We jump in a bit manic, introducing our friend Ross. A chef, a poet and a writer.

He discusses his love of the metal / alternative fashion and aesthetic and how that introduced him to the world of tattoos.

We discuss what it means to push the boundary of the “fringe”, especially as the fringe comes more into the mainstream. We talk about the “class” system of tattoos and how ego plays its part in it.

Ross’s first tattoo is about one of his all-time literature love of The Lord of the Rings. We dive into owning who you are, so it can’t be used as a weapon against you. We also nerd out about The Lord of the Rings and what it means to us and the broader themes that most LOTR fans appreciate.

His second tattoo is also dedicated to his love of literature, but this one ties to HP Lovecraft and Ross’s love of Horror.

We finish the episode discussing the value of silly tattoos and that it’s also good to be impulsive and have a laugh.

If you’d like to check out some of Ross’s work, check out

@mcconnuibh_poetry

Today we start our episode discussing the launch of our podcast, and giving quick shout outs and thank yous to a few special people Darren & Laura.

There’s been a bit of confusion about what the podcast is really about, as a lot of people mention the tangent that go “off topic”. Yes, this podcast is about tattoos mainly, but it’s also about the people, life stories, experiences, opinions and philosophies of the people behind the tattoos. Getting to know the characters who chose to imprint things into their skin and remember them forever.

In our feedback, Spud got a lot of compliments on his higher self tattoo… so we investigate the further.

We discuss walking the path, and what it means.

We then talk about the addictive nature of victimhood, and how tho get out of it. We then move into the energy of gratitude, and Giada shares about her Gratitude tattoo.

We move into the concept of Momento Mori, the stoic premise of thinking on thy death.

Spud shares a story about his motor cycle accident where he nearly lost his head, and another time he was nearly crushed by a 4 wheeler.

Giada shares her near death experience in a snow storm in California’s Tahoe mountains with her cousin Amadea, of which they both got tattoos to commemorate.

After our back and forth story telling of some of our near death experiences, Giada discusses a bit about her paranormal experiences, the tattoo that protects her in her work with the paranormal and shares a poem she wrote that is commemorated in that tattoo.

Today we have the one and only Catherine Fleming gracing the In The Skin podcast.

Catherine is basically like family to us, she is an incredible artist, and a dear friend.

We start out discussing her art, the struggles of being an artist, and we may or may not devise a plan to make her a top tier successful artist in her lifetime.

We discuss the inspiration for her first tattoo coming from her favourite TV show and more specifically, her favourite character and how it ties to her Confirmation in a blasphemous way.

We then discuss a tattoo Catherine has been planning for years that ties her love of an obscure Disney film and some lyrics from a classic Pink Floyd tune that is meaningful for all of us.

We move on to her Master and Margarita tattoo, Catherines favourite novel of all time, a tattoo of the moon and 3 shadowy characters. She gives a bit of background, its ties to some popular culture and explains her love for it.

Catherine tells of the history of its publication, and Giada discusses a similar origin story for the Bach Remedies.

Giada then awkwardly transitions into asking Spud about his sun tattoo. Spud shares about missing the sun from back home, having grown up in the desert.

Giada shares about her Una Sola tattoo, the logo of the podcast, and the moon in her raccoon tattoo.

We then discuss parents and their reactions to our tattoos and piercings. We talk about our alternative teenage selves and what we loved and fixated on at that time.

We spend a lot of time on piercings, the pros and cons and our experiences with them.

Catherine talks about her thigh band tattoo and the pain of it.

We then discuss our use of and love safety pins, the self-harm markings and using them in our fashion sense as preteens.

We discuss Giada’s idea for a garter tattoo she will never get, and how it ties to her childhood, which leads us into discussing cottage core.

We shortly onto the topics of face tattoos, and then digress into the “end times” conspiracies and kindly asking the Billionaire Elite to feck off or maybe put their money to good by ending world hunger and maybe buying some of Catherine’s art.

This episode is in loving memory of Catherine’s cat Hansel, who sadly passed away shortly after this recording.

Who is Catherine?

Catherine Fleming, a 28-year-old self-taught artist from Spiddal in Co. Galway, has an artistic practice driven by a deep fascination with mental health and its impact on all aspects of life, from the physical to the social. Her oil painting practice began to focus on the theme of mental health as a result of her own experience with panic disorder. She found that art was the most effective method of communicating the maladaptive consequences of her disorder, and creating paintings provided a sense of catharsis that profoundly impacted her journey to recovery.

Over the years, her practice has evolved while still revolving around mental health. She developed a keen interest in how facial expressions can often mask emotions, leading her to often omit the faces of the subjects in her paintings to reveal the true nature of their inner experiences.

In 2023, she collaborated with Dr. Jennifer Cook, Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience at the University of Birmingham, on a project where she created a piece of artwork in response to Dr. Cook's research on the physical manifestations of emotions. This project allowed her to see the potential of art as a vehicle for communication and education, which has continued to inform her practice.

Currently, she is working with the members of the Neurodivergent Society at the University of Galway on an artistic project revolving around the use of fidget toys as a method of self-soothing, also known as stimming. As someone with a history of anxiety, stimming is a mechanism she uses daily, which drew her to work with the society. Over the last year, she has been creating a large-scale painting of the hands of fifteen members of the society using these fidgets, which will be unveiled in the University of Galway Art Gallery in March 2024.

How to find her:

Instagram: www.instagram.com/catherineflemingart/