The Nashville Fairgrounds buzzed with excitement — and ink — last October.
Though Nashville may be known for country music and hot chicken, the city has grown into a hub for tattooing. Safe House Tattoo Studio hosted the first Middle Tennessee Tattoo Exposition on a sunny weekend last fall, garnering over 2,000 attendees. The exposition hall radiated with energy from the tattoo artists, vendors, piercers and photography booths.
A delicate hum sounded off from dozens of needles buzzing against skin. A steady, quiet chatter filled the hall as well, with the majority of attendees excited — or just a bit nervous — to get new tattoos.
The Middle Tennessee Tattoo Exposition aimed to bring together a community of tattoo artists and fans, both residing in and out of Middle Tennessee.
Tattoo conventions have grown in popularity recently, and the Middle Tennessee Tattoo Exposition was one of many to occur in Tennessee this year, such as Chattanooga’s famous Literary Ink convention. Tattoo conventions are a place to gather and share enthusiasm for tattoos and tattoo artists. And, while getting a tattoo is strongly encouraged, it is definitely not mandatory. Many attendees arrived to the exposition hall just to browse the artwork.
Participants were encouraged to book with the featured tattoo artists prior to the event. However, there was plenty of time for walk-up appointments.
Throughout the weekend, artists submitted work to the expo’s awards show, met clients new and old and tattooed until their ink ran out. Traditionally, tattoo artists provide patrons with flash books containing pre-designed art to choose from and even take ideas for custom designs as well. This exposition gave these tattoo artists opportunities to show off their work in a unique way.
Many artists, such as Angel Cusick of Smoke & Mirrors Studio, sold prints and stickers of their work.
Grant Thornbury, a tattoo artist from Chattanooga, Tennessee, was drawn to the Middle Tennessee Tattoo Expo because of the “phenomenal” atmosphere and organizers and his trust in Safe House Tattoo Studio. Thornbury works at Dancing Goat Tattoo in Chattanooga and specializes in traditional, colorful tattooing.
Thornbury described attending the exposition as a homecoming, as he previously lived in Nashville.
“The tattoo scene [in Nashville] was awesome,” Thornbury said. “It was pretty tight-knit, everyone is super close and so supportive. Coming back here was great. Nashville is, definitely, a good place to get tattooed. There’s so many artists here. You can ask for any style you want and someone here is going to specialize in it — not just be okay at it, they’re gonna crush it.”
The Middle Tennessee Tattoo Expo welcomed tattoo artists from a variety of styles, like geometric, traditional and fine-line designs. Artist Rafael Valdez had his tattoo stencils strewn across a black tablecloth at his booth. Valdez made it easy for attendees to lift stencils and place them onto their skin before committing to a tattoo.
He offered tattoos in many styles; from traditional, simple flash tattoos, to more elaborate “Eurotrash” style designs. Eurotrash tattooing has surged in popularity over the last couple of years and involves messy, scratchy, geometric designs, usually involving crosses, architecture and wings.
Tattoo artist Amy Ross spent her weekend perched in her booth, with a smiling face and eagerness to showcase her art.
“Nashville has been fantastic to tattoo in,” Ross said, while curled over and running a buzzing needle against her client’s thigh. “I’ve been to a lot of conventions and this is, by far, the friendliest one,” Ross said.
Ross works out of her home studio in Atlanta. She has also been a tattoo artist in Nashville and Austin, Texas.
“For the first year of the convention, I am a little bit surprised that it’s as busy as it is,” Ross said. “I’ve been to some that are slow but have been around a while. This has been great.”
The Middle Tennessee Tattoo Exposition included booths where participants could explore once their tattoos were finished. For attendees who couldn’t wait to show off their new tattoos, Tin Type Photography had a booth dedicated to vintage photography. Attendees stood in front of a clean, white backdrop, with new tattoos and friends.
Many booths offered facial and body piercings. For attendees low on energy after a day of getting blasted with ink, the exposition had places to eat like Bad Luck Burger and Black Box Ice Cream. As well, tattoo aftercare supplies like salves and moisturizer were sold by Blasted Tattoo Care. And, for attendees who got a bit too ink-happy in the past, a booth from Removery offered tattoo removal services.
