Tattoo Roundup!

I feel like it's most appropriate to close the year with a tattoo roundup--I haven't been a good blogger lately, but here you go! Thank you thank you thank you to all my clients--thank you for trusting your skin, your stories onto me! And for believing in me too, heehee! You are the best clients ever!

This is the best job ever! Thank you universe! Thank you 2013--and 2014, we will be awesome together, too! Here are some tattoos I managed to photograph decently!

 

 

Have a  really good New Year! 

Love, Wiji

Dutdutan 13: The most fun one ever, I think!

I hung out at my mentor, Dyuntats', booth last Friday and Saturday at teh 13th Dutdutan Tattoo Convention at World Trade Center. It was literally jam-packed. Lines to get in were crazzzzy long despite the heavy rains. It was all good fun, though! Thank you Dyun for taking me in your booth!! And congratulations for all the categories you won! I wish I took photos of all his four entries, but I was only able to take photos of two of his entries, both insanely good---dear universe, please help me attain this talent/calibre in the near future! Thank you.

It was kinda intimidating, tattooing with Dyun around hahahaha but I think I needed that pressure! I absolutely enjoyed the tattoos I did those two days! Thanks for the clients who trusted me with their skin! :)

I sucked at taking a photo of this piece, but I loooved doing it! It's an intergalactic whale tattoo with the Cetus constellation! I put UV ink on the stars, too! Here's a photo I grabbed from instagram.

I think I did a better photo of photographing the tattoos I did on the second day, though.

So there. Had fun. See you when I see you!

Oh another roundup of tattoo videos, sharing the love, that is all.

I didn't mean for this to be a series of sorts, but it is what it is. I'm still obsessed with these tattoo videos--thank you internet for making this all possible. If you haven't seen part one, click here. Enjoy these, I hope!
Cris Cleen Works from Cris Cleen on Vimeo.

Cool Hunting Video: Danish Tattooing from Cool Hunting on Vimeo.

LoveLifeTattoo from M.Ezhevikin on Vimeo.

Alex Binnie and Duncan X: The Art of Pain — Forever: The New Tattoo from Gestalten on Vimeo.

Bram Adey // Artist - Tattooer from Matt Wiebe on Vimeo.

Singularities: Invisible NYC from 3sixteen on Vimeo.

Pietro Sedda - The saint mariner professional tattooing from Flash Factory on Vimeo.

When the Circus Comes to Town from Stewart Robson on Vimeo.

That's All Folks by Scott Campbell from Purple Magazine on Vimeo.

Bless this mess.

I've been watching tattoo videos non-stop lately, now more than ever--maybe because I have a new baby that's going to be shipped to me soon! I'm so excited. Before that though, just thought I'd share some videos I really, really enjoyed. These videos are about tradition, influence, apprenticeships, the way things were done. I'm really glad I stumbled onto this craft in this lifetime, blessed to have been taken in as an apprentice by one of the best, and just as happy to have met awesome clients. These are a lot of videos, I know, but watch them when you have time, ok?


N.Y. Adorned “Tradition” from Evan Owen Dennis on Vimeo.

scott campbell prison tattoo from Casey Neistat on Vimeo.

The Gypsy Gentleman - Episode 01: New York City from Marcus Kuhn on Vimeo.

Tim Hendricks - Hand Made Tattoo Machines from Tim Hendricks on Vimeo.

David Tevenal: Tattooer (Illustration) from Seanie G Productions on Vimeo.

Ink Stories 1: Daniel Ronson from Lima Charlie on Vimeo.

Cris Cleen Works from Cris Cleen on Vimeo.

A tattoo roundup!

 

I haven't been posting too much of my tattoo work lately, so here's a quick roundup.

 

To book a sked with me, please email me with your design, size and placement at wiji.lacsamana [at] gmail. :)

On tattoos and being vegetarian.

I just recently 'quit' purchasing products that aren't cruelty free.  You'd be surprised how many of the products we use in our everyday lives are at the cost of an animal. I thought it would be hard (and expensive!) but man am I glad I live in this day and age where, like I said in a previous post, there is a shift towards positivity.  More and more people are trying, nay, wanting to be conscious of the lifestyle choices they make. 

Anyway. This new shift I took towards more ethical consumption led me to thinking about tattoos as well, and how so few people think about how this can extend to tattoos. Well it does.  I thought it'd be nice to talk about how to extend vegetarianism to tattoos, because I sort of live those two lives and all. This is for your reference, if you are vegetarian and are considering getting or adding tattoos, or even if you aren't and want to lead a cruelty-less life, in one way or another. :)

First, inks.  I thank the tattoo industry for coming out with quite a number of vegan inks. I personally use (and love) Fusion and Intenze Inks, both of which are vegan. It should be noted that despite being vegan, these ink brands definitely do not compromise their quality!

Photo from fusioninks.com

photo from Intenzeinks.com

Here are other vegan inks for your consideration:

• Skin Candy/Bloodline
• Eternal
• Waverly
• Stable (which is difficult to purchase unless you are a shop owner, really)
• Alla Prima

 Make sure to ask your tattoo artist if he has these inks--Fusion, Skin Candy, Intenze and Eternal inks are now easily available in the Philippines.

Second, aftercare.  After your tattoo session, your tattoo should take around two weeks to heal and during that time, it should be handled hygienically and with care.  You shouldn't swim in chlorinated water within this two week period nor should you go to the beach.  Neither should you scratch the new tattoo (it will scab)! To aid the healing process, to moisturize and nourish your new ink, get your own tattoo aftercare lotion. (Especially if you plan on getting more!) There are a couple of aftercare lotions that are readily available in Metro Manila. I personally use After Inked, which is a paraben-free, non-allergenic, non-irritating, vegan and best of all cruelty free lotion.

I recently saw Ink Butter available locally, too. Kinda pricey but that packaging is just lovely.

If you have any questions, please feel free to ask me!

Feb tattoos!

Hi loves, it's kinda weird that it's already March--February went by like a breeze, much like January did.  Here are some tattoos I did for Feb! I'm loving them all. :)

This is Isabel's tattoo; these are the different kinds of love in Greek. I had the most pleasant session with her, talking about love and spirituality. I love meeting clients like her; it's amazing, the good vibes you absorb from people like her! We also had a reiki session after (she is a reiki healer) and I had the most amazing experience. If you have tried reiki healing sessions, try them! Just be open to the experience. :)

 Digo's art nouveau mandala, originally drawn by his dad! I was pressured to do this extremely well, of course.  I hope I did his dad's illustration justice though.

 I also did a tattoo based on my original watercolor illustration for my college classmate Margaux! I'm happy she picked an illustration of mine, and in watercolor, too--my favorite kinds of artwork to tattoo! It was nice seeing her again, too.

This is Mary's first tattoo and man was she a trooper.  These are from the 'language of angels', apparently. :)

The Sting exhibit

Thank you to everyone who dropped by the opening night of our 16 Female Tattooer Exhibit, Sting, last Wednesday at Kanto Gallery at the Collective. It was a fun fun fun night, filled with old friends, new friends, potential new clients. :) If you haven't dropped by, it'll run for a month, I believe! I hope you can check the stuff out.

Here's a preview of my pieces for the exhibit.

See you around, ok?W