Things&Ink

December 1, 2015

Numbskulls.ink

Numbskulls.ink are a London based company producing fully tattoo-able anatomically accurate human sized skulls in high quality silicone rubber.

The silicone skull takes and holds tattoo ink permanently, providing the next best alternative surface to real skin. They can be used to perfect tattooing methods or to create and display unique works of art.

Custom designed skulls have been worked on by Toni Moore, Electric Pick and Greg Kun. There is also a collaboration in place with the Brighton Tattoo Convention early next year, to have approximately 10-15 skulls sent around the world to various top tattooists who are working at the show. These will then be displayed at the convention on the Numbskulls stand and auctioned off for the brain injury charity Headway.

Skull by Toni Moore

They can be contacted via their website at www.numbskulls.ink or find them on Facebook and Instagram

December 1, 2015

London Below

Sunday 6th December
Doors open 12-5pm
£3 entry fee
Epic Dalston, 13-15 Newington Road, N16 8BH, London

Sunday 6th December marks the return of London’s most exciting and innovative alternative market, London Below is London’s other underground.

After the success of the show’s debut this summer, the alternative market returns just in time for Christmas with an array of items and stalls catering for all tastes and fetishes.

Think weird and wonderful, dark and grungy and maybe even a bit of naughtiness thrown in for good measure. The market will play host to some unique workshops including; jewellery making with Black Heart Creatives and ‘Hurts so good- a beginners guide to flogging’, an workshop run by Kink Craft that’ll teach you all you need to know about flogging and more…

Confirmed stall holders include:

Jenny Robin Illustration, Alice Brown’s Cupboard, Lucy Luskini’s art jewellery memento moir, Elektra UK, Voodoo Betty’s Boutique and many many more…

November 30, 2015November 30, 2015

Fashion Pearls of Wisdom: The Look

Our guest blogger is Natalie McCreesh aka Pearl, a fashion lecturer, freelance writer and creator of Fashion Pearls of Wisdom. In this post she’ll be talking about how others perceive her as a heavily tattooed woman…

I’ve lived with tattoos longer than I have without, however I have only considered myself ‘tattooed’ more recently. There is a difference I think in having a tattoo and being tattooed. When you make the decision to become more heavily or more visibly tattooed, how people view you will change. You may or may not be aware of this at the time but it will happen. I first began to notice this after getting my knee tattooed, joining the other tattoos on my leg into a front-sleeve from ankle to thigh. Up until this point, though still fairly heavily tattooed the majority were in areas you wouldn’t see on a daily basis, back, thighs, feet. In passing you might only notice the large rooster on my shin. It seems there is a skin coverage ratio as to when you start to offend old ladies with your very presence.

I call it ‘the look’. There are three main stages to the look: shock, repulsion and judging. It’s not the sole prerogative of old ladies either, they are simply the most reliable audience. Being the kind of person to walk around with their head in the clouds it wasn’t me who noticed this first but my boyfriend who takes a lot of enjoyment in my new found super power. Since he pointed it out though I can’t stop noticing it, especially in the summer when I took to wearing very short shorts (from M&S just to add insult to grandma injury). Having a laugh about it when you are with your friends is one thing, having it happen when you are on your own can be quite another and I’m not afraid to admit it’s upset me at times. When you’ve had a bad day, got a plate full of worries the last thing you need is a group of strangers being rude to your face when your only crime was walking past them. More often than not I will stick my headphones in and sunglasses on, blocking out he world as I walk along. Other days I’ll ‘have it on me’ as my mother would say and crack out the biggest Cheshire Cat smile to the nay sayers, ten points if you can get a forced smile in return.

With tabloids reporting on Sam-Cam’s tiny ankle dolphin like she’s the first middle class woman to ever get tattooed it only broadens the gap between those of us who are more heavily tattooed rather than help shrink it. Having a tattoo is trendy, so long as it’s small and preferably cute, whilst being tattooed is still very much taboo. I’m not sure why anyone would particularly feel the need to have such a strong opinion on how I or anyone else choose to look. Perhaps I look like a criminal, or fallen woman in their eyes? Perhaps I’m just something to talk about in an otherwise boring day? Whatever the case I’m glad I stand out in a crowd, I’m glad I challenge the photoshopped beauty ideals pushed by glossy magazines. As for the old ladies, we’ll just have to wait until our generation are collecting pensions. Perhaps we’ll have something the youth of the day are doing to be shocked at, perhaps our wrinkled tattoos will be uncool to future younger generations. But at least we will have some stories to tell.

November 29, 2015

Katarzyna Mirczak: Special Signs

Special Signs by photographer Katarzyna Mirczak documents a collection of tattoos housed by the Department of Forensic Medicine at the Jagiellonian University since 1872. Katarzyna photographed the collection creating a harrowing series, that closely looks at the lives of prisoners and the ways they wished to mark their bodies. The photographs are accompanied by the first name, age and cause of death of the prisoner, but their surname is not mentioned. By keeping some parts of their lives private, Katarzyna hoped to not completely expose the subjects.

The sixty skin pieces were removed from deceased prisoners in Kraków and are preserved in formaldehyde. Many of the tattoos were done in prison by other prisoners and tattoo machines made from objects they came across, including clips and pins. The pigment was often made from charcoal, cork and mixed with water, urine or fat to create a crude ink. It was forbidden for the Polish prisoners to tattoo themselves and many of the tattoos are symbolic of the wearer’s opinion of prison or signify things to other prisoners.

For example; an image of a mouth, usually red and open signified that the wearer was a homosexual. A dagger with a snake twisted around it shows revengeful intentions.

November 28, 2015

Interview with Alexis Hepburn

Tattoo artist Alexis Hepburn, 22, works out of Gold Coast Tattoos in Queensland Australia, where she creates beautifully dark and traditional tattoos. We chatted to Alexis about her dark style, inspirations and tattoo collection…

How long have you been tattooing? I started tattooing a little over two years ago.

How did you get started? Listening to heavy music in my teens, I guess I always had the influence around me and from the people I looked up to. I begun to draw traditional tattoo flash when I was 16 and would ritually draw everyday. My best friend in those years was working as a shop hand for Jed Hill in Ballarat. A couple of years down the line I took a trip to Ballarat to catch up with Jed and get a tattoo.. However he put a turn on things and threw me straight in the deep end. “You’re not going to get a tattoo today, you’re going to do your first one” he said, and the crazy ride of learning to tattoo started from that moment.

Do you have a background in art? I never formally studied art in university or anything, however my family has always been very artistic and encouraging of my practice. I grew up watching both my mother and father paint leisurely, and both my grandparents on my mother’s side were artists also. I grew up going to their exhibitions to see their abstract oil paintings and textile hangings every few months or so. Norman, my grandfather, was also the Dean of Arts at the Victorian College of Arts.

How would you describe your style? It’s difficult to pin point it in a word, so to put it plainly I guess I utilise the structure of a traditional tattoo. The subject matter isn’t strictly traditional however, you could say it has a grim or folky spin to it.

What inspires you? As much as I am constantly overwhelmed by work from other tattooers, I generally take more inspiration from outside the immediate tattoo world. I love looking at old illustrations in books or on post cards. I love old wood carvings, vintage erotic art, browsing antique and vintage stores, and all things strange. If I’m painting leisurely or at my own accord I often find myself taking inspiration from the music I’m listening to, translating the lyrics into a visual. That’s my favourite way to paint.

What do you like to draw and tattoo? More than often I’ll find myself drawing girls, and I love doing anything with flowers, moons, cats and skulls. Anything dark and kinda spooky is always enjoyable.

Is there anything you wouldn’t tattoo? I’m sure there would be more if I thought about it deep enough, however I would never tattoo anything discriminatory. No tolerance for racism or sexism. That and I will probably never be willing to attempt a photorealistic portrait!

Can you tell us about your own tattoos? All of the tattoos I have on my body are in black and grey, there isn’t a single drop of colour. Up until I started tattooing all of the tattoos I had were on my legs and torso, and although I have built up a collection on my arms now I’m hesitant to ever go past the wrist or collar line. Some of my favourite tattoos I have are by Luke Braniff, Octoriver Daniel, Heather Bailey, and Drake Sheehan. Although one of my favourite experiences getting a tattoo was getting tattooed by Bev Robinson (aka Cindy Ray)! I feel very fortunate to have met such an inspirational lady.