Another one of my passions is delving into a subculture that I know nothing about, so as a complete cleanskin I loved venturing into the Perth Convention Centre for this year’s Australian Tattoo and Body Art Expo. One of the first things I found was a group of extremely brave women who entered the Girls of Ink competition.
 |
|
Australian Tattoo and Body Art Expo © The Ponder Room
|
Years ago I used to judged body building competitions, so I know how much courage it takes to get up on stage.
 |
| Australian Tattoo and Body Art Expo © The Ponder Room |
Ten brave women who normally wouldn’t be seen dead in their bathers, and especially not in front of a huge crowd. Every one of them was as nervous as a Biggest Loser contestant trapped over night in an ice cream factory.
 |
| Australian Tattoo and Body Art Expo © The Ponder Room |
Each one was on stage thanks to receiving the most public votes in an online gallery.
It’s one thing to be in a line up online, and something completely different to put yourself out there in person.
 |
| Australian Tattoo and Body Art Expo © The Ponder Room |
I think the best way I can show my awe of what these women did is to recognise the huge effort it took, and give them a few more minutes of fame on The Ponder Room.
 |
| Australian Tattoo and Body Art Expo © The Ponder Room |
The judges included Vanessa Morgan of INKED Magazine.
 |
| Australian Tattoo and Body Art Expo © The Ponder Room |
In the end it came down to three.
 |
|
Australian Tattoo and Body Art Expo © The Ponder Room
|
Then one, the winner was Abbey, who is a tattoo artist.
 |
|
Australian Tattoo and Body Art Expo © The Ponder Room
|
 |
| Australian Tattoo and Body Art Expo © The Ponder Room |
 |
| Australian Tattoo and Body Art Expo © The Ponder Room |
Her favourite tattoo was …
 |
| Australian Tattoo and Body Art Expo © The Ponder Room |
I was left pondering several things but mostly …
-
Perhaps I shouldn’t be surprised about their courage, after all they’d all sat under the tattoo gun not once, but several times.
- Several of the contestants were mums with incredibly proud children in the audience. What a lesson those kids have learnt about having a dream and seeing it through
- How far we’ve come from the ‘Tattooed Lady’ side shows of old, thankfully.
http://www.tattooexpo.com.au/ warning this site is quite noisy when opened.
1 Comment
Have you ever thought about publishing an ebook or guest authoring on other blogs?
I have a blog based on the same information you discuss and would love to have you share some stories/information. I know my
visitors would value your work. If you’re even remotely interested, feel free
to send me an e-mail.