Blacksburg Makes An Appearance At Richmond Tattoo Festival

The buzz of the tattoo guns and the smell of antiseptic filled the air of the Richmond Holiday Inn this past weekend, and Blacksburg had a definite presence.

The floor of the convention center was barely visible due to the crowds of people gathered to see the latest ink creations in progress. The 17th Annual Richmond Tattoo and Arts Festival took place Nov. 20-23. Despite heavy holiday traffic, the parking lot was full of the vehicles of people in attendance.

The Holiday Inn of Richmond was the home away from home for artists coming from all over the United States. Artists traveled from as far as Vermont and Colorado for the convention.

Local Richmond artists and other Virginia artists also set up shop to showcase their talent. Downstairs there was laughter, blaring music and conversations about the art at nearly every booth. Although the first floor of the show was loud and busy, with only a short trip up a flight of stairs the atmosphere was completely different.

The upper level of the show featured clothing vendors, a laser tattoo removal booth and five tattoo shops.

Hot Rod Tattoo’s booth was one of the five tattoo shops featured in the top floor of the convention center. Though there was not as much foot traffic or spectators around their booth, the Blacksburg artists were working diligently. The familiar art work once hanging in their shop in Blacksburg was displayed proudly in the back of the small booth, with a range of items carefully selected to make this temporary area feel like home.

Both Shaun Carroll and Graham Fisher were working feverously on their clients’ tattoos. The Blacksburg artists joked back and forth about needing to visit a chiropractor after the long days of hunching over while tattooing.

While taking a break to stretch his legs Carroll said that he had tattooed all day and was booked through the rest of the convention. Both he and Fisher had full schedules.

“I tattooed 12 hours yesterday and have a full day today,” Fisher said. The artists both agreed that the convention was a fun experience but very tiring.

In attendance was a very wide range of spectators. The faces in the crowd ranged from young mothers pushing children in colorful strollers to elderly men and women tattooed from head to toe.

One elderly man was walking proudly through the convention center caring two trophies. The subject of the tattoos adorning the spectators’ bodies was as diverse as the crowd in attendance.

Virginia Tech graduate student and tattoo enthusiast Whitney Holewa made the four hour drive to Richmond. Holewa decided to get a new tattoo while at the festival. Her fresh tattoo was bandaged and Holewa was anxious to remove the covering to show off her new ink.

“It was nice to have so many artists to choose from,” Holewa said. “There were so many different styles and techniques to see.”

Though Hot Rod Tattoo did not win any awards at the event, the work of both Fisher and Carroll’s was photographed by the two magazines in attendance. Both Blacksburg artists had large portfolios of their past work and stacks of business cards for anyone interested in their work.