Compared to the two previous Tattoo Jams I attended, I couldn't help feeling instantly that this one had so much more to see! I'm saying this as a very good thing, and part of me wishes it had run for a third day with things a bit more spread out so I could have got around it all. With it being as it was, I ended up missing out on all of the 'Battle of the Bands', most of the extreme/shock entertainers, and the awards.
Now, please don't hurt me for that last one. On the Saturday I found myself too distracted by going around all the artists, looking at their portfolios and the work they were currently doing. Sunday the awards took place while my girlfriend was getting inked, and I never pass up an opportunity to watch a tattooist at work more closely. Also, I imagine there will be decent coverage of the awards in a future issue of Skin Deep Magazine.
Miscellaneous
I'll start off by talking about a few of the smaller things at the convention, starting with the traders. I will point out that (as can be expected) there were two types of traders present: those for the general public, and those who only deal with people in the trade. I, as some of you may know, do not work as a tattooist, so I kept clear of the latter group. The other traders appeared to be very much the same ones that had appeared in the previous years I've attended, which isn't to say it's a bad thing. All the stalls generally offer good and interesting products, from alternative clothing and jewellery to art cards and reference books.
There are certain things I'm not sure if I missed. As already mentioned, I missed things like the awards and 'Battle of the Bands', but I'm not sure if there was anything else that may have escaped my attention. For one thing, I didn't go outside and in previous years there were things to see out there. The main reason why I mention this here is because on the first day I checked out the Tattoo Museum and the graffiti wall on the second floor, but I didn't on the second day. So, now I'm wondering if I might have missed something, even if it was that more work had been done on the graffiti wall.
I really enjoyed the graffiti work that I did see. I was kind of surprised, though, because when I saw it advertised I was expecting it to be spray-painting outside, like last year. As can be seen below, there was plenty of room for more work, so hopefully I'll be able to find some pictures somewhere of how it turned out (here's looking at you Skin Deep, *WINK* *WINK*).
I'm always in two minds about the Tattoo Museum, because each year it does seem to have different things on show, but it's always a bit smaller than I expect. I still find it interesting to check out. Maybe it's the use of the word 'museum' that throws me off. I might not feel the same if it were called something like: 'Tattooing Through the Ages Exhibit'. But I feel it's just me being pernickety, so feel free to ignore this.
Entertainment
Here we start getting to some of the interesting stuff. Some of the things my girlfriend and I were very excited about with this year's Tattoo Jam, besides the obvious, were the burlesque shows. I realize that sounds a little perverted, but that isn't the whole story (I'm not going to make out that it isn't a little bit of it, at least, because that would be a lie). We have both always been of a mind that burlesque is more of an artform, not just a simple case of a woman stripping, and neither of us have had much chance to experience it before. In fact, Millie Dollar's performance at last year's Tattoo Jam was the first experience I had, but I got to the stage as the show started and ended up at the back, meaning I couldn't really see. Aside from that, there was a burlesque night we attended at a club the other month, but it was filled with drunkards being idiots and (again) the performance was obscured from view.
Getting back on track, Millie Dollar was in attendance again this year, and was scheduled to do more than just the one performance this time around. I managed to re-experience the lost performance of last year because she repeated it the first time she took the stage. On the negative side, I feel this was her least favourable performance of the weekend. On the positive side, Millie did give other great performances, and I felt each one was better than the last.
The other burlesque performer of the weekend (or, more specifically, the Saturday) was Beatrix von Bourbon. No disrespect to Millie, but I will admit that enjoyed Beatrix's performances best. Millie obviously knew what she was doing, and it could be seen that she had worked hard to give good shows for the audience. This could be seen with Beatrix as well, but there was also a little something more there. This something, whatever it was, seemed to aid her in making a connection to the audience that little bit more.
I realise this sounds like I'm putting Millie down - I honestly don't mean it this way. I really enjoyed both performers and would definitely recommend people check them both out... Now!
As for other performers of the weekend, I did check out Sickboy's first show. During this he held an apple in his mouth and cut an 'X' into it using a chainsaw (something that I'm sure is no easy feat, but was visually lacking), pushed needles through his cheeks and the skin on his arms, stapled paper to his body and face, and chewed broken glass. Now, I'm far from impossible to shock but I can't say I was really amazed. It could be that I've been jaded by Jackass and Dirty Sanchez. I mostly couldn't help thinking that a regular audience might be more taken aback by Sickboy's antics, but when the audience are fans of having needles stabbing and skewering various parts of their body anyway, he's probably just finding himself around and about on par with everyone else.
I also caught a solo performance by Snake Fervor, almost by accident. We happened to be checking out Tanane Whitfield's booth, then Paul Sweeney got on stage and introduced Miss Fervor. We decided to check it out while we were there, and I'm glad we did. The performance started slowly with lighting her numerous torches (some attached to her clothing, others pierced through the skin on her arms), dancing, and extinguishing them in her mouth. The highlight of her show came as a climax at the end when she performed fire-breathing. Now, when I've seen others doing this they have just blown quick balls of fire; when Snake Fervor did it she ignited the fuel she was spitting and then continued holding/feeding the fire for several seconds. I was rather amazed, and it created a stunning spectacle.
The final, and probably most popular, piece of entertainment I'll talk about was the cake fighting. There were two public performances of this (I think there might have been one on ArtistFriday, but can't be certain) and, I'll admit, I attended both. Basically, it was like ladies mud-wrestling... but with milk, flour, cake, and trifle.
The first performance, Saturday evening, seemed a little shaky. I got the impression that it wasn't really something the girls had practiced (if something like this can be practiced), and as soon as they had handed out cupcakes to the audience they just went at it. At the end of the day, I don't think anyone was complaining about it though, especially the guys. The second performance, held on the main stage on Sunday afternoon, appeared smoother. They completely played up some of the actions they were doing (e.g. pouring milk over each other, etc.), and it generally felt like an actual show. It feels a little strange to be critiquing something like this but, either way, they were enjoyable shows and the second performance was the best.
Artists
Finally, we have the artists - the element that is the whole point of the convention. This year the event seemed to have collected a larger group of very talented individuals. Each year sees the attendance of such artists, but not as many that stood out quite as much as this year. That's not to say the majority had been rubbish either. As mentioned in my post on the Manchester International Tattoo Show, I make sure to pick up business cards, flyers, etc. of anyone that stands out to me, and this year I almost got something from everybody.
We happened to come across some familiar faces while walking around. Of those we had seen in Manchester; Alex Kelly, Emma Garrard, and Johny D Matthews were in attendance. The true gentleman, Craigy Lee, could also be found working his magic. I noticed Billy 'The Bastard' Hay wandering around, though I sadly didn't see him at work this time (it may just be that I missed it). A throw-back to my visit last year, Rose Elizabeth was back, working next to the folks at ABH Tattooing - last year Rose was doing work in aid of Help for Heroes, and she did the amazing cupcake I now sport on my ankle (see below - original design by Marcus, creator and artist behind Brainless Tales).
As already stated, we came across a lot of talented artists. I definitely want to name them, but I don't want to end up overloading people. With this is mind, as I did with the Manchester convention post, here is a short list of some people that stuck out to me:
Anna Garvey
ToKo Lören
Samantha Ford
Ottorino D'Ambra
Michelle Maddison
Daz Crane
Tomasz Czekaj
Johnny Mesquita
Darryl Mullen
Matyas Halasz
Tanya Buxton
Wes Brown
While attending Tattoo Jam this year, I was hoping to get some work done, and seeing the amount of talent on show only made me want something more. Sadly, I didn't manage to get something booked in the time leading up to the event. On the Sunday I almost got an appointment with Daz Crane, but there wasn't enough time in the end. Despite this, I will be getting in touch with Daz in the not too distant future because I'm very interested in both his art and tattooing technique.
My girlfriend, on the other hand, did manage to get an appointment for a cover-up piece. Originally this was with Mikee Cue but, due to time constraints, he wasn't able to fit her in. He was nice enough to speak to his friend Ross Duncan, of whom had some free time. She had picked out a traditional rose design and he was given the freedom of picking the colours (see below).
In conclusion, I think this year has been the best of the tattoo conventions I've attended so far. I do apologise for those I didn't mention in my list above, and there are a number of them. I highly recommend you go to the Tattoo Jam website and go through all the artists listed. It will take some time but do check out their portfolios because there is a lot of great work on show. It may even inspire you to get something done (whether more or for the first time) and/or who you want to get work from. I, personally, have made many mental notes of various artists I wish to get work from in the future. Also, Anna Garvey may be getting a request for some work from my girlfriend thanks to a piece we saw on the weekend that sparked some inspiration.
That's all I have this time around. In the not too distant future I plan on adding a 'Gallery' section to this blog, and there you'll be able to find more pictures from Tattoo Jam 2012, as well as other conventions. I shall see you all there again next year, if not beforehand at another gathering of the tattooed masses.
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