PHAEDRA SAMANTHA
PHOTOGRAPHER : DESIGNER : LIFESTYLE BLOGGER
On a fine May day, Liverpool played host to one of the biggest tattoo conventions in the UK held at the infamous Adelphi Hotel. Artists from all over the world came together to show off their expertise, passion and pure unadulterated talent. This was my first time at Liverpool Tattoo Convention which was organised by local tattoo company 'Design For Life' (put their web address in brackets). Kicking the event off on Friday was an artist-only admission where I'm told a mass collaboration was held along with some networking and mutual appreciated for individual work and styles. Saturday welcomed us non-artists with open arms with the popularity of the event prominent by a queue that stretched half way round the block. Upon entry, we were greeted by friendly panel of staff issuing information and directions. We were now entering a temporary cave full of savlon, vaseline and the harmonic buzzing of ink needles. As we walked around the stalls, this year we noticed that there seems to be an increase in female artists and in what is always been known as a predominantly male orientated field over a quarter of the artists at the convention were female. With this in mind, I wondered what it was really like to be a woman in this industry. Are they really stereotypical butch burley Androgynous type? Not that there's anything wrong with that, we love you too! However, in this case it was ar from it. I was quite taken aback by the quantity of powerfully stunning women working at the event. As a photographer who loves shooting colour and beauty it was incredibly hard not to just walk around asking people about the opportunity to model for me but luckily their work shone as bright as their beauty and I was able to capture both!
The Fuel Girls undoubtedly stole the show attracting a few hundred people to the front of the stage along with Dr Strange and various artists like our very own Matchstickmen. The itinerary for the day was packed and everyone in attendance appeared thoroughly entertained.
As much as I love tattoos, I'm not exactly inked-up myself but I am avid lover and appreciator of others and their body art, so to those who make it possible. With that in mind, if I see a raw and undisputed talent, I'll shout about it so without much further ado, may I introduce 'Banana-Ink'!
Banana Ink is run by Przemysław Sasor He is one of the most sought-after exhibitors at conventions across Europe for his family-friendly teaching Tattoo Artistry Basics 101. His stall was set back from the regular artists giving him a little more space to talk to people and showcase his talents.
The principle behind his stall is to tattoo a banana. You read that right, a banana! This being due to the fact that a banana is one of the nearest natural vegan substitutes to real flesh and is great for practicing with ink needles. He takes the time to show adults and children alike how to set up the tattoo gun, prior preparation of the area that will be inked and how to actually use the gun. He is patient, enthusiastic and obviously passionate about what he does, making it less daunting and more fun for all to see and learn
When you have finished your piece of skin he takes a lot of pride in wiping down your banana with vaseline to clean off any excess ink, guide lines and then photographs every single piece of art that has been created to put in his gallery. Przemyslaw was happy to entertain my questions on how he got into such a fascinating job role and where had the path taken him, you may be shocked to here that this season alone he will attend and feature at over 50 conventions world wide and simply started out by asking his own tattoo artist what it was like to tattoo!
PHOTOGRAPHER : DESIGNER : LIFESTYLE BLOGGER
On a fine May day, Liverpool played host to one of the biggest tattoo conventions in the UK held at the infamous Adelphi Hotel. Artists from all over the world came together to show off their expertise, passion and pure unadulterated talent. This was my first time at Liverpool Tattoo Convention which was organised by local tattoo company 'Design For Life' (put their web address in brackets). Kicking the event off on Friday was an artist-only admission where I'm told a mass collaboration was held along with some networking and mutual appreciated for individual work and styles. Saturday welcomed us non-artists with open arms with the popularity of the event prominent by a queue that stretched half way round the block. Upon entry, we were greeted by friendly panel of staff issuing information and directions. We were now entering a temporary cave full of savlon, vaseline and the harmonic buzzing of ink needles. As we walked around the stalls, this year we noticed that there seems to be an increase in female artists and in what is always been known as a predominantly male orientated field over a quarter of the artists at the convention were female. With this in mind, I wondered what it was really like to be a woman in this industry. Are they really stereotypical butch burley Androgynous type? Not that there's anything wrong with that, we love you too! However, in this case it was ar from it. I was quite taken aback by the quantity of powerfully stunning women working at the event. As a photographer who loves shooting colour and beauty it was incredibly hard not to just walk around asking people about the opportunity to model for me but luckily their work shone as bright as their beauty and I was able to capture both!
The Fuel Girls undoubtedly stole the show attracting a few hundred people to the front of the stage along with Dr Strange and various artists like our very own Matchstickmen. The itinerary for the day was packed and everyone in attendance appeared thoroughly entertained.
As much as I love tattoos, I'm not exactly inked-up myself but I am avid lover and appreciator of others and their body art, so to those who make it possible. With that in mind, if I see a raw and undisputed talent, I'll shout about it so without much further ado, may I introduce 'Banana-Ink'!
Banana Ink is run by Przemysław Sasor He is one of the most sought-after exhibitors at conventions across Europe for his family-friendly teaching Tattoo Artistry Basics 101. His stall was set back from the regular artists giving him a little more space to talk to people and showcase his talents.
The principle behind his stall is to tattoo a banana. You read that right, a banana! This being due to the fact that a banana is one of the nearest natural vegan substitutes to real flesh and is great for practicing with ink needles. He takes the time to show adults and children alike how to set up the tattoo gun, prior preparation of the area that will be inked and how to actually use the gun. He is patient, enthusiastic and obviously passionate about what he does, making it less daunting and more fun for all to see and learn
When you have finished your piece of skin he takes a lot of pride in wiping down your banana with vaseline to clean off any excess ink, guide lines and then photographs every single piece of art that has been created to put in his gallery. Przemyslaw was happy to entertain my questions on how he got into such a fascinating job role and where had the path taken him, you may be shocked to here that this season alone he will attend and feature at over 50 conventions world wide and simply started out by asking his own tattoo artist what it was like to tattoo!
