More Disney Ink

Well here we are again to chat about my Disney ink!

It really is true what they say about having tattoos; you can never stop at just the one! I had never thought I would be the one to be adorned in ink, in fact growing up tattoos were one of those taboo subjects and always associated with 'certain types of people'!

Well here we are and I have fell in love with having tattoos! I remember watching 'Miami Ink' on TV a fair number of years ago now and gathering a whole new perspective on tattoos; it was hearing the stories behind the tattoos, watching the artists at work and realising that people of all types and backgrounds could celebrate the art-form together that got me intrigued.

Once I'd made my mind up to have a tattoo I had two conditions; first it had to be something designed by my husband, Simon, so I could have a piece of his artwork on my body and second it had to have a Disney element to it. I'd also decided that my first tattoo would be somewhere 'hidden'...I don't think at that point in time I was overly comfortable with the idea of showing off the fact that I had a tattoo...Oh how times have changed!

So my first tattoo was on my lower back; designed by Simon and tattooed by Gray Silva at Rampant Ink, Nottingham. It comprised of a Mickey head silhouette at it's centre before spreading out in a graffiti style. Simon even managed to incorporate his and the children's initials into the design.

Next I decided that my foot and ankle would make an ideal spot for a bit more ink...not one to shy away from choosing areas of the body that can be challenging to get inked. Rachael Huntington was my tattooist of choice and was very patient with me as every now and then I would twitch involuntary as the needle moved around my ankle bone area!

I thought I'd choose somewhere a little less challenging for my next tattoo and went for this Mickey design across the back of my neck. This was taken from an initial design by Simon that Rachael then embellished.

The next one I had was also taken from some of Simon's artwork. Simon had undertaken a project called '365 Mickey's' where he drew a Mickey a day for a year. One of these drawings was a take on my ankle tattoo, so Rachael took the design from his artwork and came up with this tattoo for my inner wrist.

Four tattoos in and I had the idea of a complete Disney inspired sleeve! This was started by Rachael, but with the majority of the ink completed by the ever lovely and talented Saint Heywood (now running his own studio - Acadia Tattoo)

These photos taken by my talented daughter (Molly Phipps Photography) show my fully completed arm, this was completed over a number of months and mainly 6 hour sittings with an odd 3 hour thrown in!

Then we decided to move over onto the other arm, for a Star Wars inspired tattoo - see my previous Disney Sleeve blog post which details the reasons behind this one!

And that brings us up to now...and my latest tattoo. Now this has been a work in progress that lasted about 4 months and was completed back in October of last year.

The inspiration this time came about while watching a burlesque show. One of the performers, the amazing Chi Chi Revolver, had a tattoo of a carousel around her thigh and I fell in love with it. As everyone who loves Disney knows it was watching the merry-go-round at Griffith Park in Los Angeles that is credited with inspiring Walt Disney to develop Disneyland. This gave me that connection to Disney that all my tattoos have. A carousel, around my thigh, inspired by the carousel at the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World, with horses like those seen in Mary Poppins! An idea was born!

The carousel at the Magic Kingdom, once known as Cinderellas Golden Carrousel but now named Prince Charming Regal Carrousel, was themed...obviously...after the film Cinderella. So with that in mind, plus Mary Poppins horses, plus Disney and plus a garter style tattoo I once again paid Saint Heywood a visit and after about 20 hours or more of tattooing my newest tattoo was complete. The whole tattoo was completed over a number of sittings most of which were 6 hours with a couple of 3 hours thrown in for good measure and I absolutely love it!

A big thank you to Molly once again as it proved a little tricky to get photos of this one!!

So what next? Well...I have just booked in to see Saint once again and this time it's going to be a mother and daughter affair! Molly has her heart set on her first tattoo being a Disney one while I actually have a couple of small pieces in mind...

If you'd like to know more about my tattoos and how they came about please have a look at my previous posts;
Disney Inked
Disney Ink Update
A Bit More Ink
My Disney Sleeve

Disney Ink Update

I've promised for a little while now an update on my Disney tattoos. So I type this with a bit of a sore arm, following 6 hours in the tattoo chair with the wonderful Simon Saint Heywood at Rampant Ink. So while my new additions are healing I thought I ought to show-off the additions Simon did back in November last year.

So first we have Stitch in his Elvis attire, along with the word Ohana - 'Ohana means family. Family means nobody gets lefts behind or forgotten'. There are still some strings to be added to the guitar but to ensure the lines are straight we needed to wait until the rest of the tattoo had healed.

Next we have Dumbo...

and then Jiminy Cricket...

...so watch this space in a few weeks time for another update when todays work is healed.

Disney Inked

One of the ways that I keep my love of Disney going, as well as expressing how much Disney means to me, is through my tattoos.

Every tattoo that I have has a bit of Disney thrown in somewhere...some more obvious than others!

It all started a fair few years ago when Simon & I became intrigued with the world of tattoos after watching a number of 'ink' related TV programs. We loved the artistry involved and the stories behind the tattoos and soon we were talking about getting our own and what we would have done and why.

My reasoning was very simple - it had to combine the loves in life (family and Disney) as well as be designed by Simon.  The thought of having a piece of his art on my body was a no-brainer as far as I was concerned.

So the first tattoo I ever had was at the base of my spine. It spans across my lower back with a tri-circle Mickey at the centre; this was designed by Simon, and tattooed by Gray Silva at Rampant Ink Tattoo Studio. It also incorporates Simon’s initials and those of our two children (if you know where to look!)

Photo taken at Disney's Animal Kingdom, Dinoland USA after riding Primeval Whirl, 2008

My next tattoo carried on the Disney theme and once again incorporated the classic tri-circle Mickey at it's centre.  This was designed by Simon along with input from tattooist, Rachel Huntington who also worked at Rampant Ink Tattoo Studio.

Photo taken at Disneyland, Sleeping Beauty's Castle, 2010

My third tattoo is around my ankle and foot and has flowers with tri-circle Mickeys at their centres flowing off an abstract tri-circle Mickey.  This time I took Rachel some designs of tri-circle Mickey’s that I had come across on our previous visit to Disneyland, explained where I wanted the tattoo and that I wanted cherry blossom type flowers as well.  I told her all about ‘hidden Mickey’s’ and love the fact that she was able to get so many into one tattoo; between the main ‘Mickey’, the flower centres and tiny hidden ‘dots’ there are 11 hidden Mickey’s!  I also love the fact that those in the know see the 'Disney' element straight away but for others I have to point it out, and when they realise they are completely awestruck!

Photo taken at the Magic Kingdom, Main Street USA, 2011

My next tattoo was based on a drawing that Simon completed as part of his 365 Mickeys Project; the drawing celebrated the day I got my original foot/ankle tattoo!

Simon's 365 Mickeys Project drawing for 8th July 2011

The tattoo version is almost the same but with an extra flower and a total of seven hidden Mickeys. This tattoo has since had a small star added to represent my mum who recently passed away.

Freshly inked Tattoo by Rachel Huntington - May 2014

So what to do next....well it's true what they say that you can never stop at just one tattoo and the idea that started bubbling away in my head was that of a full sleeve...a full Disney sleeve of course.

So in February this year the first part of my sleeve was begun. Now this sleeve is still a 'work-in-progress' and will contain a mixture of images of all different kinds that help to signify what Disney is all about for me personally; favourite movies, characters as well as representing my Disney home - Walt Disney World. The tattoo was started initially by Rachel while she was working at Rampant Ink. We started with Cinderella's castle (to represent the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World) and then the rose and bell jar from Beauty & The Beast as well as Scrump from Lilo & Stitch...

...next came some words, colour and a classic Disney blue bird...

...this was followed by more words, tinkerbell and some fairy dust...

 ...oh and the genie's lamp from Aladdin.

Now this is where I had a change of artists as Rachel decided to take a break from tattooing. Luckily for me Rampant Ink also employs the amazingly talented Simon 'Saint' Heywood who agreed to take on the rest of my sleeve for me. My first 6 hour session with Simon included lanterns from Tangled...

 ...colour and enhancements to the rose and bell jar as well as filling in around some of the words...

 ....there was also the apple from Snow White along with Cinderella's glass slipper...

...and then moving onto my lower arm...

 ...a movie clapper board to represent Disney's Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World.

I have now had my second 6 hour session with Simon which has resulted in seven new pieces to my sleeve. So continuing on my lower arm...

...on the front I have Figment, the purple dinosaur from the attraction Journey Into Imagination which represents Epcot. I then have the Simba cave drawing from the movie The Lion King which represents the Animal Kingdom. So that's all four main parks at Walt Disney World represented!

On the back of my lower arm there is...

 ...Mrs Potts, from Beauty & The Beast, and of course that means that...

...Chip had to be included too! Also on my lower arm there is...

...a classic Disney butterfly as seen in the likes of Bambi. Moving back onto my upper arm there were a couple of smaller pieces added...

...a silhouette of Mary Poppins and a couple of 'Mickey' balloons which are synonymous with any visit to the Magic Kingdom!

But I still have plenty of space left to fill and plenty of ideas of what I'd like to fill those spaces with...but I won't spoil the surprise and will leave the reveal to another post after my next inking session later this year!