MANILA - A self-confessed animal lover has literally made her mark on people who joined her bid to break the Guinness World Record of most tattoos done in 24-hours in Canada.
"I have this soft spot, an empathy towards them. I am adamant about making awareness against animal cruelty and such in my own little way. They are so defenseless. They don't have a voice but we can be that for them. Their voice, their protectors," said Dianne Kathlene Felix Lopez.
Also known as Diankh, she has always volunteered and donated for various animal advocate groups.
"But some days it feels like I'm not doing enough. This event was a step to a bigger move in fighting for animal rights," she said.
Held last July 27 at Duke's Bar & Grill in Edmonton, Diankh was able to ink 818 paw prints or infinity symbols on more than 200 people at the event.
Although shy of her original target of 1,000 tattoos, her attempt was enough to break the previous record of 801.
"Guinness have yet to confirm and validate the video and pictures I have submitted before it is official," she said. The event also raised almost $5,000 for the Edmonton Humane Society.
The idea to try and break the world record did not happen overnight.
"I have been planning this a while now. Kat Von D first broke the record. I wasn't even tattooing then but always thought it would be a sweet challenge. Then last year I started planning a fund raiser for the Edmonton Humane Society and this Guinness World Record came up again. I figured it would definitely draw more people as opposed to just a regular fund raiser... and it worked!" she explained.
Diankh said they tapped the help of social networking site Facebook to disseminate the information about the event.
"For how many months, it was all just Facebook advertising and word of mouth. I was worried not enough people would show up even with the support of the Humane Society. Then a couple days before the event, CBC caught wind of it and they interviewed me on air. On the day itself I was actually very, very surprised and overwhelmed by the response and how many people were in line. After all, I'm not Kat Von D," she said.
According to the Edmonton-based tattoo artist, the 24-hour period flew by quickly.
"My husband and sister took turns in handing me my smoothie and I took one washroom break. It wasn't that difficult in that sense as the time just flew because of how busy it was. The biggest challenge was when over 12 hours or continuous tattooing passed, my wrist started hurting," she said.
But her goal pushed her to finish the challenge. She also dedicated the event in memory of her dog of over 10 years, Mr. Fudje, who passed away in June.
The 26-year-old tattoo artist also credits her husband, Matthew Mahoney, for being extremely supportive.
"He tells everyone he meets that his wife is a tattoo artist, he's really proud. In fact, he was with me throughout the 24-hours of inking and even got 30 paw prints on his thighs to help me get the last few tattoos I needed to break the record," she said.
Diankh was born and raised in Manila and loved drawing ever since she can remember she said. Her fascination with tattooing finally became a reality in 2009.
"I decided to give it a go in 2009, at a shop where my older sister gets her piercings. They were looking for an apprentice, I applied and the rest, they say, is history. There's something about drawing on skin with a needle and how more permanent it is than any art form-- tattooing definitely is the ultimate art form for me," said Diankh.
For her, the most difficult tattoo she inked on someone would have to be tribal sleeves.
"Tribal tattoos are hard because they have to be really black with no gaps whatsoever... and really monotonous. It's definitely not fun," she said.
But she doesn't always say yes to any client. "I do not tattoo under 18 without ID and parental consent. As well as I've turned away people who wanted Swastikas or any hate symbol on them. That's just one of my moral codes."
Her start in the tattoo industry was not also easy as she was discriminated upon by both gender. "It was hard for me in the beginning and they always seem to think that I'm capable of keeping up just because I'm a female artist. They also seem to have this stereotypical notion of how you should be as a tattoo artist in general. It's a tough industry, most though not all, have this sense of entitlement and overpowering egos that just clash".
Right now, she considers herself as a part time artist following the birth of their daughter last September.
But when she's not tattooing, Diankh follows UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship), plays video games, goes to the shooting range, plays musical instruments, and writes songs, short stories and poems.
"And, of course, looking after my little girl and dogs," she said.
source: www.abs-cbnnews.com
