Cally-Jo Pothecary (born 20 April 1989) is a British

fine artist In European academic traditions, fine art is developed primarily for aesthetics or creative expression, distinguishing it from decorative art or applied art, which also has to serve some practical function, such as pottery or most metalwork. ...

and

tattoo artist A tattoo artist (also tattooer or tattooist) is an individual who applies permanent decorative tattoos, often in an established business called a "tattoo shop", "tattoo studio" or "tattoo parlour". Tattoo artists usually learn their craft via an ...

Early life

Cally-Jo was born on 20 April 1989 in

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

, the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

and grew up in

Shirley, London Shirley is an area of south London, England, within the London Borough of Croydon. It lies north of Spring Park, Croydon, Spring Park and Addington, London, Addington, east of Addiscombe, south of Monks Orchard and west of West Wickham, and sout ...

. She studied

fine art In European academic traditions, fine art is developed primarily for aesthetics or creative expression, distinguishing it from decorative art or applied art, which also has to serve some practical function, such as pottery or most metalwork ...

painting at

Winchester School of Art Winchester School of Art is the art school of the University of Southampton, situated 10 miles (14 km) north of Southampton in the city of Winchester near the south coast of England. History The Winchester School of Art was founded in 187 ...

, and graduated in 2011. Cally-Jo began to

tattoo A tattoo is a form of body modification made by inserting tattoo ink, dyes, and/or pigments, either indelible or temporary, into the dermis layer of the skin to form a design. Tattoo artists create these designs using several Process of tatt ...

in 2012.

Career

In 2012 Cally-Jo was offered a job at Love Hate Social Club,

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. After this, Cally-Jo worked with

Lal Hardy at New Wave Tattoo Studio in

North London North London is the northern part of London, England, north of the River Thames. It extends from Clerkenwell and Finsbury, on the edge of the City of London financial district, to Greater London's boundary with Hertfordshire. The term ''nort ...

. 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. In October 2013, Cally-Jo travelled to the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares wit ...

to create a

mehendi Mehndi () is a form of body art and temporary skin decoration from the Indian subcontinent usually drawn on hands or legs. They are decorative designs that are created on a person's body, using a paste, created from the powdered dry leaves of ...

-style

Rihanna Robyn Rihanna Fenty ( ; born February 20, 1988) is a Barbadian singer, actress, and businesswoman. Born in Saint Michael and raised in Bridgetown, Barbados, Rihanna auditioned for American record producer Evan Rogers who invited her to the ...

the singer's hand. Cally-Jo was a participant in the gallery, The 100 Hands Project, an exhibition presented at the

National Maritime Museum The National Maritime Museum (NMM) is a maritime museum in Greenwich, London. It is part of Royal Museums Greenwich, a network of museums in the Maritime Greenwich World Heritage Site. Like other publicly funded national museums in the United ...

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

, UK. The exhibition shows the 100 silicone hands

ed by 100

s who work in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. In 2016 Cally-Jo collaborated with the ''Coffee vs. Gangs'' campaign, which was founded by the coffee company

Kenco Kenco is a British brand of instant, roast and ground coffee sold by JDE Peet's in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Originally known as the Kenya Coffee Company, they started distributing coffee to Britain in 1923. Shortly after, they opened a co ...

. Gang tattoos are symbolic of a life of crime in

Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. The republic of Honduras is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Oce ...

, 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 captured the rich symbolism of tattoos but also touched on the hopeful potential of coffee farming as an alternative to gang life. This project attracted the attention of the press, as well as the visit of the Ambassador of

. Cally-Jo was a cast member in Season 1 and Season 2 of the

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

British entertainment reality show ''

Just Tattoo of Us ''Just Tattoo of Us'' is an MTV British entertainment reality tattoo programme that follows couples, friends, or family members as they go to the Just Tattoo of Us parlour to design each other's tattoo. Announced in November 2016 by MTV the seri ...

''.

References

External links

* Cally-Jo
Interview with Cally Jo
'' Inked''
Cally Jo Tattoo Gallery
on itv.com {{Authority control Living people British tattoo artists 1989 births