Thursday 5 January 2012

TATTOOS: Taste of Ink

I thought I'd do something a bit different today and show you guys my tattoo work - the completed as well as the work-in-progress.  I was going to add in pics of all my tattoos, but I a) didn't want to come across as a poser(!) and b) don't particularly want pics of my stomach and hips etc on the net! Anyway, here goes!


I was obsessed with star tattoos since I was about 13, but obviously was way too young! When I turned 18 and was in "the scene" (cringe!) stars were the big thing, and I hesitated as I didn't want to be that cliché.  However, my love of all things astral won over and for my 20th birthday I got my first taste of ink - stars going down my hip.


There is a moral to this story - don't expect your artist to read your mind!! My friend left me at the studio, taking the picture of how I wanted my first piece with her! So I had to explain how I wanted my tattoo to look to the artist, and didn't end up with it looking how I had intended! HOWEVER, I love it to bits, and don't regret it or resent it or anything! I still love it :)


My mother cried herself to sleep for days after she saw my hip (months after I had it done I should add - I hid it well!) and that put me off having any more work done for a while.  Even though I worked in a body modification studio for a few months I managed to resist the urge for more permanent work done.  I concentrated instead on piercings, and ended up having over 40 done in  just a few years (not all at the same time).  I even had a suspension which was an amazing experience.  


When I got back from travelling round the world aged 21, I was eager for more tattoos.  I went to a convention and got a lucky charms piece done at a convention - very spur of the moment.  It was on my ribs, which is possibly the most painful place ever!!


I fell in love with all things oldschool at that time, and got a beautifully colourful anchor on my other side about a month after my last piece.  


I also got my beloved stars on my neck done a while after that (you can see I really got the bug!), which remains one of my favourite tattoos.  The artist, an old friend, was very reluctant to tattoo my neck as he thought I'd live to regret it (I haven't) and that it would hinder me at job interviews (it hasn't, although I do work in research where anything goes!) but gave in in the end!


I calmed down after this, but knew that my next piece was going to be a sleeve, which I've always loved.  So, after a good few months of deliberating, I decided to go ahead of it.  Rob was totally in tune with what I wanted - a girly and elegant sleeve but still definitely influenced by Japanese styles.  








I started it 3 years ago, and although I didn't know it at the time, it was doomed to go unfinished.  About 6 months in to the work, I moved further north to do my MRes and couldn't really afford either the train fare back to Birmingham every fortnight or the charge for the tattoo either.  I decided I would get it finished after my Masters and when I could afford it .... and then got a job in Edinburgh, 6 hours away from the studio!!! Since then, I've never really found an artist who's work I really liked.  Someone recommended Irezumi in Glasgow to me, and they look awesome and their work looks right up my street! So I hope I will get my sleeve finished soon!


*Rob Colley is the artist who did all my pieces other than the convention one, who was the artist at the studio I worked at, but now has his own shop in Birmingham called Park St Tattoo - check them out cos they're awesome!  


Do I want any more? Always! I really want a new school peacock on my back, lettering on my wrists and something on my feet! 

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