Stick and poke tattoos – meaning tattoos that are done by hand with ink and single needle hand poked into the skin over and over – have a terrible reputation, but are they really that bad? Those that specialise in stick and poke tattoos often times have pushed the boundaries of dedication by learning to tattoo without a gun entirely. I mean, they need to poke hundreds of dots just to create a single line!
It’s tattoo artists like Tea Leigh that are working to give poke and sticks a good name with their brilliant designs. Just look at them!
They might be small and focus on simplistic lines but they’re also delicate with beautiful shading. Her tattoos have a poke and stick influenced DIY style, but if you say one on the street you might not even realise it was done by hand.
Perhaps building off her Native American heritage and her illustrator background, her designs focus on the natural world: wolves, landscapes, plants, seashells and insects amongst many more.
If you’re just as obsessed with Tea Leigh’s designs as I am – get me on the first plane to Brooklyn NY! – you’ve got to check out her gorgeous Instagram feed @tealeigh or her Tumblr where she lets you in on how you can get in touch.
