Features Archives - Page 70 of 154

May 25, 2016May 31, 2016

Surface pattern designer, Matt Manson

Matt Manson is a Bristol-based artist and surface pattern designer who draws influence from the world of decorative art. His work integrates techniques and inspiration from his passion for geometric patterns and classic Mughal architecture.

Moving to New York in the summer of 2010, Matt spent time working for Brooklyn’s Flavor Paper before moving to Amsterdam in 2013 to work as an in-house surface pattern designer at Marcel Wanders and Moooi.

At the start of 2014 Matt returned to England to set up a studio in his hometown of Bristol. Having spent the last few years obsessively creating geometric patterns he decided to channel these designs into a collection of bespoke products. His work has been featured in publications such as Vogue Living and have has been given glowing reviews in blogs such as People of Print and Kim Gray. So we thought we should get the lowdown on where Matt draws his inspiration from and what his plans are for the future…

If you could tell us a little bit about what you do and how you began working as an artist?
I work as a surface pattern designer; I make patterns and graphic illustrations to be used across a whole range of objects such as ceramics, textiles and everything in-between. It’s a constantly evolving journey that manifests itself in many ways. Recently my main focus has been developing a collection of polar graph and isometric sketchbooks allowing the user to easily create mandalas and other geometric patterns.

Polar-graph and isometric sketchbooks created by Matt

Shiva moon bed throw and assorted pillows

My career really started at 21 when I moved to Brooklyn NY… I was obsessed with patterns for as long as I can remember and the artwork of Dan Funderburgh had really made a big impression on me. As a result, I contacted Flavor Paper who produce his wallpapers and was lucky enough to be able to move over and get schooled in the craft of hand printing wallpapers. It was an amazing opportunity to be involved in with such a high-end company and has really made a lasting impression on what is possible. After New York I lived and worked around South London for a while and I then went to Amsterdam where I worked in interior design before moving back to my hometown of Bristol.

How did the idea of geometric sketchbooks come about?
Over the last few years more and more people have been asking how I have been creating my patterns. As a result I wanted to create a collection of sketchbooks using the grid systems I use on a daily basis. These grid systems allow the artist to easily create symmetrical imagery such as mandalas.

I have tried to create a product which could be used by everyone from beginners to experts, allowing the illustrator the freedom to develop their work.

Where do you draw influence from for your artwork?
Its a real mix of personal experiences… It’s odd but I feel the free party techno scene has had some part to play in influencing my artwork. I’m from Bristol in England, it’s a city with a very active underground party scene. I used to go to free parties in old warehouses and was always inspired by the harsh black and white op art banners that are normally on display. Artists such as The Porg and also the Spiral Tribe and new age travellers scene was a big draw for me in my early days.

In my late teens I went over to India on my own and spent time travelling around and visiting sights such as the steps at Chand Baori and Meenakshi Amman temple. Visiting these locations really gave me a lasting impression on just how beautiful and powerful pattern and geometry can be.

Does tattoo related art play an important role in your own artwork?
I guess my influences are coming from the same place as many tattoo artists. Mughal architectural, sacred geometry, chemical visions and forgotten angles.

Buddha Anatomy plates designed by Matt

Do you yourself have any tattoos? If so whose work do you have? And any future plans for more tattoos?
Yes I have some bits… when living in Amsterdam I made friends with Martin Robinson (RIP) who introduced me to Fabio Maravalhas who has done most of my work. Since returning to the UK I have been getting tattooed by Fil at Broad Street Studios in Bath.

You can purchase Matt’s work and a variety of homeware products online and he can be contacted via his website, Facebook and Instagram.

May 18, 2016May 18, 2016

5 must-see minimal artists

Five must-see minimal tattoo artists to keep an eye on compiled by our guest writer, Katie Houghton

Tati Compton

(Photo Credit: www.instagram.com/taticompton)

Interviewed by Vice, showered with likes on Instagram and even acknowledged by the dastardly Daily Mail, Tati Compton is a notable name on the London stick-n-poke scene. Hailing from San Francisco and renowned for her delicate, yet symbolically free-hand work, Tati (Tatiana Kartomten) has more than impressed the capital with her blend of ethereal, dotted and intricate designs. The waiting list for her work is all sorts of long, but owing to a friend that has been lucky enough to snag a Compton piece, it’s worth the wait.

Tealeigh

(Photo Credit:www.instagram.com/tealeigh)

Another must-try minimal name, if you’re hopping a flight to Brooklyn any time soon, is Texas born Tealeigh. Offering up designs that flirt with sass and foliage combined, Tealeigh’s artistic structure is both petite and empowering, you need only look at her Instagram of bottomless quotes and floral notes to prove it. From fine greenery and tidy bugs to humble skulls, her lines are neat and her message like a shot of whisky with a tequila chaser and then a beer, to the heart. With a tote that raves of ‘cash poor, pussy rich’… I’m buyin’.

Maddy Young

(Photo Credit: maddyyoung.com)

Melbourne is the next stop for minimal. While Maddy Young herself is not actually a fully fledged tattoo artist, so much of her art has been featured on willing flesh that it would be a shame not to mention her on this list. With a dark stance, somewhat devilish echo and floral edge, Maddy Young fills the gap for those that want to keep their tattoos neat and petite, but don’t want to compromise on added sting. From cobwebs and moths to bold monochrome lines and dotted edges, Young’s work is inky and enticing.

Daisy Does Tattoos

(Photo Credit: http://jackpotdw.tumblr.com)

From botany and chickens, to John Waters and bottles of beer, it doesn’t seem like Berlin based Daisy Does Tattoos has much of a necessitated ‘theme’ to her minimal artistry, other than gnarly and much-wanted doses of black and white for Germany of course. Cartoon-esque, slightly rough around the edges but still able to knock out precise-to-nature greenery should the occasion so rise, Daisy promises throaty and cult-culture tattoos with a tidy, soft and gossamer edge.

Kaiyu Huang

(Photo Credit: thevandalist.com)

Born of Shanghai but now making his name more prominent that ever in urban New York, Kaiyu Huang is a tattoo artist that makes easy work of passionate details and simple yet pow-packing colours. Teasing symbolic black and white pieces with bi-colours and regular doses of red, Huang’s work is pretty damn noticeable where you to see it. While a lot of his main tattoo work consists of bulkier pieces, it’s his minimal work that’s making him stick out like a loveable thumb.

May 15, 2016

You, Me & Bones

27-year-old Waan Pivasiri is a candle maker and creator of You, Me & Bones in Melbourne, Australia. We chatted to Waan about what inspires her creepy and cute candles…

How long have you been making candles? You, Me & Bones’ third birthday will be at the end of April!

How did you start? What did you do before? It started as a hobby; I wanted to gift my friends one off hand-made products rather than things that are mass produced in a factory. I was a front end web developer at the time and after a year or so, I went part time so I can focus more on candle making. Then a year after that I went full time on You, Me & Bones!

Do you have a background in art? Not really, however, I’d like to think I’m pretty creative. I used to draw, paint, sketch and all that but I don’t think I was ever really good at it. I like all things crafty and I like making’things, I’ve been dabbling a little in cross stitching and well as pottery and I’m loving it!

What is the process behind each one? How do you make them? I brainstorm ideas of what I’d like to make then my sculptor Dan create a master for me and we go ahead and create molds off the cast. Sometimes we have to remake the cast if, say the candle won’t burn down nicely, etc, but most of the time it’s perfect. I then make candles out of the mold! The best bit is the first time you unmold your new design. I get super excited!

jj-halloween

What inspires you? Everything I create or want to create are the things and people I am fascinated with and would like to have in my own home. I find dolls so creepy but I just can’t pull away from them. I have a small collection of random doll parts but I have them tucked away so I don’t see them because sometimes they just weird me out so much. I know, it doesn’t make sense, but things that don’t make sense inspires me.

Can you tell us about your own tattoos? Apart from my shoulder tattoo (which is also my favourite – done by Lee Stain from Inktricate), all my other tattoos are kind of hidden. They are mostly on my the front and sides of my thighs – I feel like they would hurt the least so I get tattooed there. My sculptor Dan Danckert is also a tattoo artist at Killer Bees Tattoos and he did a beautiful Victorian doll head candle on my thigh. I also have a lot of candle and cat tattoos on me!

Where can people buy them and do you do commissions? You can find my products on my webshop. You can also check out my Instagram for updates and the like. Unfortunately I normally don’t have time for commissions but it never hurt to send me a nice email to ask about it!

May 12, 2016May 14, 2016

Art Macabre: Becoming Art for a Night

Our editor Alice Snape was asked to pose for an Art Macabre lifedrawing session at Museum of London, which was part of the Tattoo London exhibition. As a first-time naked model, here’s how she felt about the experience and seeing her body as art…

“Me? A model? That I am definitely not. I hate having my photo taken, and I am very critical of my appearance, which probably comes from years of self-conscious anxiety and a childhood spent in a chubby awkward body that I was never quite comfortable in – I think I am yet to grown into my nose! But when I was asked by Nikki, who runs Art Macabre, to be a lifedrawing model for the evening, I had to say yes. It felt like one of those experiences that should be on your bucket list, and as a 32-year-old woman who has worked really hard on overcoming that teenage insecurity and becoming comfortable in her own skin, there didn’t seem like a better time to do it.

“Before the evening, I asked Nikki to give me some advice, as a first-timer. She told me to: Breathe and relax into poses and, on a practical note, bring a dressing gown to wear in-between poses and during the break. All day before the event, I was a bag of nerves, running different scenarios though my mind – a constant reel of what ifs! But, the moment I took step onto that platform and got into the first pose (five minutes to warm up), I felt incredible, empowered, strong and beautiful.

IMG_5718 (1)

“I fixed my eyes on the twinkling lights that surrounded the space and they lulled me into a mediative state. I listened to the sound of pencils and quiet concentration, eyes looking up at me and back down to the blank canvas, pictures of my body and tattoos slowly forming on the pages. I thought about how my body might look through the eyes of everyone in front of me, during one pose I focused on a determined looking woman who seemed lost in the movements of her pencil. A few brief moments of self-doubt flitted through my mind – what if I am not interesting enough to draw? – but they soon dissipated when I realised everyone surrounding me was creating their own interpretation of me.

“The evening consisted of a few short standing postures and some longer (25 minutes) seated poses. As the night drew to a close, each of the artists lay their work onto the floor to share it with each other and the models… Looking at each work of art, I realised I have grown very fond of my body as it has become more covered with tattoos. I have taken ownership of my body by choosing where each tattoo goes, and I love my colourful skin. Over the past couple of years, I have also started exercising regularly and even ran a marathon! I love the fact that my body is fit and healthy, and that has boosted my confidence hugely. My thighs, for example, have always been a part of my body I have hated. I always think they are chunky, they have bumps and cellulite that no matter how much I exercise will not disappear. But they are mine, they are strong and that means they are beautiful.

“I saw that each person had drawn my body slightly differently, my curves slightly more or less rounded, in some I looked bigger and in some small. Everyone sees an object through their own eyes, putting on that object their own preferences. It was enlightening and uplifting to see that subjectivity about the form of my own body – no one is ever going to be as critical of it as myself.

“I walked away from the evening with renewed self confidence and a want to relive the experience. It felt like a true celebration of my naked self and at last a goodbye to any anxiety I had!”

Here’s some works of art created on the night:

May 10, 2016May 12, 2016

A chat with David Corden at the 2016 Venice Tattoo Gathering

Guest writer Sarah Armstrong takes us through an inspiring weekend at the Venetian Tattoo Gathering that took place on Friday 29th April – Sunday 1st May 2016.

The Venetian Tattoo Gathering saw a private gathering of artists meet under the frescoed ceilings of the Palazzo Ca’Zenobio – a gilded 1690s Venetian Palace hidden away in the labyrinth of Venice’s canals. The Venetian Tattoo Gathering focused on learning, drawing, painting and tattooing, emphasising education for all artists within the tattoo industry and, unlike usual conventions, was not open to the general public.

Paul Booth, Jeff Gogue, Nick Baxter and Steve Butcher were among many of the artists present, and I spoke to realism artist and owner of Edinburgh’s Semper studio, David Corden, on why the educational structure of this gathering was so important to him and other artists.

Jeff Gogue working on Juliet Preston’s sleeve

David Corden stood with Sam Ford and the back piece she worked on this weekend.

David believed that the gathering was able to work like this because everyone involved was taking part because it’s their passion. Unlike a ‘normal’ job, it’s not like a business sending its employees to learn the latest things and sit through seminars they don’t want to be in. David and the other artists put themselves here deliberately because they want to learn more about their craft.

The painting hall was filled with fine artists

Hand poke artist Colin Dale embraced by client

Realism artist Sam Ford tattoos a neck

David, along with many other artists, gave seminars as well tattooing over the weekend. BJ Betts held lettering workshops and there were live collaborations from the likes of Fantasy Artists Boris Vallejo, Julie Bell, Paul Booth and Stefano Alcantara. Panelled critiques of submitted work were also held in front of an audience.

Live collaboration from Boris Vallejo, Julie Bell, Paul Booth and Stefano Alcantara

David Corden panels with other artists on the submitted critique

“We pay our own money to sit through a seminar from people we admire,” David told me, “and sometimes it’s just for a bit of affirmation that we are on the right track or that we are using products that are correct or techniques we have got – it may simply be that we need more experience or practice doing things.”

One of the many panelled discussions tackling the biggest questions in tattooing today

David explained that an artist’s ego can be an incredibly fragile thing… so if they are good on paper it frustrates them that they are not as good on skin or as quick as they would like to be. To hear from someone else that it does take a while and they are on the right track can be very valuable.

“Posing in the same place Madonna filmed Like a Virgin, because… I’m Madonna”

The Venetian Tattoo Gathering was the perfect location for this kind of inspirational event, (if it was good enough for Madonna’s Like a Virgin video) and as David mentioned, the outcome of this kind of event was supposed to help you do better work as an artist and return back in to the studio revitalised and refreshed.

The humble nature of all the artists present and willingness to learn from each other this weekend was overwhelming. David noted that by the end of the weekend “if you are lucky, you have managed to talk to some of your heroes – and thats the thing, everyone who comes here is star struck over somebody, even the most famous people have heroes here – it was just absolutely incredible and that’s the pull of things like this, they got involved because of the way it is run and the reason it takes place. ”

Writer Sarah can be contacted via her email at: sarah.gillian.armstrong@gmail.com