Featuring: Artist Highlight: Diana Harper Kate Turnipseed Emily Franchini Brittany Lynch Amanda Donoven Tehani Da Rocha April 2024
Within the Facebook community, an idea emerged from several women. They proposed assembling a magazine that would showcase all the marvelous contenders of the Inked Cover Girl Competition and other inked women. It was Kate who caught my eye with her suggestion to spearhead such an endeavor. Having extensively dabbled in self-publishing before, I eagerly jumped at the chance to lend a helping hand. Thus, began our creative journey crafting a tribute that focuses on revering tattoo culture and celebrating the sisterhood of inked women. We honor the powerful sisterhood that exists within inked women, cherishing those who transform themselves into living, breathing works of art. It was through participating in Inked Magazine’s 2024 competition that brought us together. I feel an overwhelming sense of gratitude for having had the opportunity to witness such strength and mutual encouragement among women throughout this endeavor. Here is raising a toast to every competitor out there- together, we have made it possible! OUR WHY As the new dawn unfurled from behind the pine trees, it cast a vibrant pallet of golds and oranges onto the Arkansas skies. This was not just another day but week eight in Inked Magazine's Cover Girl competition. And I was knocked out of the semi finals at the last second by another gorgeous, tattooed woman. Was I mad? Not really. I was excited to be part of the movement, the fundraiser, and the sisterhood of so many beautifully tattooed women. Pausing to savor the present moment, I took a comforting sip of my coffee. I found myself reflecting on the evolution of being a tattooed woman compared to when I was younger. The past two decades have witnessed a tremendous surge in representation and inclusivity within this culture. This couldn't have been more apparent than in the vibrant Facebook group where I happened upon an incredible tapestry of diverse women all hailing from diverse backgrounds, ethnicities, age groups, and body types - all united by their love for tattoos. I reached for my phone resting nearby and located the profile of the woman who won first place within our group. Enthusiastically tapping on her vote button for the upcoming semi-finals, I wanted to empower another woman - a cause that resonates profoundly with me. Although I decided not to participate again personally, finding this extraordinary community dedicated to celebrating tattoo art left me brimming with anticipation about exploring it further. By: Emily Franchini
Diana Harper
The start of Diana’s venture into to the tattooed world was “teenage rebellion and nerdy tv shows”. Her first piece was a tribal-winged back piece based on the “Angel” series, and she credits that tattoo with helping her navigate freshman year of college. Since that time, Diana added another eight tattoos, including her most recent piece which is a tribute to her daughters and a lost pregnancy. Her favorite artist is Scott from Divine Line Tattoo in Debary, FL, and she says he works magic when tattooing. While she doesn’t have any other tattoos immediately in the works, to Diana it’s about the journey. In her own words, “life always gives us milestones.” She does offer advice to anyone planning on getting a new tattoo: bring your artist their favorite snack! More seriously, she adds, “Let your artist know what you are comfortable with so they can make it a better experience.” She sent us a gorgeous, allnatural picture for this issue, and we love to see it! Diana enjoys crochet, writing, and bird-watching. Quick Facts Diana Harper Her favorite part of the tattoo process is the design stage. One of Diana’s favorite pieces is a tribute piece to her lost furbaby, Edward.
Five (5) Featured Models per Issue BIGPLANS! Artist Features throughout the Year Articles about Tattoo Life, Interest, and Womanhood Social Media Content Throughout the Week Looks at Different Tattoo Styles If you would like to volunteer for Art on Skin Magazine (or submit an article abstract for consideration), please reach out to us at ArtOnSkin@outlook.com! We’d love to have some other inked ladies join us as we grow this celebration of the tattooed world! Accepted article writers will also have creative input on the photo opposite their article (including self-modeling)! A “Best of the Year” Model Contest in December!
Emily Franchini
Kate Turnipseed
Kate lives in eastern Pennsylvania, and started her tattoo journey at the age of 23 just two months after marrying her husband Luke. That first tattoo was completely revamped in 2022/23 by Tehani da Rocha into an absolutely gorgeous ornamental tattoo with watercolor on her right thigh and flowing over her hip. Not only is it centered on the start of her inked adventure, holding a lot of sentimental value, it is also an encouragement that even in hard times we can soar. She now has seven tattoos with (at least) three more planned in the future. Kate's favorite tattoo experience was this past Valentine's Day when her five year old daughter, Emma, came to hold her hand. Beneath the Skin Tattoo explained what they were doing whenever Emma had a question and happily kept chatting with her. Kate got a wonderful tattoo but she also got to watch her daughter get excited about something she is passionate about. Kate loves that the tattoo community, both the artists and the canvases, is becoming more inclusive. She hopes to see that trend continue in the future! Quick Facts Kate Turnipseed She is a homeschooling mom of three. Her most unique tattoo is a quote from Jurassic Park in Tolkien's tengwar. Kate is a sewist who focuses on historical, cosplay, and fantasy costuming.
Emily is from North Little Rock, Arkansas and has always admired tattoos in manga, anime, and other avatar creations! She started her inked journey at twenty years old, and she is currently three pieces in and planning more ink in the future, including the flower on the cover of her novella and a matching tribal fox and wolf with her husband. In addition to planning her next ink, Emily loves reading, painting, working out, writing, and taking pictures of her beloved pets. She hopes to one day publish a novel with a traditional publisher and maybe even make it on the banned book list one day. She’s “embracing [her] villain era so to speak.” When asked if she had any advice for someone thinking of getting tattooed, Emily said: “I would advise them to definitely get a tattoo that makes them happy. Forget what everyone else wants for you and go for something that you love and enjoy!” Emily is an award winning poet, author, & model. Her favorite tattoo artist is Cynthia Darling in North Little Rock, Arkansas! Emily’s favorite tattoo set is her Umbreon and Espeon thigh pieces. Quick Facts Emily Franchini
Emily Franchini
Brittany lynch
Brittany grew up watching her mom get tattoos and always knew she would have a few pieces one day. A few has now turned into ten! Having recently moved from Pennsylvania to Tampa, Florida, Brittany is excited to have found a local artist that matches her love of fine line black and grey tattoos! When asked if she has more ink planned, Brittany said, "Absolutely! I have finally found a Florida artist whose work and vibe I like and can't wait to get some Florida themed nature on me!" A creative person at heart, Brittany is a retired professional ballet dancer and sees tattoos as a different way to express that creativity. Her advice to people looking to get inked is "sit on the idea for a year". Explaining further, she says: "As a creative person, I'm constantly coming up with tattoo ideas, but they change and morph so much over time until they finally get to where I want them to be." Can't wait to see your next tattoo, Brittany! Quick Facts Brittany Lynch Her favorite tattoo is the tree on her forearm. She is a professional Astrologer! Brittany is most proud of the life she has built for herself.
A Woman’s Artform: Tattooing in Ancient Egypt Ancient civilizations were no strangers to the art of tattooing. From Japan to the British Isles, Polynesia to Peru, China to the Alps, tattoos held cultural value and significance that varied depending on the people. Quanzhou, China even became so famous for their tattoo artists that people would travel for over four months just to get a Quanzhou tattoo! Evidence of ancient tattoos on both men and women have been found in written text, mummies, and artwork. Tattoos in Ancient Egypt, however, have a particularly unique tradition. “In ancient Egypt there is no artistic or physical evidence that men were tattooed apart from one Dynasty XII stele from Abydos. This depicts a figure, which is said to be male, with marks coming down over the chest. As the stele is extremely worn it is hard to distinguish whether the marks indeed represent tattoos.” Most scientists do agree that Ancient Egyptian tattoos were exclusively a feminine artform. This leads to a bunch of different questions: what type of tattoos? How were they inked? Why were they inked? What evidence do we have of female tattooing in Ancient Egypt since there is a lack of evidence of male tattooing? The answer to most of the above is really: we do not know. The stigma against tattoos in more recent history means much of the research into Ancient Tattooing is lacking. Most scientists thought that Ancient Egyptian tattoos were a sign of prostitution and promiscuity. Recent research has proven this (mostly) incorrect. So what do we know? Evidence of tattooing has been found in mummified remains and in art (particularly in figurines). “Faience figurines dating from the Middle Kingdom...frequently display a series of dotted geometric tattoo patterns, running in horizontal bands across the lower abdomen.” Similar tattoos have been found on female mummies, most famously on Amunet, a Priestess of the goddess Hathor. By Kate Turnipseed Amunet was heavily tattooed, with over thirty countable and separate tattoos across her body and largely on her abdomen. Some of the tattoos can be directly linked to hieroglyphic art in the temple of Hathor, showing a strong connection between Amunet and the goddess. With examples like a Amunet and the faience figurines, Egyptologists have two main theories about tattooing in Ancient Egypt: First, tattoos were largely of religious significance. In the case of Amunet and similar mummies, tattoos connected priestesses and female religious figures with their religious entity. “The permanent, public and religious nature of [Amunet’s] tattoos indicates that women’s religious roles in ancient Egypt were more complex than titles suggest. With divine eyes placed all over her body, this woman may have even embodied the goddess herself.” Second, the reoccurring focus on female abdominal tattoos may point towards a connection to fertility. Specifically, “tattoos on the abdominal part of the female body would have become particularly notable when the woman became pregnant – the patterns would expand, forming an even more symbolically interesting pattern, like a web or netting design.” Whatever the reason, the Ancient Egyptians clearly believed tattoos were of significance (with a major Priestess being largely tattooed). Considering the stigma that is just now lessening around inked women in our society, it’s refreshing to see tattoos as such a prominent feature in female history. 1 1. Tassie, Geoffrey. “Identifying the Practice of Tattooing in Ancient Egypt and Nubia.” (November 15, 2003): 88. 2. Angel, Gemma. “Tattooing in Ancient Egypt Part 2: The Mummy of Amunet.” Researchers in Museums Tattooing in Ancient Egypt Part 2 The Mummy of Amunet Comments, December 10, 2012. Tattooing in Ancient Egypt Part 2: The Mummy of Amunet. 3. Austin, Anne. “Tattooing in Ancient Egypt.” American Research Center in Egypt, February 11, 2023. https://arce.org/resource/tattooing-ancient-egypt/. 4. Tassie, 91. 5. Fouquet, Daniel. “Le Tatouage Medicale en Egypte dans l’Antiquite et a l’Epoque Actuelle’.” Archives d’Anthropologie Criminelle. Tome 13. (1898): 278. 6. https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/544220 2 3 4 5 6
Kate Turnipseed
Amanda Donoven
Amanda is 32 years old and currently calls Arkansas home. With eight tattoos, Amanda started her tattoo wish list by looking at flash books during one of her mother’s tattoo appointments at a very young age. She loves “the permanence of the expression” and her favorite part of getting a tattoo, in her own words, is “seeing my vision brought to life after describing what I want to an artist and how they interpret what I'm thinking of.“ She is a photographer and filmmaker with a dream of eventually working on music videos. While Amanda couldn’t pick a favorite tattoo, the piece which gets the most attention is the traffic cone on her forearm. The traffic cone with a rose laid overtop symbolizes a milestone in her filmmaker career where she just knew she was on the right path in life. When asked how she wants to be remembered, Amanda replied: “I want to be remembered in between the laughs of the stories told by those who met me. I want to be known as someone who brought joy, laughter, and light into the world.” She has a constantly growing list of tattoo wants. Quick Facts Amanda Donoven Her favorite artist is Katie McGowan (from Ink Master) at Lovespell in Little Rock, AR. Amanda grew up as a military brat and calls many places (including Japan) home!
Artist Feature Tehani da Rocha IG: @redxqueen.ink
Tehani Da Tehani has been Rocha tattooing for over ten years, despite only being 24 years old! She is a second generation artist, having been apprenticed by her cousin in Brazil where she was born and raised. Tehani specializes in sacred geometry, black out, trash polka, white over black, fine line, fine line illustrative, micro realism, and watercolor, and her “dream tattoo” is currently a combination of black outs with sacred geometry, white over black and trash polka aspects. Unsurprisingly, Tehani is extremely passionate about her work! She is currently traveling the convention circuit with her “husbager” (husband/manager) via RV and loving it! “Honestly I get to do the most amazing job in the world to me daily, something I love and I am passionate about with the love of my life!” You can find Tehani via instagram (@redxqueen.ink) or at any of the conventions on her 2024 calendar (left).
WHERETOFINDOUR FEATUREDMODELS Kate Turnipseed IG: @kltdiy Emily Franchini IG: @emily.m.g.f Brittany Lynch IG: @broomandbasil Amanda Donoven IG: @andcreated Tt: @bigandfineart Our models have a right to privacy. Some models have chosen not to share a social media handle.
KATE TURNIPSEED EDITOR IN CHIEF & DESIGN DIRECTOR EMILY FRANCHINI EXECUTIVE EDITOR & CREATIVE CONSULTANT If you would like to volunteer for Art on Skin Magazine, please reach out to us at ArtOnSkin@outlook.com! We’d love to have some other inked ladies join us as we grow this celebration of the tattooed world! OURTEAM KATE TURNIPSEED EDITOR IN CHIEF DESIGN DIRECTOR EMILY FRANCHINI EXECUTIVE EDITOR CONTENT DIRECTOR ArtOnSkin@outlook.com anyflip.com/bookcase/arykd @ArtOnSkinMag www.facebook.com/ArtOnSkinMag Creating this magazine is an absolute blast! As Kate and I talked about the magazine’s cover and who would rock it, I offered the idea of doing a honeycomb theme where all of the featured individuals could be on the cover. It is our way to say there is room for everyone at the top. This idea beautifully ties up with our core value of women empowering women. Because together, all things are possible. - Emily Franchini
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