The Cannibal Bonbon

What I Wore in Japan

Lots of dresses bought on etsy. Accessories found here and there.

A girl in Harajuku who said she was a hairdresser asked to take pictures of my hair that day!

The Brown Sweater

I was on the hunt for a brown sweater for so long, and then I found this one on etsy. It was more modern than I like (I think '70's) but it was in bouclé so I bought it. I'm not sure if I was already thinking of changing the buttons or if that idea came to me when I received the cartigan. I got kind of obsessed with buttons and I bought all three colors, which I thought would look good on brown. Yellow, red or green? I finally decided on the green.

These photos were taken the day we left Kyoto.

Hat/beret: vintage linen

Ballerinas: Repetto

Skirt: vintage chevron knit

Bag: Longchamp

Earrings: carved green bakelite (etsy)

Shopping in Japan Part 2

Continuing with all the retail goodness I found in Japan. Some rice crackers I found in Shimokitizawa. The shop was so gorgeous and vintage too! I will show some pictures of it later. The green crackers were sweet with a sugar glaze almost like a breakfast cereal but more crunchy. Wish I could find them here!

Some records I found at Vinyl Japan Punk Market.

I was on a hunt for the work of this illustrator:  Yuki Koishikawa. I only found some postcards at Pop Culture in Shinjuku. Design styles have changed a lot since we were in Tokyo three years ago.

More records! Many things were on sale and our euro were pretty strong. We could have brought back dozens more records but we had the luggage weight limit!

On one of our wandering days we found an antique gift shop in "Terra Shopping quarters" Daikan-yama station. All I had was the name of a couple of metro stops as a guide for interesting neighborhoods.

Sophisticated Boom Boom and a raffia hair elastic.

Nakano Broadway, I love you! The bag is marked with the name of a sake alcohol and I use it as a purse. The book is a fashion illustrator from the 1930's. I will show you some images from the inside, it is so wonderful!

 

Three New Stickers

Yujean just released three new designs. My designs;)

Shopping in Japan

I thought I would start the Japan posts by photos of what I bought. We started this tradition last time. it's fun at the end of the day to lay the day's treasures out on the bed for documentation.

Embroidered Jacket: Pink Dragon

2 Books about Japanese monsters

Vintage Kimono: 5 euro found in Harajuku from a street vendor

If you want to see all the photos just click!

Mexican Sleeve

Diego got a sugar skull to add to his Mexican sleeve. Here's is also a photo of his Madonna Luchadora healed. I can't wait to fill in the rest!

The Last Performance

Henry Goldfield used to say to me “we’re in showbiz”. Maybe that’s where I got the idea for my piece. Because I don’t do performance art very often I’m extremely conscious of what I am doing, why am I doing it and what does it mean? Although the performance is really an extension of what I do every day for work, I’ve taken it out of context and presented it in a way that is my own vision of tattooing and beauty.

When getting ready for the “stage” I took a lot of care in how I wanted to present myself. This is no different than any other day except the choice of items. A special occasion, merits something out of the ordinary, something extra. I choose the role, become the character, using what I can cull from the outside to create the illusion.

Self Dissatisfaction, Change and Transformation

Self image: If we are born into a body or a face that does not correspond to our ideal we have to adjust our ideal or change what is in our power to change (kustomise the chassis). Tattoos and makeup are a personal choice and how we see ourselves or would like to see ourselves. I’m an artist. “I” can be the medium I use to create my art. Living for a while in Europe I can see that it is an American idea to create your identity or create a new identity. It comes from the days of Ellis Island. The chance start a new life in the new world. Shorten your name (maybe not even by your choice) start a new story. Life is a course where we metamorphose into our true individual identity. Our personal development unfolds in layers. A chameleon changes color with it’s mood or to blend in with it’s environment. As an artist I create the image in the mirror. I decorate until I feel in harmony with what I see before me just as I change and add to a painting until I feel it’s done. This image can change as I develop or considering my surroundings.

Artifice and Mystery: Tools for Identity

Some things that I’m aware of while doing this performance; which I have my doubts about. The question occurs to me often because it’s a stereotype that I detest, that women use makeup and feminine decoration to offer themselves up as an object of desire. Think of the Peacock’s colorful display. It serves to catch the eye/grab the attention of the opposite sex. Are we really that conditioned to please? That all of our efforts at decoration are to attract a mate? I ask myself, is that why I got tattooed? The answer is no. To feel attractive gives confidence and is more of a personal desire not necessarily for others. Out of personal pride for my appearance I present the best me. Did you know that learning and magic are listed in the definition of glamour in Webster’s dictionary? For me as an artist glamour is one the best ways to express my ideas, my personality.

How can you be a feminist in high heels?

Fate brought me while I was contemplating this article a friend of one my clients with a book about “Nomads” by the feminist Rosi Braidotti. Apparently new feminists who are nomads are “in process or becoming” using some of the past to figure out our position today. Braidotti speaks of woman being considered monstrous, both fascinating and abnormal at the same time. Deviant. She is greatly influence by the work of french philosopher Deleuze also Chris Weedon. The latter spoke about the female being considered “different”. Male equals logical, female equals irrational (intuitive). Difference is seen as negative. How curious that tattoos are also seen as negative! I got tattooed to be different. Maybe it’s because I already feel different by being a woman. I want to mark and accentuate this difference with make-up, long hair and skirts. Maybe even high heels if I don’t have to walk too far! People say that being tattooed is a masculine trait. I don’t agree. The tattooed woman is on a quest to “be” different. Look, 90% of all tattoo magazines have a woman on the cover. The exotic image sells the magazine but is the ideal client today a woman? Maybe!

My peformance was delivered to teach, to demonstrate; to make me and the audience fascinated and curious. I guess what I’m saying is be different, stand out from the rest. If this is showbiz, the show must go on!

Rosi Braidotti. Nomadic Subjects: Embodiment and Sexual Difference in Contemporary Feminist Theory. New York: Columbia University Press, 1994

 

Inside my Little Trailer

Some notes about the visuals of my performance:

Fringed shawls, scarves, a chinese lantern, beads and chains that curtained the entry, all the charms of the gypsy enchantress.

I was really pleased with the first photos. The caravan created a frame around me and my client. The images remind me of comic episodes of live action inside a hollowed out tv cabinet.

Strong symbols of blood and roses, needles and daggers. Classic tattoo imagery.

Photos from our stay in a real gypsy wagon, photos of my grandmother, a really great bakelite and rhinestone crucifix, some of my sugar skulls, all the little personal touches I added to make the space really mine.

A page out of Glenn Barr's book; "Savage Women Captured!" It's message is in harmony with my vision of my performance art piece.

 

A pillow made by a client who follows this blog and appreciates my "Higher the Hair the Closer to God" posts. A girl after my own heart. Thanks so much for this thoughtful gift, Kris Munroe!

A couple of photos of me that serve as an introduction to novices of my little world.

I lit vanilla candles and for me they seemed to invoke the smell of cotton candy on the midway. Exactly the kind of ambiance I wanted to create.

 

Some Photos Posted by Others

These are all photos that were posted and tagged on Facebook. Most of the photos are watermarked by the photographer.

 

Some Clients- Guests in my Caravan

I told some of my cherished clients; "Come and get your tattoo finshed in a fairy tale setting".

Without my clients, their ideas, their conversation, their support, I am nothing. I am so grateful that someone would want to wear a piece of my art on them for life. I am so sensitive to the trust they place in me. Accordingly, I was so pleased to offer this special souvenir for some of my favorite clients, a tattoo session in this theatrical setting.

We had so much fun!

Now it is finished and I'm moving on to new things. I have a couple more posts of photos of the last performance and then I will show you some photos from my trip to Japan!