’s the process behind your tattoos? For me giving tattoos is an extension of my art practice, I have been drawing since I was five or six years old and have kept multiple drawing books for life. So it only made sense for me to do flash tattoos in my style of drawing, which is inspired by my playful childlike-drawings with a heavy dose of colour. 

I don’t really attach myself to any style of tattooing, I have been tattooing for almost six years now, and my style has developed maybe eight to nine times since then.

I am constantly experimenting and evolving into my craft and feel like I’m getting closer to my unique voice as a tattoo artist. 

I am always drawing flash on paper and making final versions on my iPad (procreate ftw). Once a client picks a flash, firstly I get really really excited and then we start working on an interesting placement for the design. To me, placement is such an important part of the tattoo process and the stencil can take much longer than the actual tattoo! I am quite fast when handpoking and like to give my tattoos a raw feel, with enough creative liberty to make small adjustments to the stencil while tattooing. For me the stencil is a general marker, and not something I am trying to trace. 

Handpoked tattoo in UV ink

What inspires your tattoos and the designs? I am quite a nostalgic person, and still very much obsessed with all the stuff a five year old would be. Flowy organic lines are quite important in my designs, you will almost never see a straight line or a sharp angle! I take a lot of my inspiration from spiritual books and quotes I read on the go, if I see something sweet in nature that warms my heart, cute home decor that I spot at a stranger’s house, or just something simple like fruits and candies and bugs. 

The purpose of my tattoos and designs has always been to bring more joy! 

Flash sheet inspired by newfound love for handpoke + machine hybrid tattoos

What do you love tattooing and what do you want to do more of? Currently I’m obsessed with American traditional style attoos, but with my own soft touch to it! I love the idea of bold black machine lines with soft textured handpoked colours. I hope to do more pieces like this in 2023 and play around with exciting motifs and symbolism in my work

Can you tell us about your private studio, the set up, your process, the ethos behind it? For me it has always been really important to make my clients feel at home. I love the idea of my tattoo studio looking like a cute little living room, filled with art by my friends, music that my clients choose and nice smells around the room to set the mood. Allowing someone to tattoo your skin is a very vulenerable experience and in India, there’s very few studios that cater to women and queers, my aim is to provide a space for them to feel totally comfortable in. 

Can you tell us about your guestspots and travel plans? Picking up tattooing as my profession has been a blessing and curse for my love for travel, the good thing about being a traveling tattoo artist is that I can always pick up my needlesand ink and visit any city and make a few bucks. The bad part is, I have not taken a single holiday in the last four years purely for pleasure. 

My upcoming trip is to London, UK and I will be guesting out of Maria Paradise Studio from 6th to 9th February 2023! We’ll also be doing a flash day on 12th February. I’m quite excited to be able to provide the brown skin toned people in the city with an opportunity to get tattooed by someone who knows how to work those skin shades. This is my second trip to London in the past six months just because I love this city so much, there’s always something to do. 

I plan on doing a Europe tour sometime in September/October and Singapore and Vietnam in December as well, which I’m super excited for. Rest of the year I will be spontaneously visiting different cities in and around India and guesting out of studios owned by my tattoo artist friends. 

Though this year I had hoped to reduce my traveling it seems like I will be visiting at least one city every month and spending the rest of my time in my private tattoo studio in New Delhi, India.

What have you got planned for the flash day? One of the (few) good things that came out of Instagram was that it allowed me to make creative friends all over the world! During the pandemic Bebek and I really connected, though our art styles are fairly different but our mindset about tattooing ethos, our creative practice and general lifestyle is fairly similar.

We have kept in touch the last two years and are coincidentally going to be in London, UK at the same time this February. So it only made sense for us to mash up our styles and create a collaborative flash sheet where in we both tattoo our client simultaneously. This is going to be a new experience for both us and our clients and we are super excited to make some beautiful forever kind of memories on skin with love and care. 

Can you tell us more about teaching other people to tattoo, what does this involve? From my personal experience, teaching other people to tattoo involved a lot of listening and learning from the participants. As a self-taught artist myself I wanted to teach people the basics of tattooing (set up, depth and hygiene). Also part of it was teaching them to ask the right questions on the internet for them to be able to delve deeper into their education of the craft. 

What my students valued most was the constant access to directly message me if they ever had any queries after our session! Just having the patience to be present for any small, silly questions and giving them the confidence to tattoo others by teaching them proper tattoo etiquette has been my biggest learning in the last five years of hosting handpoke workshops. I now offer personalised one-on-one sessions in my private New Delhi studio for anyone who is interested in learning the craft on a deeper level.

Hand poked tattoo kits (est. 2017)

What was your first tattoo you got and the first you did? The first tattoo I got was when I was 17. I had wanted to get a tattoo for a really long time and finally convinced my parents. Nervous they might change their mind, I quickly found a cute illustration on Tumblr that I liked and went to the local trusted tattoo shop with my mum, showed the artist the design and he made it on me within 20 minutes, and I held my mom’s hand the entire time! 

The first time I did a tattoo was on myself when I was 21, I was living in NewYork at that time and had ordered some stick and poke supplies as my birthday present. One night after binge watching all the stick and poke videos on YouTube I decided to just go for it! I spent one hour tattooing this really tiny design, going over it again and again cause I didn’t want it to disappear when I woke up. The next day I went to my job with my supplies and tattooed my boss and the other intern working there. And then my boss tattooed me back!

That’s when I realised the power of a handpoked experience with your loved ones. 

Handpoked river

What’s been your favourite tattoo experience? Definitely tattooing my husband one random night during the pandemic! He had gotten a few tattoos from me before, but this session just had some different energy to it. He was on his laptop making music, I was tattooing one of my flashes on his calf. We were just on our bed, the tattooed started around 2am and went on till sunrise, we were in such a comfortable zone with each other, we barely even spoke during that session but were totally in sync.

Machine linework – handpoked textures

What’s the tattoo scene like where you are? Tattoos are not a contemporary concept in India, Gonna a tribal form of handpoke tattoos has existed for centuries. Different tribes in India have tattoo practices of varying styles and for different purposes. 

With the rise of machine tattoos and influence from the West, you can see India adapting to the culture and getting big, bold custom tattoos as a form of self-expression. Though tattoos are still a niche and fairly looked down upon in corporate jobs there is a slow but sure acceptance of the art form. 

The contemporary stick and poke scene of independent artists that I am part of is slowly gaining respect from the tattoo studios that work with cool/rotary machines. Like the rich diversity of India, the country also offers a wide range of tattoo styles and artists you can get work done from!

 Tattooing at a guest spot 

You mentioned you want to provide brown skin toned people an opportunity to get tattooed by someone who knows how to work those skin shades. What do you want people to know about tattooing brown skin and how can they work with different skin shades? I think many people are afraid to do coloured tattoos on brown skin tones just because we lack representation on blogs and Pinterest boards. Studying colour theory and drawing flashes on brown toned backgrounds helps a lot with understanding how to make colours pop on POC. But also, experiment, offer free colour tests to clients with darker skin tones so you can better understand how melanin plays a part in the healing of a coloured tattoo.

Machine linework – handpoked colour

What have you been doing since the pandemic? Ahhh, hoenstly a lot on some days and then nothing at all on many. I experienced a massive rise in the sale of my handpoke tattoo kits during the pandemic, which helped me keep afloat and busy with work.

It was interesting to see so many people take up stick and poke as a hobby during the pandemic.

When times were good between the second and third wave we would take the opportunity to host IRL flash days, I even hosted a three city handpoke tattoo festival across India showcasing some of the country’s brightest new tattoo artists. When we were forced to go back into isolation I kept the community strong and alive with virtual flash days and Clubhouse chats with tattoo enthusiasts, which was also great because then we weren’t bound by borders and tattoo artists from around the world could join in! 

What do you see for the future of tattooing in India? How do you see yourself in this? Oooh, I think the future for tattooing in India is super bright. We are definitely gaining momentum on the map as a legit place for international artists to come for a guest spot, simultaneously Indian artists travelling abroad for work and getting fully booked out.

India hosts some of the most exciting tattoo conventions, I attended one recently in Mumbai called Kula tattoo convention which was a beautiful coexistence between traditional handpoked tattoos and contemporary tattoo artists from villages of India to the far West. 

Is there anything else you want people to know? In 2022 I took the leap of changing my artist name that I built over five years from Tender Pokes to Paradise Tender. I felt like this was an important step in my growth as a multidisciplinary artist, as now in addition to handpoked tattoos I also have machine tattoos and tooth gems in my skills roster.

I am looking forward to what I’ll create this year, with my new found love for hybrid tattoos that involve both handpoke and machine! Also, being the first artist doing colourful tooth jewellery in India, I am excited to see what heights I can take this form of body art in my country to! 

Follow Shreya for more hybrid tattoos and guest spots.

Interview with handpoke artist Poppy

We love the cosy handpoke tattoos Poppy creates at The Blackhouse Club, Brighton and K-ink, London so much so that we had to find out more about the artist behind them. We chat to Poppy about their journey into the tattoo world, inspirations and the joy tattooing brings…

How long have you been tattooing and how did you become an artist? I began learning to handpoke in January 2021 and have been tattooing professionally since January 2022. I am a self / community taught tattooist as opposed to having a traditional apprenticeship – I began by practising on fruit and fake skin with guidance from my partner (who is also a tattoo artist) before gradually moving onto tattooing myself and some very trusting friends.

After graduating from university, I began focusing on developing my tattooing practice as much as I could while working part time before being offered my first residency at a studio in January 2022 where I worked once a week. Since then I have become a resident at two different studios, The Blackhouse Club and K-ink Peckham, and I’m now a full time tattooist.

If you weren’t a tattooer what would you be? I would love to be working somewhere in the film or television industry. I studied for a Masters degree in Film Studies while learning to tattoo, originally planning (or at least hoping) to get into screenwriting, which is something I would still really love to explore in the future. I also think I would love to put my artistic skills to good use in set and prop design.

What’s your favourite thing about being a tattooer? This is a really hard question for me because there’s just so much to love! Right now I’d say that one of my favourite things about being a tattooer is the freedom it allows me. Being a self employed, working artist gives me the freedom to choose when and how much I work, allows me to easily take time off when I need it and allows me to travel all over the world (although i’ve only gone as far as London yet!).

As someone who is neurodiverse and struggles with my mental health, I also find that this freedom is a huge help in helping me take care of myself better. As I am able to take guilt-free rest and time away when I need it as to not burn myself out or become so overwhelmed to the point of meltdown, like I used to experience frequently during other jobs and my education.

I’d say in general the best thing about being a tattoo artist is the fact that I am able to be an artist full time, as simple as that sounds. Not all artists have the luxury of being able to entirely support themselves financially with their artwork, and I am so grateful that I am able to make an earning this way, especially as someone who has really struggled to make a liveable income in the past while working “ordinary” jobs, let alone through making art!

I still wake up some days in disbelief that I get to make one-of-a-kind, permanent, art on my lovely clients for a living and not just for the sheer joy of it.

Can you tell us about your experiences in the tattoo industry? Although I haven’t been in the industry for very long, I can safely say that so far my experience has been pretty great. I have had the opportunity to meet and work alongside so many incredibly talented artists, some of which I’m lucky enough to call my friends. I am so lucky to know such kind, passionate and deeply creative tattooists who I have learned so much from.

I also cherish all of my wonderful clients, the best living and breathing canvases that anyone could ask for, who have all placed so much trust in me.

Of course, like any industry, the tattoo industry does have its issues which I am no way naive to. Unfortunately and sadly almost inevitably, there are a fair few bad eggs who have made their way into this industry. From tattooists who massively overcharge clients who don’t know any better or who exploit the labour of other artists and apprentices, tattooists who unashamedly steal designs from other artists and even tattooists who are just downright creeps who prey on young, vulnerable clients and artists.

I have been very fortunate that I have come into contact with only a small handful of these bad eggs and any interactions I have had with them have been brief. I’m incredibly thankful to now work in two lovely studios that are genuinely inclusive, safe, and clean (I know this sounds like a given, but you’d be surprised).

How would you describe your work? I find my own style quite difficult to describe. I’ve been told by others that my work is ignorant style, but to me this feels like quite a tricky categorisation, especially since I often take a lot of inspiration from traditional style tattooing which ignorant style is often defined in opposition to.

I often describe my style as ‘illustrative’, especially as I started off doing illustration work and translated that drawing style into tattooing.

We love your bold line style which is not often seen with handpoke tattoos, what drew you to this style? I’m drawn to the bolder style of lines mostly because I find that bolder lines tend to heal better and are more consistent than more fine lines, They also tend to age a bit better. It’s also a style I personally enjoy myself, a lot of the tattoos I have on my body use thick, bold lines.

What inspires you? When designing flash I find that I am inspired by all sorts of other art forms. Lots of my flash is directly inspired by music, films, and fine art. I have made flash sheets specifically based on films like Midsommar and Beetlejuice, and artists such as Claude Cahun, Frida Kahlo and Henri Matisse.

I also like to take inspiration from traditional tattoo flash from artists like Sailor Jerry, as well as French and Russian prison style tattoos. However, most of the time when drawing flash I just sketch whatever first comes to mind without any references at all, and just use whatever images that come to me subsciously as my main source of inspiration.

Do you have a favourite tattoo artist or someone who inspires you? I have many, many favourite tattoo artists, almost too many to name! I’ll start by giving a shout out to all of the amazing artists I work with at my main studio, The Blackhouse Club, who are all so wildly talented and inspire me every day; @traddy_issues, @orchard_tattoo, @nolseytattoo, @amieculver_tattoo, @luna__tattoos, @roblaketattoo, @kardatoons, @loverat.tattoo, @hella._.tattoos and @hangedtattoo.

Here are some of my favourite tattoo artists from the top of my head, who I have either already been tattooed by or I hope to be tattooed by in the future; @victoria.absurd, @chop_stick_n_poke, @chaoticmotherly, @slimesistren, @alitbruce, @xia_smith_tattoo, @starttodaytattoo, @slowpuncture, @yo.pokes, @birthdae, @nancydestroyer, @ktchnwnch and @story.tatter.

Can you tell us about the process behind your tattoos? When designing flash, I often first sketch onto paper whatever images or words are floating around in my mind. I then take these sketched ideas into procreate where I draw them up digitally, so I can make sure the designs are neat and the line weights are consistent. These line drawings I can then use to make a stencil for if someone gets the particular design tattooed.

As for the actual tattooing process itself, it’s pretty simple since I use a hand poke method. Typically I tape my needle to a sterile tongue depressor with medical tape and then wrap it with grip tape to help make it a bit easier to hold steady while working.

I try to follow my clients lead on whether they want a quiet or chatty session as I don’t mind doing either (although I do find I make my best work when things are a little bit quieter and I am able to concentrate on the tattoo entirely), and offer as many breaks as they need so that it’s a comfortable, low-pressure experience. Consent is incredibly important.

What drew you to handpoke instead of machine tattooing? Handpoke is just the first method I was taught when I was learning to tattoo and it stuck! Although it requires a bit more patience, I like that I can really take my time when hand poking, and also that it can be a bit more gentle for the client. I would eventually like to learn how to use a machine so I can make bigger and more complex pieces, but I’m not in any rush.

You often use coloured ink, does this impact how you tattoo when handpoking? Coloured inks do tend to be a bit trickier to handpoke. Coloured inks tend to be much thicker than black ink, so it can require a bit more perseverance to get them into the skin, especially if you’re trying to create a block of colour as opposed to coloured lines. Even though they’re a bit harder to work with, I do really enjoy using colour in my hand pokes.

I think I especially enjoy using them because I don’t personally have any colour tattoos (not for any particular reason, I just got a lot of black tattoos and then decided that I’d committed to the aesthetic), so I get to live vicariously through my clients.

What would you say to someone who isn’t sure whether to get a handpoke tattoo? The first thing I would think about is if the person already has other tattoos done by machine – usually I would reassure them that handpokes, depending on the placement, are usually a bit more gentle and less traumatic for the skin. So you can expect the experience to be a little less intense than getting tattooed by machine and that they are typically a bit easier and quicker to heal.

I also think that some people are unsure about getting hand poke tattoos because they have some misconceptions about handpoked tattoos – some clients before their appointment have told me that they’ve been told that handpokes are a lot more painful, that they don’t last as long or even disappear completely after a number of years, or that they will take many more hours than a tattoo done by machine. I like to reassure people that lots of people think that they are less painful (although everyone’s pain tolerance is different and subjective), that some handpokers, including myself, can produce work quite quickly, and that they are just as permanent as machine tattoos as long as they have been done properly.

Of course handpoked tattoos aren’t for everyone, and people are entitled to their personal preferences when it comes to getting tattooed. If you find that you can struggle with sitting still for longer periods of time, or if you particularly enjoy the noise or the speed of being tattooed by machine then maybe handpoke won’t be your favourite. But I think it’s always worth a try, especially if you’re looking to learn how to tattoo as it’s a great way to start.

What do you like to tattoo and what would you like to do more of? My favourite things to tattoos are human faces/figures, inanimate objects and anything heart shaped. Luckily, I get to tattoo these things a lot! I find that the motifs I’m drawn to change all of the time, both in the things I like to draw and get tattooed myself – currently I seem to be obsessed with sacred hearts, sea shells and hands.

Can you tell us about your own tattoos? Are you a tattoo collector? I do like to consider myself a tattoo collector, so much so that I try to limit myself to less than three tattoos by any given artist so that I have room for as many different artists’ work as possible. I don’t tend to stick to one style for my own tattoos – I have a mixture of blackwork, ignorant style, illustrative, fine line and traditional, and I also have a mixture of handpoke and machine.

The only thing that keeps my collection cohesive is the fact that I only have black ink tattooed on me. Although I absolutely love colour tattoos, I personally only like to have black tattoos myself so that they don’t clash with each other, especially since they vary so much in style.

Do you have a favourite tattoo experience? I can’t think of any one experience that I would call my favourite, and I’m very lucky in that all of my experiences in getting tattooed so far have been positive ones. I feel most comfortable and relaxed when being tattooed by friends, and other queer and/or neurodiverse tattooers, as I feel there less pressure to mask and I feel more comfortable in asking questions and setting boundaries.

What moment in your career are you most proud of? It’s hard to pinpoint one specific moment when each day is so different. Honestly, it sounds cheesy, but I’m proud of every new tattoo that I get to make. I also must say that being reached out to by Things & Ink to do this interview is a highlight in and of itself is a proud moment for me and I am extremely grateful for the opportunity to gush about my love of tattooing.

Be sure to follow @thursdaygurl_ for more amazing tattoos, fun flash and appointment details.

Interview with Kelly Needles

Kelly creates beautifully nature-inspired handpoke tattoos at Easy Tiger Tattoo in Leeds. We chatted to the artist about handpoke tattoos, planting trees and love of tattooing ears…

My experience as a handpoke artist was a bit tough at first but I could not be happier with where I am now. Handpoke tattooing had a bit of a bad reputation (and sometimes still does) with people buying easily accessible handpoke kits and doing it at home.

When looking for a studio to work from, I found that even though I learnt in a professional environment, handpoking still had a stigma attached to it.  Now though I have the pleasure of working alongside awesome and inspiring artists (machine and handpoke), and it’s more widely known and accepted professionally.

 I was drawn to handpoke tattooing mainly because it’s a lot gentler than the machine and I find it very therapeutic. Most of my clients agree with me on this. 

I have been handpoked by quite a few different artists and found they each have different techniques and ways of setting up. I tend to research the artist first, I’m quite fussy when it comes to getting tattooed. It has to be the right style for me, and I’d want the artist to be into my idea.

When it comes to my own tattooing process I always book in plenty of time for each client so we can go over the design, size and placement together. Whether it be a flash design, a custom piece or something I’ve drawn onto the skin, we have to make sure it’s perfect – I don’t like to rush! My set-up and supplies used are fully vegan and where possible, biodegradable. I also plant six trees for every appointment made to help fight climate change. 

I usually book at least one hour for a tattoo, even if it’s three finger dots! I like to have the time to get settled and for my client to feel settled with me, and with the design. Most of my tattoos like the small leaves, words, animals, ears, and single flowers take between one to two hours.

Most of my inspiration comes from nature; leaves, flowers, animals. I have a silly amount of photographs of plants on my phone that I’ll draw from. I also have a nice collection of reference books that include botanics, patterns and floral art. Sometimes inspiration comes from a leaf on the floor, art exhibitions, or the pattern on an old lady’s skirt!

I love tattooing anything that I would design myself – so any flowers or leaves, yes please. Animals I love too. Handwriting I could happily do everyday. Basically as long as I can have a bit of freedom with the design and it’s my usual style, then I’m a very happy bunny.

I’d love to tattoo more ears and fingers. Every ear is a different shape and size so it’s fun to see what design works best. I usually freehand the design on these places but elsewhere on the body, if we’re doing a flower or leaves, it’s always super enjoyable to draw straight on the skin , especially if it’s an area that’s not flat or easy to put a stencil on to. Also – I’m always, always up for black leaves.

I can’t see myself going back to machine tattooing. I love everything about handpoke, it suits me perfectly. How it’s gentler and calmer. When it comes to tattooing what I do (ears, fingers, tiny animals etc.) I personally can’t imagine doing these with a machine – handpoke makes sense for me.

Interview with Indy Voet

Our Italian contributor Ilaria Pauletti chatted to handpoke tattoo artist Indy Voet, who works out of Purple Sun in Brussels, about his clean, straight lined tattoos and his relation to body modifications…

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How did you get into tattoo art and body mods? I started at the desk of a piercing shop when I was about 18, after about a year or two I was piercing full time and quite interested in general body mods. Since then I pretty much always worked in piercing and tattoo shops, piercing, getting tattooed, going to conventions etc. I would say the general transition into tattooing came during the last two to three years and voluntary or not I feel good about where I am right now and the people I am with.

Have you always loved the idea of hand poked tattoos or did you just try it on a whim? It felt more natural for me coming from the piercing background. It started out as just a few small things here and there on tattooers I knew, and then it all evolved from there to what I do now.

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Sometimes you work with classic tattoo machines. Do you like to mix the two techniques? I started using both not so long ago after a push and a gift from Jean-Philippe Burton. I guess for me it’s about making good tattoos no matter if it’s by machine or by hand. It helps me achieve a visual I can’t by hand, sometimes for certain styles, and it opens up to more options but of course I have a lot more to learn.

Are you more into symbolism or traditional art? I have to admit I am into a lot of different things and a lot of different influences. I try to get inspired by quite obvious tattoo references as much as less obvious ones.

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You do quite simple and very clean tattoos. Where do you get inspiration from? I guess that, by looking at my tattoos right now, the clearest influences are ethnic art, patterns and tattoos on one side, and western traditional on the other side.

What is the best part of your job? I actually love the whole process, from searching, to drawing, to meeting people. But if I have to choose the best part, that one is seeing the tattoo healed and settled. Seeing people and customers wear it in their everyday life. Seeing it interact with the rest of their tattoos but also with their general style. I enjoy that quite a bit and I always find it curious.

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What about the tattoo community in Brussels? Are you planning to travel somewhere soon? Brussels is not a huge capital city but I guess there was a good number of shops that opened during the last few years. I am grateful I get along with a lot of the local tattooers and shops. The fact I can go to say hello or chill at other shops, I really appreciate that. I’m trying to do some city trips within Europe, where I can meet people I know, and once or twice a year I plan overseas travels.

What are the parts of the body you enjoy the most to tattoo? I would say ears for sure but I also enjoy fingers, eyelids, the torso etc. I guess as long as I technically can do a good job, and as long as it’s possible to make the design work in harmony with the spot, I am happy to continue to do so.

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What are your top three images to tattoo? I don’t really have three but I would say anything simple with straight lines or anything not too serious, western old school are always fun for me to do.

Who are your favourite artists at the moment? Too many to mention, but to mention a few: Marine Martin, Burton Ursaeminoris, Bouits, Jacob Redmond, Matt Shamah, Florian Santus, Ronnie Ronson, Horimatsu Bunchin, Bastien Jean, Cokney, Chriss Dettmer, Jeff Zuck, Kane Trubenbacher, Toothtaker, Rudy Fritch, Dan Santoro, Gakkin, Lockhart, Josh Egnew, Duncan X and many many more!

Handpoke Tattoos by Boo

31-year-old Boo Tattoo, is a handpoke tattoo artist who works out of  Embody Tattoo Studio in Derby UK. We chatted to Boo about how she became a tattooist, her handpoke style and her own tattoo collection… 

Modelling, make-up and hair by: TheBodyArtist
 www.rugglez.com – (c) Matthew Craig (Rugglez) 2016

How long have you been tattooing? I started my apprenticeship at the end of 2009, so around seven years now.

How did you start? What did you do before? I had been asked to draw tattoo flash to sell and got a bit precious over my designs. I’ve always loved exploring different medias and decided I wanted to learn to tattoo my own designs. I couldn’t really leave it alone after that! I had one tattoo apprenticeship that fell through after a month so I then opened a fair-trade gift shop selling clothes I had revamped, jewellery I had made from vintage and broken pieces and much more. I shut it down after nearly two years to start a new apprenticeship at Tradition 180 Custom Tattoo studio.

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Do you have a background in art? I have always drawn! It was crazy as in my second primary school I was actually taken out of art lessons to do more spelling as I am really dyslexic. I did 3D Design for Sustainability Ba Hons, it was pretty strict and so it kept me focused and well one of my life ethos is to live by the three Rs: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. Hence I guess why I am trying to make Embody Tattoo studio one of the first inclusive and sustainable tattoo studios in the UK. I want to minimalise our negative impact on the planet.

What drew you to the tattoo world? I very much fell in to it, I honestly thought I would be designing chairs and spoons, but I burnt through so many forms of art and so far handpoke tattooing has stuck. Every day I feel like I learn something new and I’m always looking to be better than yesterday.

How would you describe your style, has it changed? I try not to draw tattoo art and instead draw whats in my heart! I love realism but I try to make it more abstract. I love lines and I was told off a lot in art lessons for putting lines where there were none, I also love realistic forms and colour.

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What do you like to tattoo and draw? At the moment I am trying to push handpoking as far as I can take it, so I’m loving colour blends and smooth grey shading. I love to draw things inspired by nature and incorporating symbolism, and relish encoding stories and thought into my pieces.

What inspires you? I’m interested in ancient cultures and their forms of art and symbolism, I get a lot of inspiration from there. Also the beauty of nature and our surroundings. I guess that why I also love the Art Nouveau and Art Deco movements. I often bump into things whilst looking up at either the flourishes on the tops of buildings or just the forms of the trees and skies.

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What would you love to tattoo? And what would you refuse to do? It’s always amazing when someone asks for a piece of my art that I’ve just drawn. I love creating custom work for my clients, but its always pretty special to have someone see what comes from deep inside. I would love to do more free form and free hand work. I try not to refuse things, but to guide in a better direction, however I refuse to do anything with a hateful intent.

Do you have any guest spot or conventions planned? I do! After I have got Embody Tattoo studio running smoothly I hope to be back up in Aberdeen at Sailor Max Tattoo Parlour. I also have a few more guest spots to confirm with other studios such as Electric Lady Tattoo studio (Reading) and The Crow and Quill Tattoo studio (Southampton), so I’ll be up and around the country.
The next convention I am 100% working is the Goa Tattoo Festival and you will for sure be seeing me at next years Manchester’s Tattoo Tea Party and Doncaster’s Tattoo Jam. I’m still waiting to confirm a few more, but you’ll be certain to see me down in the south of England, across in Wales and up in Scotland.

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Can you tell us about your own tattoos? On my body I mostly have abstract pattern work and nature inspired pieces. My sleeve was done by the man who taught me, Adam “Starfish” Dutton and contains so much I swear seven years on I am still finding new things! My neck is by Touka Voodoo and it is based on sacred geometry and I can’t wait to get it finished! I am collecting a thigh of skulls from artists I admire and love. I have Hermes wings on my feet which I handpoked myself and I have hands with peacock feathers on my left side for Hera. I also had five of my chakra points tattooed in order of the most under active, I’m yet to have my third eye and crown chakra though as I believe I’m not at that level yet. I am also collecting Swastikas in respect of ManWoman and his work trying to bring back the original meaning of the symbol, which is actually luck and good fortune!

Modelling, make-up and hair by: TheBodyArtist
www.rugglez.com – (c) Matthew Craig (Rugglez) 2016