<\/a>Juneau resident Taron Hampton gets a Lafayette leopard tattoo from Henry “Bighead” Lewis on Thursday afternoon at Elizabeth Peratrovich Hall during the Ink Masters Tattoo Show. (Clarise Larson \/ Juneau Empire)<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
“It’s the support here — if people don’t support it there’s no point in coming,” said Reymond Hernandez on Thursday afternoon. “Everybody that came so far, they’re walking out with their tattoos and are happy, and they’re telling us thanks for bringing the show — it means a lot to us.”<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
<\/a>Rows of artists tattoo clients Thursday afternoon at Elizabeth Peratrovich Hall during the Ink Masters Tattoo Show. (Clarise Larson \/ Juneau Empire)<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
Elizabeth Peratrovich Hall buzzed with the sound of tattoo guns and loud music as hundreds of people walked through rows of the 90 tattoo or piercing artists that set up shop for the three-day expo. In just under six hours, the show had already sold more than 450 tickets.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
<\/a>Clarise Larson \/ Juneau Empire\n Soleil Lambert, a piercer from San Antonio, prepares Juneau resident Sydney Johnson for an eyebrow piercing Thursday afternoon at Elizabeth Peratrovich Hall during the Ink Masters Tattoo Show.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
“We have enjoyed every customer walking out happy — that’s what we’re trying to make sure,” Hernandez said. “We’re trying to make sure that everybody feels happy with a perfect tattoo like that and they’ll come back or even tell their friends.”<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
Most of the artists are not from Alaska, traveling from all over the country to come to Juneau. The variety of artists means differing styles of tattooing that, for many, are desired but not available in Alaska.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
<\/a>Clarise Larson \/ Juneau Empire\n People check out tattoo designs Thursday afternoon at Elizabeth Peratrovich Hall during the Ink Masters Tattoo Show.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
“There’s not a lot of different variety of styles that y’all have here,” said Lee Soto, an artist from Fort Worth, Texas, who traveled to Juneau for the first time to partake in the event. “It’s very nice to be able to come and give people different styles of tattooing, and it’s great to just show people something new.”<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
Since its establishment in 2009 by Hernandez and Theresa Bae, dozens of artists have participated in the Ink Masters Tattoo Show, which each year travels all around the country to share the variety of artists’ work with as many clients as possible. Juneau is just one stop out of the 43 expos planned by the show this year.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t