Skye Aspen - WA Model

When did you get your first tattoo, describe it and have you added anything to the tattoo?

My first tattoo was in friend of a friends shed when I was 16 years old and it was a tattoo dedicated to my friend who passed away and I’ve since covered it up only for the fact that it was a really badly placed tattoo which got in the way of future tattoos. It was a little peace sign on my hand, no regrets getting it of course, I could always get it redone somewhere else on my body. I always recommend seeing a professional tattooist at a tattoo shop for health and safety reasons.

Let us look at your tattoos in more detail and what stands out straight away is your back design. So colourful, so decretive being a goose and its feathers surrounded by leaves and other plant life. Would you please explain?

It’s actually a swan, it gets mistaken for other birds a lot which I understand as it is a pretty large dark piece. A few times people have looked at it and they try to figure out what it is, I don’t expect people to see what it is right away it covers up a huge portion of my body. My tattoo goals have always been on the extreme side of things and I’ve always dreamt of being fully covered one day and I’m surprised I’m not right now to be honest. I have a long way too go. The reason I got the full back piece done because I knew I was going to get the whole thing done eventually so I thought screw it. An artist named Danielle Decay (@miss.danielle.decay) who works down south in Busselton at Black Anchor Tattoo Studio designed the full back piece which I instantly fell in love with. So, we got in done in four sessions and I love it so much. I got it done while in my early 20s and back then tattoos didn’t hurt for me as much as they do now. I think I sat for four sessions with barely any discomfort and I don’t think my pain tolerance is as high these days. In the past few years tattoo pain has doubled for me and I can’t sit a full day session like I used to. I wanted the back piece to be one piece so it’s extended down to my butt cheeks which is just some leaves and spiralling wind designs

Underneath that you have barbed wire on the back of both legs, did you just like the design?

I did. I think the design is very sexy. I’ve always wanted tattoos under my butt cheeks and I think barbed wire or thorns look best in that particular area and it just flows with the butt very nicely. Barbed wire is a very popular tattoo option but I went with thorns.

Moving down to your left ankle I’m at first thinking you put the paddle there to show your kink side but it’s the designs around it that baffles me more?

So, I got patch work on my legs and then every time I get a new tattoo I saw another gap I need to fill so I couldn’t deal the empty spaces on my leg so I got tattoo artist Ilara (@ilara.tattoos) who worked at Dark Sins at the time and Skye (angelskye.tattoo) to put little sparkles and other cute little pieces and patterns around my existing tattoos just to make it look more filled in. I have lots of dark but cute pieces all over my legs and plan to get a lot more done until they’re filled in.

Then if we move to the right ankle the designs seem to compliment the other ankle but take it to the next level with the book of spells and all the things around it. Care to explain?

I have lots of witchy designs on my legs mostly done by Skye from Bitter Sweet as well as Shannon (@shannon_meow) who now works in Melbourne. I have mushrooms, bones, a witch’s broom, a witch craft spell book, a potion bottle and a gravestones. I love weird specimens and bones and basically anything to do with witchcraft and nature.

I am taken aback by the designs on your front legs, all are different and separate from each other but have a common theme of gore running through them. What does each represent to you?

I’m a big lover of horror and anything dark and sinister. I find anything with blood or death running through something so much more artistic and pretty to me. I love dark art and creepy stuff, the darker the better. I honestly wanted a full horror leg sleeve but went with the witchy tattoos instead which I’m still happy about. I have a Pennywise portrait on my left hip, I love the book and the older movie but the latest ‘It’ film was a big obsession of mine. I love Bill Skardgård. The newer one just sticks with me and I’ve watched it so much, it’s my comfort movie.

And moving up to the side of your stomach is the sea creature next to the piranha, it’s so menacing?

It’s kind of like a darker version of Ariel from ‘The Little Mermaid’. Sirens lure and seduce men to their death through singing which is kind of iconic. I love mythical creatures especially the evil ones. She’s just so beautiful and screams feminine rage. The little fish friend next to her is so cute and reminds me of a that one scary fish in ‘Finding Nemo’, I love anything creepy and the ocean freaks me out.

What does the word Devil Energy mean to you and any reason you put it on your lower stomach or did that seem the right place for it?

It goes nicely in that spot and for me personally ‘Devil Energy’ means confidence, passion and strength. Hopefully some will understand what I mean by that, but really all that matters is that I understand what it means to me. Don’t worry I’m not completely evil but I consider myself to be strong, honest and a direct type of person especially in the industry that I am in. I feel that I bring a head strong type of energy.

The design below your breasts seems out of place but then when you look at that and the design above your breasts it all fits. They are both separate designs, are they relevant to anything in particular?

I got my chest piece done when I was in my early 20’s and it’s a deer skull that has floral, birds and dotted geometric work around it. I also wanted something on my sternum thats feminine and a bit colourful where it went with that design. I got my sternum done a few years after I got my chest done from a different artist. I wanted something that flowed with my body and I just thought that style is beautiful. The tattoos compliment each other well for me. I also have pink on my chest piece and we added the purple and pinks in my sternum and belly tattoo which compliment each other because I have a lot of dark tattoos and I wanted something in the centre starting from my neck to my stomach that was a little more feminine.

You have mentioned how a lot of your tattoos are dark so what if anything is going on with your right arm as it’s a total mystery to me?

My right arm I got done by tattooist (fleshwyrmtattoo) at Modern Ink in Freo and it’s all just creepy crawlies and skulls, I have this two headed skull bug monster thing. I also have a snail with tentacles and a spiked shell on my wrist and on my hand is this monster parasite creepy crawly with sharp teeth and long tongue, creepy legs and an insane body that wraps around my wrist. I also have this really big centipede going up my upper arm and I have some web that connects to thorns to existing tattoos. I also have a scorpion with an eyeball in the centre of its body as well as a cockroach on my arm. The beetle on my forearm has a tongue coming out the end of its body. Basically, I love insects and bugs but wanted them to be possessed and more disgusting.

Then moving to the upper right arm which is now mostly a blackout tattoo, was it covering anything in particular and why did you favour blackout designs?

I am very indecisive and got a few trad pieces which I got bored of quickly so decided to cover them up. I love traditional tattoos so much and wish I had more but the ones I did get I didn’t love that much so it made sense to go with more black work. Any tattoo that I might not like later on I’m more than happy to get it covered. It’s amazing what artists can do these days. It’s a never-ending journey, even when I’m fully covered, I’m sure I’ll end up getting more tattoos by getting more black cover ups. I’m still so early into my tattoo journey, I’m having fun with it. Tattoos have always been a huge part of my life and my identity. They make me feel incredibly happy and beautiful.

Featured in Baddass Kulture Mag Issue #3 June 2024