THE ART OF TATTOOING

A collaboration with MONINK TATTOOS, Blog by Grazielle and Gemstones & Jewellery by GC for the campaign Together is Better

Hi Everyone!

I thought of sharing something TOTALLY DIFFERENT this week. I teamed up with Monique Debattista, a bad ass tattoo artist and business woman to create an informative and fun Blog Post to share with you all – to put a spotlight on this team of very talented artists and also to raise some awareness about certain labelling in society which still exists and is not something that makes any sense!

There’s no denying that the TATTOO culture hasn’t just grown in the past few years, it’s exploded into the mainstream. And with more interest in the art of ink, we are seeing boatloads of new images and styles, as well as hundreds of new Tattoo Parlours and Instagram accounts and websites dedicated to the tattoo world.

Photos: Marin Babanov
Jewellery: Gemstones & Jewellery by GC
Hair & Makeup: by the Team at Monink Tattoos

CHANGING TIMES

Given the rich history, perhaps it’s not surprising that tattoos have become more and more popular once again. In part, this is because they are being worn by public figures such as celebrities, athletes, and people within the fashion industry.

But another important aspect to acknowledge is the activism and awareness-building done by the community of tattoo artists themselves. Tattooers with art degrees such as Cliff Raven and Ed Hardy were largely responsible for revamping some of the public imagery of tattooing in the ’60s and ’70s

In fact, initial tattoo conventions were actually about trying to create a kind of professional image. Later, tattooers would be at the forefront of the movement to legalize tattooing where it had been outlawed decades earlier, pushing for regulation that would make the practice safe once again. [Tattooers were like] we need licenses, we need this to be a safe practice, we need some oversight. They were key in that conversation as a group of stakeholders, getting it to be legal again.

Fast forward to 2020, and we see Tattoos on everyone from College students and University graduates, millionaire entrepreneurs, Celebrities and the list is neverending including on our tiny island of MALTA, so it is a subject that interests many of my followers and readers worldwide.

In case you are wondering, I do not have any Tattoos on my body YET, but you never know! Im thinking about it !!

A TOOL OF SELF-EXPRESSION

When carefully considered, tattoos can be a wonderful tool of self-expression. We live in a world where when you go from city to city or town to town or state to state, the kind of consumption that’s out there is increasingly similar. Tattooing isn’t like that, there aren’t big chains of tattooing, because each one is so unique in talent. It provides an opportunity to create individuality, it’s a way to challenge the fact that the places we visit and consume things are increasingly becoming similar.

Why Collaboration with MONINK TATTOOS?

So when I planned this collaboration photoshoot with Monique Debattista, this bad ass Tattoo Artist turned Entrepreneur at Monink Tattoos in Qawra Malta, I realised what a lot of things we have in common. We are both artistic, creative, fun and interested in similar things, we love working on our own projects but we love forming communities and joining forces to lift eachother. I got to learn so much more about tattoos and their artistry and together we wished to raise awareness about Labelling of people with Tattoos which maybe was a taboo in the 1960s, but now – 2020 – why are people still labelling someone with beautiful tattoos all over their body as someone with less class or less intelligence or less of a heart?!

So if we take it from the other angle, from the Tattooist community angle, all people, like me who have no tattoos are not badass or are not cool or sexy?

As I said earlier, what you look like or what you wear DOES NOT DEFINE who you are. It is a mental construct that some people in society need to overcome in themselves. Acceptance and Total Admiration for the Arts should Replace any Form of Judgement. There – rant over!

MY STYLING

So for this shoot, I walked in with nothing but my handbag – I left these girls to style me – and you can imagine how much fun they had styling me into a Look I would Never go for myself. It’s totally out of my comfort zone, but I loved it and I totally went with it, owned it in the best way I could to share this fun Blog Collaboration post with you all!

Big thanks to all the team of tattoo artists at MONINK TATTOOS including Brenda ,Jasmine , Toni and Mathew who all agreed to participate in this project. They all look awesome don’t they! – what do you guys think? Share in the social media comments!!
MONIQUE – the heart and brain behind MONINK TATTOOS

I asked Monique why she loves her tattooing work – and her simple answer was

“ Tattooing is \Art and Art Is My Life – I live it, I breathe it. ”.

With over 16 years working in the industry, it is no surprise that she and her team create the most outstanding works of art. To see these works of art, please visit her pages on Facebook and Instagram. I ll give you the links at the end of this BLOG 😉

My Jewellery Now available at MONINK TATTOOS

Some good news from us is also that a selection of my Crystals Jewellery – as seen styled by the Team in the photos – are available at MONINK Tattoos because YES! Even Tattoo Artists need to have protection from negativity and good energy in their lives and what better way to incorporate them into their style than with my Collections of Crystals Jewellery!

Monique loved my crystals, especially the raw styles set on macrame rope variations – and she was immediately was interested to work with me when I went to her Tattoo shop one morning and showed her my line.

So, as from November you can find a selection of jewellery in this Tattoo Studio including my Black Tourmaline Pendants, Pyrite Pendants, Green Aventurine Pendants, Pink Agate Pendants and some bracelets too!