Ink on Skin, Am-Jam Style

We decided to do the Am-Jam Tattoo Expo 2008 in Syracuse, New York and had an amazing time of it. At the Biker Parties booth, in the middle of the competition action, the official, new Am-Jam Tattoo Show Cam was on and streaming for all the competitions and shows throughout the weekend courtesy of Biker Parties. Hawkwing Designs was set up right there, too. I brought the hand-poured black leather scented LuminesScents candles for that one.

Okay, so here’s how it was for me. The Am-Jam Tattoo Show web Cam had a live chat going on in addition to the cam, in which people could send their well wishes and messages to entrants in the competitions as they watched, as well as talking with staff. And yes I did step in front of the cam a couple of times to say hi to some friends who were looking in from various states, but never during any of the judging, shows or other activities. It was Mardi Gras time over in New Orleans right through the weekend (in fact, until Tuesday in February), of course, so we put on some rarer old New Orleans blues tunes, including some Mardi Gras ones, to be heard by cam viewers on the web and our friends in New Orleans as well as the people waiting between competitions in the room. Those old blues came straight from my personal collection. I kept forgetting that the mic was always on, though. Damn. I’m sure there were a few conversations that people listening in from the web didn’t need to hear, but who cares about how much sleep I got the night before or what I craved for a snack at the moment anyway, eh?

Lizardman was there doing his great shows for the crowd. He brought his own trademark finesse to some fine magical traditions within some of his shows . I really liked that, being a long-time afficionado of magic, bizarre magic, and old-time magicians.

The tattoos being judged this year were truly fantastic. Symbolism, realism, subtleties of personalized meaning packed into tight boundaries, surrealism, tribal art, portraiture, botanical art, nature art, pin up art, and vintage tattoo imagery, oh it was all there. The judges have their own rigorous criteria by which they decide the winning tattoos and flash art. I was impressed with their thoughtful and thorough judgments.

Tattoo artists were plentiful at this convention, enough to fill several rooms when setting up shop. Artists and attendees came from all over the place. Tattoos were going on non-stop, I’d say.

They had live music in the bar, a hotel restaurant for meals there at the hotel, and a food booth was also set up.

It’s always interesting to see that many artists side by side at an event, and how their styles differ so wildly. When time allowed, I strolled through just taking it all in.

It was a completely fun and enjoyable weekend show.

We’ll be doing it again next January, I’m fairly sure.

For Biker Parties
My best to you,

HWD
Contributing Writer