Super Punctured Skulls Saturday

As part of the celebration for Skull Appreciation Day 2013 and the opening of the FaceOff exhibit at the International Museum of Surgical Science, as well as the impending onset of Skull-A-Day 7.0, I figured this would be a great time to flip your wigs with a HUGE Super Saturday post featuring one of my personally new favorite artists, Dionne Marshall. Dionne creates handmade tattooed, tooled, and stitched leather art & artefacts, under the name ‘Punctured Artefact’.  Here's a bit of info that she was obliged to share....

"I live in a tiny, pretty English village, where I have a studio in my garden. Working as a designer/ maker is all quite new after ‘quitting the day job’ within the fashion industry to something I love."

"With a background in textile and accessory design, patterns and flowing lines feature strongly in all my designs. My main inspiration comes from tall things inky… the artistry & imagery of modern tattooing, mixed with a never ending love of death heads, geometry, Japanese motifs, natural & organic forms, anatomy, science, lines & patterns."

"I create using layers of decorative techniques, which are highly detailed and labor intensive. They give my work depth and a textural 3D feel. Premium untreated natural veg tan leather is the base for all pieces. The decorative and detailed line-work is tattooed onto the leather, usually with one needle (with a traditional tattoo machine)."

"To bring out the line-work and beauty of the leather, leather-working techniques are used. These may include; tooling, embossing, engraving, etching & repousse. Book binding techniques such as lacunose, Tudor style, onlay and inlay feature in some of the designs. Each piece is finished by beveling, dying and buffing the edges before being mounted and framed into a 'shadow box' frame made from worn reclaimed wood (created by us!)"

"I use the same processes on all my artworks, jewellery & accessories. I also do custom and bespoke ones offs, including tattoo ideas. So you can wear my designs on your wall or your skin!"

I'm still utterly amazed at the detail and design you achieve, Dionne.  I know how meticulous single needle tattooing can be and combining that with all of your other techniques really enhances the character and persona of each piece.  Keep up the fantastic work and the job you love won't feel like one.  Thanks again!