Rubik’s Cube

Rubik’s Cube by Mumi, a travelling artist.

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Kindness – a tattoo

Editor, Rosalie shares the story of her most meaningful tattoo yet. 

What does kindness mean to you?

Kindness for me means rejoining a weekly yoga class as a way to enjoy movement without seeing it as a punishment, something that I had been doing for way too long. It means starting counselling and commiting to it for almost a year. Kindness is turning my back on years of dieting and self hate in order to learn to be self compassionate and love my authentic self.

My yoga class begins and ends with a quiet moment of gratitude in a seated, comfortable cross legged position. The way I cross my legs or place my feet together, depending on how I am feeling that days, means my left ankle is always visible to me especially when I am bowing my head on my prayer-formed hands in thanks to my teacher and my body.

My yoga teacher encourages us to choose an intention for the class, a word, thought or feeling to carry with us while we stretch and move but also for the week ahead. The word I always settle on is kindness. Not only to help me be kind to my body in the moments when I move through our sun salutations and flows, but also as I begin to look around the room and compare my yoga poses and ability to those around me in the village hall where we practise. My chosen intention is also for and towards myself always, whether I am at work or home and more importantly to those around me too.

I wanted to commemorate how far I had come, the positive changes I have made and my progress with the best way I know how – a tattoo. I already had the perfect gap on my left ankle, and an artist in mind who specialises in fine line work.

The artists at Francis Street Tattoo in Leicester have always been warm and kind to me and Ellie-Mae was no different. She helped make the whole experience so positive and she is super gentle, which is always nice. It was as if the ink, the tattoo machine and artist were all working together to pour kindness into my skin. To add power and meaning into a word that had come to be so significant to me. 

Now settled in and healed, my kindness tattoo pokes out at me at the end and beginning of my class or when I practise at home. It is visible below the cuffs of my  jeans and my favourite dungarees, as a constant and strong reminder of my intention, the person I am and can be, as well as a promise to myself and others. The old English script signifies how far I have come, my history alongside the important work I am continuing to do with my mental health but also how far I have to go.

Most of my tattoos have no real meaning but this one makes up for them all.

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Pandora

The Moon Pandora from the movie Avatar. Tattoo by Ben Klishevskiy, an artist working at Banana Tattoo in Moscow, Russia.

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LIFESTYLE LADY OF THE WEEK 1/17 – JESELYN

The post LIFESTYLE LADY OF THE WEEK 1/17 – JESELYN appeared first on Tattoo'd Lifestyle Magazine.

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Interview with Abbie Johnston

Down a sheltered side street dotted with little coffee shops and small businesses sits Studio 58 in Carlisle, Cumbria. It is here in this quaint little part of the city that tattoo artist Abbie Johnston creates stunning blackwork tattoos. Her work often features a dark or spooky twist on nature and animals; she has also ventured further into the realm of witchcraft inspired tattoos, so many of her designs have a generally witchy feel to them.

‘Witchy tattoos’ can be anything from a bubbling cauldron to a simple sage bundle and they are becoming increasingly popular. You don’t have to be a witch to get a witchcraft inspired tattoo and while to many people they may have great meaning, to others the aesthetic is simply just really appreciated. That’s what makes Abbie’s more witchy designs so wonderful to me, they appeal to so many people aesthetically and they celebrate the craft at the same time. As a practicing Wiccan myself and a lover of all things spooky It’s hard not to love Abbie’s designs alongside her respect and admiration for the world of witchcraft.

I decided to chat a bit more with Abbie about her career, artistic influences and her opinions on witchcraft and Wicca in both her work and her personal life too…

How long have you been tattooing and what led to you becoming a tattoo artist? I’ve been tattooing for five years now. I’ve been interested in tattooing since my early teens but never really thought I’d get into it due to how hard the industry is to break into. I decided to study illustration at university first and build my drawing skills and then I just went for an apprenticeship and got it! I was quite lucky in terms of getting into tattooing but at the same time I worked my ass off.

Where do you get your inspiration from and what influences you? I’m heavily inspired by nature. I grew up on a little farm, so I was surrounded by woodlands and wild animals which have always fascinated me and I think it’s just translated into my work. I also love scouring charity shops for books on birds, animals and flowers because they give me endless inspiration.

How would you define your style? I always find that quite hard to answer, I’d say dot work blackwork with a gothic illustrative twist

What is your favourite subject to tattoo? Definitely birds, I don’t even know why I just have some weird connection to them, I’m a bit of a crazy bird lady.

How did you become interested in creating witchcraft inspired tattoos? What are your thoughts on them and their popularity? I just find the whole subject matter fascinating, I have a lot of books on witchcraft and Wicca and it just crept slowly into my drawings. I love the way it translates and can transform a cute subject matter into something more dark and interesting. I also really love the way it’s becoming more popular in tattooing; people are getting interested in it and being influenced by it just like me. Today’s society is a lot more accepting and I think this has helped allow people to become more confident in expressing themselves.

Do you have any personal interest in witchcraft or Wicca that feeds into your work? I wouldn’t consider myself a witch or a Wiccan but I do get a lot of inspiration from it, the way I dress, the things I like. I just love how connected the whole subject is to nature which is the main reason I was drawn to it. I know a lot about it but there’s a lot more out there to learn and draw inspiration from.

What has been your favourite witchcraft inspired tattoo to design and why I loved doing a piece which was essentially a woodland witch gang, incorporating my love of animals and spookiness my two favourite things to do!

Do you have any projects, upcoming guest spots or conventions you can tell us about? This year I’ll be working at Big North Tattoo Show in Newcastle and Tatcon Blackpool so far, with some potential other spots to be announced! I’m also currently selling prints to raise money for Badger Trust UK!

Words: Lucy Edwards, a 20-year-old tattooed university student, cat mum and trying-new-things enthusiast. You’ll most likely find Lucy posting about mental health awareness and self-acceptance on her Instagram.

Photo of Abbie: Korin Thomson

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Men’s Sleeve

Men’s sleeve with skull, eye and clock face. Tattoo by Vladimir Drozdov, a travelling artist.

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LIFESTYLE LADY OF THE WEEK 1/10 – CHELSEA

The post LIFESTYLE LADY OF THE WEEK 1/10 – CHELSEA appeared first on Tattoo'd Lifestyle Magazine.

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Wave & Octopus Hip Tattoo

Wave & octopus hip tattoo by or hagay, an artist at Gida Tattoo in Tel Aviv, Israel.

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