Attending the Boston Tattoo Convention this weekend was fun. Katie and I got to hang out with Phuc and Sue, and we had the opportunity to meet a lot of their friends. Sorry, I don't have any pictures to share. It was just a lot of tattooed people walking around. Not that exciting. The one really disappointing aspect of the whole convention was the contests. Not that I am complaining and being a poor sport because my piece did not win, but because the whole contest was a farce. Money maker for "The Sponsors" (Darkwave Tattoos), not to name names or anything, and allowing them to pat themselves on the back. Let me lay out the evidence of the setup. First of all, one of the judges was their shop manager. Granted, it's tough getting quality people to judge tattoo contests, but come on, there should be bias judges or at least individuals that are not affiliated with people that are entered into the contest. Or at best, artist's names should not be announced. But then you look at the winners, most went to, who else, "The Sponsors." Not that any tattoo that won was poorly done or anything like that (by the way all the entries were very nice), but I can easily say that many of the tattoos that actually lost were far superior in detail and technicality. For example, in the back piece category that I entered in, there were six contestants. All beautifully done. The lady who ended up winning did not even show her full tattoo, she hid behind her sweatshirt and bared her shoulder blades for the judges to look at. She could of had an amazing piece, but I definitely could not tell, because I couldn't see it. There was a guy that entered who had an amazing traditional Japanese koi fish piece which was amazing. I was completely in disbelief that he did not win. Oh well. Maybe next year they should add in this disclaimer: "If you did not get your tattoo from either Darkwave or Lightwave Tattoo shops, don't bother entering your piece into the contest, because you'll just lose the contest and the ten bucks you gave us! SUCKERS!" Any ways, on to the fun stuff.

So I broke down like a little kid in a candy shop and got a tattoo by Joel Long. Ironically, he's actually from my old neck of the woods from Boulder, Colorado at Bolder Ink. He's an amazing tattooer, so I ended up getting a crane from him. I'll post a picture when it heals, probably on flickr. We also had the opportunity to meet Khristian from Mooncusser Tattoo. Who by the way is a great artist and a hilarious guy. He will also cover up any of your tattoos with a tribal piece if you like. All in all, this was a fun weekend. I didn't get much work done, but it was worth it.

And what a fun weekend it was..complete with great food and fabulous people :)

Hi!
This is N^T^N. I produce the Boston Tattoo Convention. I am impressed with the site you created to document your tattoo experience. Phuc is a great guy and an amazing artist. I have to respond to your posting on the BTC contests however, and I hope that you will not delete this but allow others to read it as well...

In short, your summary of the tattoo contests is completely unfair and hurtful. The judges are neutral and no one who works at my shops is allowed to vote if the entry is coming from one of our artists. This is a rule. In that case the judge simply abstains from voting and the averaged score is unaffected. Rather than asking us you simply leveled an unfair accusation here and its really dissapointing to find. I won't sink to your level and allow this to ruin such a great time, but I do encourage you to consider the complexity involved in such an undertaking, and to realize that the judges opinions are simply that, their opinions. No one is rigging anything. We really are not that concerned about trophies and all that ego bullshit, we are simply trying to create a creative environment for people to share a common love of Art and Individuality.

Posts like yours make me think about eliminating the contest part of the show altogether....its always someone who didn't win and feels slighted who feels the need to lash out....

I'm always open to suggestions for how to make the show better, but as the saying goes, you can't please everyone.

N^T^N
Boston Tattoo Convention