![\"Nelson](\"http:\/\/willandrewsdesign.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/13Mar12-StuffNational-Cate-1-960x600.png\" "\\"13Mar12")
http:\/\/www.stuff.co.nz\/nelson-mail\/news\/8418480\/Cancer-survivor-makes-her-mark<\/p>\n
ANNA PEARSON<\/p>\n
Cancer survivor makes her mark
\nTattoo artist sets up shop in Nelson<\/p>\n
A year ago tattoo artist Cate Murphy was given only months to live. A couple of weeks ago she opened her own studio. The Room is in the same building as a barbershop on Collingwood St, and it\u02bcs where she works her magic. Ms Murphy did her first tattoo since getting diagnosed with secondary cancer a couple of weeks ago. Her friend, Cam Woods, got a tui and kowhai flower design on his arm for his 40th birthday. She has created five other large pieces since, but is hoping to build up her clientele. \u02bb\u02bbI\u02bcm not competing with anyone, because I have my own style. It\u02bcs not about getting a rushed tattoo, it\u02bcs about creating something really special for each person,\u02bc\u02bc she said.
\nThe 49-year-old, who grew up in Stoke and is married to an Irishman, battled breast cancer eight years ago. She thought she was in the clear so many years down the track, but was given bad news in February last year. The breast cancer had spread, and she had secondary cancer in her liver, lung, and bones. Ms Murphy also had four tumours on her brain, which subsequently led to \u02bb\u02bba lifetime dose of radiation\u02bc\u02bc, on top of chemotherapy to treat the rest of her body.<\/p>\n
Ms Murphy did her first tattoo since getting diagnosed with secondary cancer a couple of weeks ago. Her friend, Cam Woods, got a tui and kowhai flower design on his arm for his 40th birthday. She has created five other large pieces since, but is hoping to build up her clientele. \u02bb\u02bbI\u02bcm not competing with anyone, because I have my own style. It\u02bcs not about getting a rushed tattoo, it\u02bcs about creating something really special for each person,\u02bc\u02bc she said. The 49-year-old, who grew up in Stoke and is married to an Irishman, battled breast cancer eight years ago. She thought she was in the clear so many years down the track, but was given bad news in February last year. The breast cancer had spread, and she had secondary cancer in her liver, lung, and bones. Ms Murphy also had four tumours on her brain, which subsequently led to \u02bb\u02bba lifetime dose of radiation\u02bc\u02bc, on top of chemotherapy to treat the rest of her body.<\/p>\n
She didn\u02bct pick up her tattooing equipment for a year, while she battled with chemotheraphy, radiation treatment, and steroids. \u02bb\u02bbI was on a lot of steroids, which makes you really puffy. I was very tired. The steroids also make you quite aggressive \u2013 my poor husband.\u02bc\u02bc Ms Murphy and her husband \u2013 Will Andrews \u2013 have been going back and forth from Ireland for 15 years, after meeting in San Francisco, but her latest illness put a stop to that lifestyle.<\/p>\n
San Francisco was where their relationship began, and it\u02bcs also where Ms Murphy\u02bcs started her life as a tattoo artist. They\u02bcre returning in June for her 50th birthday. \u02bb\u02bbWe thought what should we do since I\u02bcm still alive? We\u02bcd better go to San Francisco.\u02bc\u02bc Ms Murphy worked in one of Dublin\u02bcs oldest tattoo shops, tattooing up to 10 clients a day, often with football club emblems. \u02bb\u02bbIt was a good way to learn, because we were so busy. It took me three years to get over the fear of marking someone for life. I used to go into the toilet and take Rescue Remedy,\u02bc\u02bc she said. She has always painted, using vibrant colours and found objects such as weathered pieces of board: \u02bb\u02bbI love outsider art, and folk art, and that kind of thing.\u02bc\u02bc Another inspiration was William \u02bb\u02bbBill\u02bc\u02bc Traylor, who was born into slavery on a plantation in Alabama. He was set free as an 80-year-old, and became a prolific artist, creating drawings on cardboard. \u02bb\u02bbI have always joked to customers that I was really good with colouring books when I was a kid. I was really obsessed about keeping in the lines.\u02bc\u02bc Ms Murphy is revelling in her good health, despite last year being touch and go at times, and is enjoying having her own space to work from.<\/p>\n
\u02bb\u02bbI feel pretty good. I cycled to Toad Hall in Motueka and back on Sunday. That\u02bcs a big accomplishment,\u02bc\u02bc she said. Ms Murphy got her first tattoo in London, which she describes as \u02bb\u02bbthat little smudgy thing\u02bc\u02bc on her arm, and her body is now a human canvas. And, there are more to come. Her next one might be a monarch butterfly. \u02bb\u02bbI feel blessed for the fact that I have been given a second chance. I love Nelson, because it\u02bcs my home town. I spent my whole life trying to get out of Stoke, and now I live on Ranui Rd. My Mum is here, and nothing beats your Mum at the end of the day. She\u02bcs 88. She\u02bcs a legend.\u02bc\u02bc The Room is at 96 Collingwood St, through the Delly Barber salon.
\n– \u00a9 Fairfax NZ News<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Nice article about the beloved spouse.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.willandrewsdesign.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2425"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.willandrewsdesign.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.willandrewsdesign.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.willandrewsdesign.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.willandrewsdesign.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2425"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/www.willandrewsdesign.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2425\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5881,"href":"http:\/\/www.willandrewsdesign.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2425\/revisions\/5881"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.willandrewsdesign.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2425"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.willandrewsdesign.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2425"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.willandrewsdesign.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2425"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}