Who Did Your Ink?: Cydney Eva tattooed surrounded by strong, independent women

Who Did Your Ink? is the Straight’s weekly feature, where we ask badass Vancouverites about the talented artists, indelible stories, and, at times, questionable antics behind their most treasured tattoos.

What's your name?  Cydney Eva.

What do you do?  I am a freelance artist, muralist, jewellery designer, fabric artist, and event organizer through my brand PatternNation and event platform MANIA MAG. 

Who did your ink?  Ilona Fiddy.

Why did you choose this artist to do your tattoo?  Ilona was here from Toronto on a tattoo residency at Shapeshifter Studio, which is in East Van and run by artists Char Loro and Dianna David.

Ilona is a Filipina traditional hand-poke tattoo artist and, as pattern making is at the heart of my art practice, I fell in love with a version of this design in her flash tattoo book while spending time at Shapeshifter. 

Is there any meaning behind it?  My tattoo is based on the edging of batik fabric, a type of patterned material I use in my jewellery design often.

All of my tattoos are pattern- and textile-based and I am constantly learning about indigenous art and cultural practices. So I feel honoured to have been tattooed by hand-poke for six-plus hours surrounded by Ilona, Char and Dianna—all strong, independent female Filipina artists.

My tattoo wraps all the way around my wrist and on the inner side is a bahay kubo or little house, which Ilona told me is for the home she made while in Vancouver.

Who's your favourite local tattoo artist?  Nicki Lochmatter, Nina Chewlos, and Corey Bulpitt.

What's next on your ink list?  Next, I hope to work with artist Nina Chewlos on a pattern piece that blends my PatternNation vibe with her distinct illustration style.