The Downtown Hilton got a splash of color this weekend as hundreds of tattooed people graced the Governor’s Ballroom for the Immersed In Ink Tattoo and Arts Festival. The convention, which ran Friday through Sunday, hosted dozens of the most acclaimed tattooing, piercing and human suspension artists in the industry. From tribal art to portraits and everything in between, artists and patrons alike showed their skin with pride. Many artists who attended had been tattooing for much of their lives, including Deakon, a tattoo artist for 22 years who owns the shop Screamin’ Ink in Abilene.

“I was always meant to do this. When I was a little kid, I’d see my uncles come back from the service with tattoos,” Deakon said. “And I could draw anything from the time I could write. I was the kid sitting in 3rd and 4th grade drawing caricatures of my teachers and stuff.”This level of experience and the variety of tattooing options at the event made it a prime choice for someone looking for their first or hundredth tattoo.
“It’s easier to get tattooed here. Doing it one-on-one in a shop is a lot more painful than doing it in front of a group of people. It’s the tough factor,” said Susan Green, who graduated from UT in 2008 with a degree in psychology. “And it’s just more fun. You get to see different artists.

With so many artists represented, conventions provide the opportunity to see new ways of creating art, and Immersed In Ink was no exception. Many of the artists roamed the ballroom, examining new techniques and admiring one another’s work. But even in an environment full of positive, friendly energy, there was still time for a little competition. Event categories judged Sunday evening included best black-and-white, best portrait and best in show. Tattoo artist Ish, whose piece won Best Ink of the Day on Friday, seemed unfazed by the title.

“The whole process of immortalizing something on someone’s skin, there is no greater art,” Ish said.
Unique tattoos and piercings were not the only features of the event. The group Sideshow Human Suspension also did an exhibition, featuring the Mandan tribal-based tradition that began more than 1,000 years ago.

“I was seven the first time I saw this on Ripley’s Believe It Or Not, and I’ve always been big into anatomy and shit, and I thought it was fascinating that someone was hanging from their own skin and not going into shock or screaming,” said Justin Morgan, who works for the suspension group and Rings of Fire, a piercing group that had a booth at the event. Morgan has been suspended more than 60 times but insists that it isn’t for everyone. But this didn’t stop North Texas native Adam Love from giving it a try.
“They asked for volunteers, and I thought, ‘Yeah, that’s me,’” Love said. “I don’t have any tattoos, I don’t have any piercings, so I was just like, ‘Let’s do this shit.’ It was just like getting pinched hard.”
For many who attended, tattooing is more than just something that looks cool; it is a way of life. For the event’s emcee, Jesse Ivey, the event was actually life-saving.

“I had a few heart attacks, and the doctors told me I wouldn’t be able to work a regular job, so I got ready to lay at home and die until these people called me up and asked me to do the show,” Ivey said. “I’ve been doing it ever since.”Ivey, who emcees conventions around the country almost every weekend, considers the Immersed In Ink event his home, since it was the first festival he worked with.
“We’re in the state capital in the governor’s ballroom with a guy who hangs by his butt cheeks,” he said. “How can you beat that?”

The Immersed In Ink festival will travel to Houston the weekend of Oct. 16-18 and to Albuquerque in April of 2010.