At tattoo convention, ink meets skin to tell personal stories

RIDGEFIELD — As a woman pierced Cecilia Flores’ calf with a tattoo machine on Sunday afternoon, Flores clutched the hand of her husband, Travis Register, who was enduring hour seven of his own tattoo.

The tattoo on the front of his right thigh was inspired by his favorite book, “Moby Dick.” The tattoo on her left calf was of a zombie cat surrounded by flowers. The Whidbey Island couple, who met in the Navy, were two of many people who traveled to the Clark County Event Center at the Fairgrounds to get inked during the three-day Northwest Ink Tattoo, Music and Micro-brews convention.

“I’m obsessed with cats, and I love zombies,” Flores, 21, said while explaining her newest tattoo. She has others, including one on a forearm of a pinup sailor girl sitting on a ship’s anchor. “It’s an art. It’s beautiful, especially if you get the right artist.”

The couple said they traveled to the festival to support Register’s friend, tattoo artist William Lloyd, who was putting the finishing touches on the “Moby Dick” tat. Register had another two hours to go until it was all done.

When he was younger, Register said, he got inked “for the shock value,” but the 26-year-old said that the older he gets, the more toned-down his tattoos become. Now, he appreciates the artistic value in a tattoo.

“I like good art on my walls; I like good art on my skin,” he said.

At least 300 people visited the event on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, organizers said. Participants were greeted by the sound of tattoo machines buzzing. They also had the chance to see 12 bands, try six different types of beer, learn about dozens of tattoo artists and see a sideshow performed by Serana Rose and Brent Fiasco that included fire-eating, electricity channeling and other stunts.

The reasons for getting ink varied. Chelsea Guinn of Portland was getting her ninth and 10th tattoos on Sunday. They were two kiss prints — one behind each ear — for her 15-month-old son and her 3-year-old daughter. She said she plans on “many more” tattoos in the future.

“It’s a good pain,” Guinn said. “I like showing my ink off.”

Cory Boevers of Bonney Lake was adding to the Batman tattoo on his upper left arm. His tattoo artist, Aaron Buckholtz, has been working on the piece for a while, and told him about the convention. The tattoo featured many of the characters from the animated series that Boevers, 21, grew up watching, including the Joker, Batgirl, Harley Quinn, Two-Face and Mr. Freeze.

“I’m a huge comics fan,” Boevers said.

The event also gave tattoo artists a chance to see what others in the field were up to. Jimmy Severs and Chris Angelo of Sinister Tattoo Studio in Vancouver were showing off their new mobile tattoo studio, called Korrupted Ink. About a year and a half ago, Severs said, the pair bought an old TriMet bus on Craigslist for about $2,100 and worked to convert it.

They plan to take the studio to the people, at biker rallies, charity fundraisers and other events, Severs said. “It’s something we can take to the home base,” he added.

It was the second year for the Northwest Ink convention, said organizer Brad Klein, of Itat2to Organics in Vancouver. Last year, it was downtown, at the Red Lion Hotel Vancouver at the Quay; next year, he said, he hopes to host it at the fairgrounds again, but perhaps sometime in April.

“This year was a good first run here,” Klein said. “Next year we ought to have a lot more stuff going on.”