The Tallahassee News
Tattoofest brings thrills, glamour
to our city as performers bare skin
Publisher of The News
Good golly, Miss Molly. You sure like that ink.
The geeks, the gazers, the skin greasers and the glorified gullywhumpers all had a chance to meet the tattoo experts and join them in a no-holds-barred display of pricking, preening and skin artistry in Tallahassee this past weekend.
Tattoofest at the Tallahassee civic center Oct. 9-12 was an event of magnitude, attitude, subcutaneous pyrotechnics and gallons of ink. The first tattoo convention ever held in Tallahassee was an excerise in post-modern rebellion, unframed art in an age where polls say more than 30 percent of the American public of a certain age sports a tattoo.
 Chris Tracy, 20, of Fort Lauderdale has the entire 'God Grant me the Serenity' Prayer tattooed on shoulder by artist Myke Chambers of Austin, Texas. Poem was on his grandmother's wall and Tracy 'liked to see it and look at it.' |
Along with a
boatload of tattooed exhibitors and tattoo artists and
weird accoutrement sales, fine art, comic books, posters and some
x-rated counter-culture art, a few movie stars flew in for the fun and
to hawk and sign some pictures of themselves. We shook the huge hand of seven-foot four inch tall Peter Mayhew of Star Wars who played the famous 'wookie' Chewbacca. No doubt, you could hide a toaster in the palm of his hand. We met Courtney Gains who plays Malachi in the Stephen King horror movie Children of the Corn as well as Jonathan Breck or "Creeper" from Jeepers Creepers. |
The fest is selling everything from the ink to corsets to Obama tee-shirts, and the usual adult-rated toys that seem to go with it all like a lime in a Corona. It's definitely meant for the over 18-set.
Tattoofest (online at http://tattoofest.com/tattoo/guests.html) drew a light crowd Friday with backers Bruce and June Ripley of Sarasota and son David of Tallahassee expecting much larger doings as word gets around. "Saturday is usually the best day and when the best of the action happens," said Ms. Ripley.
A tattoo contest and a show of hard guitar music and gross body tricks by 'Serena Rose' and her partner 'Enigma' roused the crowd to snork it up and applaud late into the evening. Enigma pulled a condom through his nose into his mouth and out, pumped a quart of blue fluid into his body and out, and Serena drank it. They both sliced apples from each other's mouths with a chainsaw.
There were other worthy and ghastly tricks we hesitate to describe, and visitors will have to see for themselves.
Below are some pictures from the event.
 Exhibitor shows off her torso, moreso.  Peter Mayhew was 'Chewbacca' the 'wookie' in the Star Wars movies  Enigma' attacks local O.L. Samuels, renowned folk scupltor of even weirder things.  Samuels and his 'Rev. Ike' on exhibit and for sale at tattoo show. Photos by the editor |
 Kathy Fugler-Dobson and son Karver. Her husband is an artist at the show.  SeranaRose sliced apple with a chainsaw to astonishment of audience. There were many more incredible, miraculous tricks.  Contestant Merissa Wells of Pensacola shows off her tattoo 'of candle burning at both ends' to the judges.  Aydan 5, and Annabelle Ewing, 3, share a love for rainbows and face paint. |
SeranaRose makes corsets and clothing and she has website - just Google SeranaRose.