Ink & glitz in PDX

What makes Portland so great? Art galleries? Partying in art galleries? Tattoos? How about people with tattoos partying in art galleries? And that’s just the after party.

Let’s throw in 300 mainly custom-design tattoo artists, 200 artists and vendor booths, tattoo seminars, bands, brewers, pin-up contests, car shows and tattoo contests. Let’s not forget about the chance to meet Corey Miller from L.A. Ink—you know, that amazing tattoo artist who kicks it with Kat Von D. Welcome to the Portland Tattoo Expo.

Portland seems to be the ideal location for a huge tattoo event, and one might ask, “Why hasn’t there been an event like this before?” The expo will be the second event of its kind ever held in Oregon due to the state’s strict health licensing codes.

“It was a pretty daunting task, at first, because of the history, and we came up against a lot of skeptics. It was a lot of work,” said Kevin Rasmussen, editor of Ink Junkie, as well as one of the promoters for the event.

The first tattoo expo in Oregon was in Eugene. It was organized by Rasmussen and others from Ink Junkie, previously entitled NW Tattoo Magazine. Rasmussen explained that the event in Eugene was primarily to “test the waters” and see what kind of response they would get from the participants. There was an “overwhelming turnout,” he said, and the success from the first event prompted the magazine to do it big once again. This time, it would be here in our own city, with not only Oregonian artists, but national artists as well.

“Portland has a great history of tattoo artists, and there are lots of great shops—over 100 in the Portland metro area. Portland has always been a very artistic, tattoo-friendly place.”

Corey Miller, the talented tattoo artist from TLC’s L.A. Ink, will be attending the event meeting and tattooing people as well. The custom designer opened his own tattoo shop, Six Feet Under, in Upland, Calif., back in April 1997. There will also be a car show, a pin-up contest sponsored by Cherry Redd Fashions and tattoo contests going on all weekend, with categories ranging from best color tattoo to best overall person. The after party will take place in the art gallery, featuring some of the event’s tattoo designers and other contributing artists, as well as live music playing throughout the night.

If you’re looking to get a tattoo at the expo, you’ll have quite a selection of artists and styles to choose from.
“You’ll be able to find [an artist] with your style, and they’re all custom artists. It’s different from just coming in from the street and picking out a design on the wall. A lot of those are classic stuff, but custom artists take it a step beyond,” Rasmussen explained. Not that there’s anything wrong with that butterfly tattoo on your lower back, or the chain link design on your bicep.