What's A Girl Like You Doing In A Place Like This?

Woah. I'm in shock. I'M ON THE INTERNET!
The boy and I moved into our own place in May and here we are, 3 months later, finally online. The amount of hassle and money we have been through just trying to get an internet connection here has been gargantuan. So much so, that I am currently enjoying a nice wee glass of champagne to celebrate being back in contact with the big wide world.
And now I can start blogging again! Oh how I have missed you all....
Since I've been gone my half sleeve has finally been completed and the boy and I went to Sonisphere which was beyond awesome. I've wanted to see Metallica for a long long long time so to have them headlining and actually playing with Anthrax, Megadeth and Slayer absolutely blew my mind!
We had fun rocking out to Slipknot as well...even though it was raining.

The camping part was pretty fun too!

My sleeve got finished just a few days before we left for Sonisphere - which was perfect timing! I'm using a picture that a stole from Toni's (my tattoo artist) blog (you can see it here!) as my camera isn't amazing! 

I'm SO pleased with it. I feel much more 'me' now. The flowers are all just right. It's everything I wanted and more so thanks to Toni for making it happen!

Now that I'm online (long may it continue) I hope to blog much more. Got lots to say and lots to do! 

A Very Talented Laydee...

A lovely picture of my progressing sleeve has been posted on the awesome Toni's blog here.
Go and check her out! Her artwork is out of this world...

I'm Back - And Inked!

I've been so so sooooo bad at keeping my blog up to date recently, but now that I've got a break from university assignment I'm going to get it back on track. I've missed it - to tell the truth!
Since I blogged last, I've had two more sessions at the wonderful Broad Street Studios and my half sleeve is very nearly complete!
Here's some pics (I apologise about the bad picture quality!)

I've also had all my hair cut off! I was really wanting to get into the 40's/50's vibe and grow my hair long enough to at least put rollers in and retro style it up, but alas, I just couldn't stand having so much hair! I think once you go short it's hard to go back!

What's been going on in your lives?? =D

My Half Sleeve Story - The Beginning

So today I went and sat in the tattooists chair for four hours and thus began the epic half sleeve. I've wanted this for so long and I'm chuffed that they day has finally arrived, although I've got to wait 2 months before I can get anything else done on it! Argh! The torture!
It didn't hurt very much at all - it was just a little stingy around the elbow and in my armpit. All in all it's gona rather well - I'm itching for it to be finished though! Here's some pics...

'Bye-bye naked arm!'

Close up of the detailed parts that Toni managed to fit in today.

Here it is from all angles!



Oooh I'm a happy lady!

Cheryl Cole and the Tattoo Dramas

If you live in the UK you probably haven't looked at a newspaper today without seeing this picture of Cheryl Cole's back at last nights National Television Awards.

I've heard so many opinions about this - mostly bad ones. To be brutally honest it's not a very nice tattoo but what is actually grating on me is that people don't actually realise the butterfly/tribal design is obviously really old and pretty badly done. I've seen comments on gossip websites saying that the butterfly is awful and that she should sue her 'tattooer guy'!!
She's obviously tried to take attention away from it with this sweeping feathery design (one wonders how far it goes down? The picture of her at Madame Tussauds below shows what I believe to be the end of the feathery design) which looks better than the other tat. I do wonder why she didn't just do a full cover up if she was going to cover some of it anyway...

Perhaps the smudgy butterfly holds sentimental value for her, or maybe she actually likes it? There would have been a time when it was the dogs bollocks but now it just looks like a dogs dinner unfortunately.
That's the way with tattoos though; what is in fashion one year may not be the next and this is where 'anti-tattoo' people tend to miss the point. A tattoo is something you get that means something to you. Whether it is in or out of fashion it makes no difference because it marks a time in your life when it was the right thing for you.
As the character Logan Mountstuart says in Any Human Heart - "We keep a journal to entrap the collection of selves that forms us, the individual human being." Tattoos are our journals. They entrap all of our 'selves' and show them on a living, breathing art form. For this reason I think that Cheryl Cole should be damned proud of that somewhat shitty tattoo.







Tattoo Assumptions - Can You Lovely Bloggers Help?

For my Creative Writing degree I'm currently planning a life writing project that looks at how tattoos are accepted within our society, especially if you happen to be a tattooed woman. I'm going to interview my female tattoo artist (whilst being tattooed myself!) and a heavily tattooed young woman about how they are treated when looking for jobs, walking about on the street and just by people in general.
I also plan to interview an employer on their views about tattoos and I'm hoping to go to a really high end place to do this, perhaps a posh jewellers or something!
Basically I am just after YOUR opinions on tattoos and how they have affected you/ what you think of them - anything you can say about tattoos is good. If I'm going to use your comment within my piece I shall inform you, although it's still very much in the planning and research stages at the moment.
So let me know what you think, even if you don't have any tattoos your opinion will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks guys!

My First Blog Award! Hurrah! And Some Random Facts About Moi

Today I was nominated for the Stylish Blogger Award by the oh so lovely Psycho Sue over at Sew Misunderstood: Fatshion For Wayward Girls! I'm so happy about this, especially seeing as my blog is still a bit new and always evolving. At first I wasn't quite sure what form this blog was going to take, but now I'm happy with the fact that it's pretty much a fashion/style based blog that goes along the more alternative route, of course!
The conditions of this award are:
1)Thank and link back to the person who awarded you this award.
2)Share 7 things about yourself
3)Award 10 recently discovered great bloggers.
4)Contact these bloggers and tell them about the award

So here are my 7 random things...

1) My name isn't really Kiki La Mer...what? You mean you didn't know that?? =P My actual name is..........Coral Pearce-Mariner. And no, I'm not joking.

2) I am a vegetarian! Don't get me wrong, I believe that meat is seriously tasty and I love the smell of a good steak but I just feel guilty about eating animals. I've worked at farms, animal parks and even a zoo in the past and I've come to learn that every animal, whether it be an elephant or a cockroach - they all have their own personalities. I just can't do it. No food with a face...although if you eat meat near me I will smell it. Mmmm.

3) I used to be a chav. I'm serious. You wanna see a picture?

Terrible. We're talking fake tan, bleached hair (although I did have some blue streaks here), a GOLD car and terrible clothing. The works. This picture was taken on holiday in Magaluf. Thank heavens I found Rockabilly. This is me now...

 4) I have a major girl crush on Dita Von Teese. Seriously, this woman is perfection. Amazing skin and amazing style...she's the epitome of retro gorgeousness.

5) I have 8 tattoos, although it's soon to be 9! I have a butterfly on my left shoulderblade, a hummingbird with really long tail feathers on the right side of my stomach, a Japanese symbol meaning 'Tiger' on the left side, although slightly lower down (I know, I know, Japanese symbols just scream TRAMP STAMP!! but I love it for what it means to me and hey, I used to be a chav!), 3 fuschia flowers on my right foot with 'Dad' written in the vines, a bow on the back of my left ankle, a small skull and crossbones behind my right ear, a yellow button on my right wrist and a bizarre combo of things on my left wrist/arm which can only be explained via a picture:

The key is to do with commemorating my 21st birthday and the year in which I finally got a hold of my life and picked myself up out of some pretty harsh times. The mountain/jungle/sea is to celebrate the first step in getting my life back together - I went to Ecuador for 3months and volunteered with local families. It was awesome - and it made me realise how silly I was for complaining about things - these people lived on $2 a week. Inspirational!

6) I'm going to my very first EVER music festival in July. I'm VERY excited! It's Sonisphere at Knebworth and so far Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer, Anthrax, Biffy Clyro, Foo Fighters, Slipknot and Motorhead have been confirmed. To say I'm excited would be an understatement. \m/(>.<)\m/ Rock On!

7) When I began this blog, I had no idea how much fun it would be. I feel like you guys are some great new friends in my life and I look forward to reading your blogs every day. Thanks for being so great! You all rock my socks off!


My nominations for this lovely award are as follows!
http://goldengirlofthewest.blogspot.com/
http://www.elbrendel.com/
http://msbitchcakes.blogspot.com/
http://elponk.blogspot.com/
http://havinsomerockinfun.blogspot.com/
http://paigeythevintagedame.blogspot.com/
http://callmelucille.blogspot.com/
http://voodoostitches.blogspot.com/
http://avintagerevival.blogspot.com/
http://littlemissbossysadventures.blogspot.com/

I'm Back! And Writing About Art Brut Tattoos...

My hand is red because I slapped it - slapped it for not being a dedicated blogger over the last month! I went home for the Xmas holidays and to my horror my Mother did not have internet. Is this the 20th century or what? I also have been lazy and out of the habit of writing - which is not constructive. But I'm back now, so all is well in the jungle.
For my first blog of 2011 I want to share with you all a new discovery of mine. Art Brut tattoos are a new style of tats that I'm seeing increasingly in tattoo magazines. It wasn't until I bought the American magazine Skin&Ink today however, that I actually knew what the style was called.
The artwork is pretty much beyond anything that I can describe - each tattoo is so different and unique that I've found myself staring at them for ages, completely mesmerised by what, why, who and how?
Art of course can take many forms, and it's nice to see tattoos going off on a completely random tangent. Tattoo's are always going to grow and develop - certain styles may go out of fashion (tribal anyone?) but I don't think this style ever could. It's just too random and wonderful. I don't think I could even begin to think of a design. Have a look at these pictures and tell me what you think...

Half Sleeve Is Finally On The Way!

As a yuletide present to myself this year I'm getting my half sleeve done! I'm so excited to get this tattoo; it's been months and months in the planning stages. The plan is a covering of realistic flowers: roses, anemones and fuchsias. The tattoo is going to cover me from shoulder to elbow.
The roses represent my sister as they're her favourite flower and her second name is 'Rose'. The anemones are for my Mum as they have always been her favourite flower and the fuchsias are for my Dad, who sadly passed away in 2004. He loved fuchsias (although he would never admit to liking a pink flower!) and grew them out in the greenhouse for years.
I'm all booked in for February 9th so I'll be posting pics at each stage. The first sitting is 4 hours and hopefully the outlines will all be completed by then.
Now I've just got to keep myself occupied until then...

Walking Works Of Art

Today I was searching through lists of Tattoo conventions in the hope that one or two were happening near me when I discovered something pretty cool. There's an actual body painting festival. After looking at the website I realise I am probably the last person in the world to know about this, but I'm blogging about it anyway. Because it's cool.
It's held in Austria and it's a festival which celebrates body art, but not as we know it. Tattooing and body painting go hand in hand. Both are pretty ancient ways of decorating the body, but body painting has fallen by the wayside. It's certainly not that well known among my friends anyway.
I was previously aware of body painting as an art form, I just had no idea how inventive and gorgeous it could be. From just painting pictures onto the body, to special effects, to changing the way a person looks altogether - it's an incredibly versatile art form. The great part about it is that you can literally walk around pretty much naked and the paint keeps everything covered up. The other good thing about it is that you can just wash it off at the end of the day ready for a new lick of paint next time.
The beauty of tattoos is that they last forever, but the beauty of pody painting is that it cannot last forever. Here's some pictures to enjoy: