Cally-Jo
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Cally-Jo | |
|---|---|
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| Born | Cally-Jo Pothecary 20 April 1989 Southampton, United Kingdom |
| Other names | Cally-Jo |
| Citizenship | British |
| Occupation(s) | Tattoo artist, fine artist, photo model, television personality |
| Mother | Julie Myers |
| Website | callyjo |
Cally-Jo (Cally-Jo Pothecary; born 20 April 1989, Southampton, United Kingdom) is a British fine artist and tattoo artist.
Her tattoo projects have been featured in Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, as well as in advertising campaigns by Chanel, Balmain and Christian Dior.
She made tattoos for many celebrities, including Rihanna,[1] Tim Howard, Sienna Miller, Slipknot and others.
Early life
Cally-Jo Pothecary was born on 20 April 1989 and grew up in town Shirley, England.[2]
Her mother Julie Myers is a facilitator in Chrysalis Transgender Support, as well as a consultant at Oasis Academy Lords Hill. Once Julie worked on several jobs to provide study for her daughter.
Cally-Jo has 1 brother Tom Auger and had 47 foster brothers and sisters that her mother Julie have cared for.
Cally-Jo drew from an early age. But first, she wanted to be an archaeologist and dig for gold and mummies in Egypt.[3]
Cally-Jo graduated Foundry Lane Primary School, before moving to Eastleigh, where she went to Toynbee Secondary School and Eastleigh College. She went on to study fine art painting at Winchester School of Art, graduating in 2011.[2]
I went to art school for 6 years, which I think definitely gave me an advantage when starting to learn how to tattoo.
— Cally-Jo
Cally-Jo did her first tattoos in 2007 when she was 18 but began tattooing in a shop in 2012. Her signature designs are hearts and skulls. She also paints and sells fine art pieces.[2]
The most meaningful tattoo were dedicated to her beloved grandmother.[3]
My favourite tattoo has to be the portrait of my Grandma on my leg. Nikko Hurtado did it when he was last guesting in the UK, I love his work. It has so much meaning to me, my Grandma never really liked tattoos and I got it when she was in hospital; when I showed it to her she cried.
— Cally-Jo
Cally-Jo is 5'7" tall.[4] Tattoos on her body take about 40%.
Cally-Jo thinks it's unimportant for tattoos to 'mean something'.[5]
It's a little frustrating to hear people say that they don't want a tattoo unless it has meaning. To me tattoos are artwork meant for decorating the body, in other words, they need to look good. I try to think of it as buying really beautiful piece of clothing that you could happily wear every day forever. Meanings can change and it can be hard to find a nice design to suit a particular meaning so I think it's always best to go with what looks good.
— Cally-Jo
Cally-Jo some time rented apartments in New York and after in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Career
Cally-Jo has come a long way since worked constantly to be able to fund her studies. She worked in Subway, a bowling alley, Greggs, Shakeaway and Blockbusterin in Southampton.
I was making sandwiches at Subway in East Street. I worked in a bowling alley, Greggs the Bakers, Blockbuster, everywhere. It was exhausting, but worth it…
— Cally-Jo
The first one she tattooed her brother Tom Auger on his leg. It was the nickname 'Gonzo'.
The first one I did was on my brother. I tattooed his nickname ‘Gonzo’ on his thigh in some terrible tribal writing. It took me hours, I had no idea what I was doing and no one to show me how, so I just had to wing it! I definitely wouldn’t recommend attempting to tattoo someone unsupervised.
— Cally-Jo
In growing up all her friends had tattoos and piercings.[3] Cally-Jo had a friend Ricky who had a shop in her home town and he gave her a job at the Dragstrip tattoo studio.[6]
I’ve been interested in tattoos for as long as I can remember. I grew up with people who had tattoos or worked in tattoo or piercing shops.
— Cally-Jo
She went on to do an apprenticeship with Pete Belson and then later in 2012 she was lucky enough to be offered a spot at Love Hate Social Club, London.[6]
After this Cally-Jo worked with fine artist, tattoo artist and her favourite human Lal Hardy at New Wave Tattoo Studio in North London.[6]
He’s become one of my closest friends; he’s kind of like a father figure to me. I can’t ever thank him enough for the support he’s shown me.
— Cally-Jo
She collaborated with Lal Hardy to create a winged vintage microphone design on limited editions of the One (M8) phone, which were awarded to finalists at the British MOBO music awards.[7] The wings symbolised freedom in both music and art.[8]
Cally-Jo has also collaborated with world-famous tattooist to the stars Kevin McCurdy, better known as 'Bang Bang’.[3]
Tattoo artist Cally-Jo partnered with supermodel Jourdan Dunn to create a design that is featured on the device Limited Edition HTC One M9 INK In an interview with HTC INK, the artist said that the project interested her because mobile technology is an important aspect of her life. The image is composed of two symbols - the eye and the hand. The eye means strength and sincerity. A hand means protection and positivity. Leaves mean the flowering of art. The sun and moon symbolize balance and harmony.[9]
The trend for body art has grown hugely over the last number of years and celebrities and fashion trends have definitely been a massive influence. Because of that, there’s been a move away from the traditional “tattoo” artwork and people are just really keen to have beautiful, unique body art that matches their own personal style.
— Cally-Jo
Cally-Jo has worked with many popular tattoo artists such as Lal Hardy, Ami James, Chris Garver, Tommy Montoya and Megan Massacre.
Cally-Jo tattooed many celebrities in the field of music, sportsand art. She has amassed a vast following, which includes over 240,000 fans on Instagram.[10]
I first set up a profile when I was on holiday with friends, and thought it was just a photo-editing app. I’d comment on other artists’ work and then they started following me, and suddenly I was in touch with all these brilliantly talented people. It’s really important to get friendly online – I now get loads of work via social media.
— Cally-Jo
Rihanna was following Cally-Jo on Twitter. Cally-Jo ended up meeting Rihanna at a friend’s tattoo shop opening. Then last October Cally-Jo went out to the Dominican Republic to tattoo in style mehendi on Rihanna hand.[2]
On Facebook someone sent me a message saying ‘Have you seen Rihanna is following you on Twitter?' She was so good to work with – she was really open to ideas and fun to be around, because she was so laid back.
— Cally-Jo
Cally-Jo tattooed many celebrities such as Rihanna, Tim Howard, Sienna Miller, Alexandra Burke, Huey Morgan, Professor Green and Slipknot. Her tattoo projects have been featured in Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, as well as in advertising campaigns by Chanel, Balmain and Christian Dior.
Cally-Jo lived in New York, where she models and runs a tattoo studio in Grit N Glory, NY with Megan Massacre.
Cally-Jo was a party to the gallery 'The 100 Hands Project', curated by our editor Alice Snape from the magazine 'Things and Ink'. The exhibition was presented at the National Maritime Museum in Cornwall, UK. The exhibition shows about 100 silicone hands that are tattooed from 100 tattoo artists who work in England. This exhibition can still be visited until January 2018.[11]
I think tattooing gives a person hope. It’s such a personal thing, to take something that means so much to you and make it part of your body.
— Cally-Jo
In 2016, Cally-Jo collaborated with the 'Coffee Vs Gangs' campaign, which was founded by the world famous coffee company 'Kenco Coffee'. Gang tattoos are symbolic of a life of crime in Honduras, with gang members using special tattoo symbols to identify their allegiance to certain gangs. Kenco Ireland commissioned Cally-Jo to create an original artwork that captures the rich symbolism of tattoos, but also touches on the hopeful potential of coffee farming as an alternative to gang life.[12] Cally-Jo project won worldwide recognition. The launch event attracted the attention of the press, as well as the visit of the Ambassador of Honduras.[13]
Cally-Jo can be seen on the covers of magazines such as 'Freshly Inked Magazine', 'Total Tattoo Magazine', 'Things & Ink Magazine'.
Cally-Jo is currently starting in the MTV show Just Tattoo of Us as an tattooist.
MTV presents its newest show 'Just Tattoo Of Us' in which willing couples choose tattoos for each other, unable to see the final result until the tattoo is on their body fully finished. The show is presented by popular hosts Charlotte Crosby and Stevie Bear, and features 6 UK tattoo artists including Cally-Jo, who turn tattoo ideas into reality.
Personal life
From 2015 to 2017 Cally-Jo was in a relationship with Justin Nace, drummer of the rock group PVRIS.
Now Cally-Jo is single.
Links
- Official website Cally-Jo
- Online-store Cally-Jo
- Tattoo works in Grit N Glory Cally-Jo
- Personal page Cally-Jo on Facebook
- Tattoo works Cally-Jo on Facebook
External links
- Interview with Cally Jo, Inked
- Cally Jo Tattoo Gallery on itv.com
- "Cally-Jo Instagram - Tattoo Artist Interview, celebrity clients Rihanna, Sienna Miller (Glamour.com UK)". glamourmagazine.co.uk.
- "Rihanna's most famous tattoos are the work of British artist Cally-Jo Pothecary". Mail Online. 19 May 2014.
- Zoe Shenton (22 October 2014). "Rihanna tattoo artist reveals the creative process behind her hand inking". mirror.
References
- ^ "Rihanna's most famous tattoos are the work of British artist Cally-Jo Pothecary". Mail Online. 19 May 2014.
- ^ a b c d http://www.dailyecho.co.uk/news/11223891.display/#
- ^ a b c d http://www.thearcadiaonline.com/faces-to-watch-cally-jo-the-tattooist-bringing-art-to-life/
- ^ https://www.gritnglory.com/products/wasteland-crop
- ^ http://www.glamourmagazine.co.uk/article/tattoo-artist-interview-with-cally-jo-rihanna-tattoo-artist
- ^ a b c http://www.inkedmag.com/artists/cally-jo/
- ^ https://www.gadgetdaily.xyz/mobo-award-winners-to-recieve-limited-edition-tattooed-htc-one-m8s-as-prizes/
- ^ http://www.famousbirthdays.com/people/cally-jo.html
- ^ http://blog.htc.com/2015/06/htc-ink-the-handset-is-here/ [unreliable source?]
- ^ https://gothinkbig.co.uk/features/great-tips-from-rihannas-tattoo-artist
- ^ http://www.th-ink.co.uk/tag/alice-snape/
- ^ http://suburbiaonline.ie/categories/28-opinion/coffee-vs-gangs-is-more-than-just-a-marketing-campaign-coffeevsgangs
- ^ http://www.shelflife.ie/celebrity-tattoo-artist-inks-new-design-to-launch-kencos-coffee-vs-gangs-campaign-in-ireland/