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FUN
IN THE SNOW —
Nearby casino? I thought Baxter disliked casinos as sites for tattoo shows. I do, when the tattooers are relegated to a basement and the only way to the door is by wading through a sea of slot machines. At Rick's event, Oneida Bingo & Casino was connected to the Radisson by a long hallway. The booths, lectures, seminars and contests were held in two adjacent rooms around the corner, a few seconds from the buffet, which resided just across the hall from the games. The casino, by the way, consisted of one enormous room with rows of slots, a roulette wheel, craps, of course, and a handful of blackjack tables. A high-stakes poker room was off to one side. At the casino bar, the entertainment was mainly '50s hits and rockabilly. It was kind of fun, actually. If you wanted to take a break from the convention, you could grab a cold one and enjoy King Memphis, the Slim Jim Phantom Trio, Dale Watson, the Neanderthals (who performed in leopard skins) and the Painkillers, among others. The best thing about this setup was that these high-energy bands weren't anywhere near the convention floor. If you wanted to enjoy the sounds, you had to walk down a hall, turn a corner and enter the casino. This allowed artists and collectors to actually hear what each other had to say. Once again, Rick did it right. People come from all over the world to be here, so he give them a place where they could work, enjoy their friends and not feel like they have to shout over a phalanx of Stratocasters and a drum set.
I especially enjoyed meeting Jose Tana from the Tattoo Museum of Buenos Aires. He didn't speak a word of English. To help him out, Harnowski found a translator so the Argentinean could converse with potential customers. In typical tattoo world style, Jose thanked the guy by giving him a bicep tattoo he had wanted for years. Once again, the famous tattoo barter system in action. And, of course, some major U.S. tattooers made the trip, including Jack Rudy, Lyle Tuttle, Leo Zulueta, C.W. Eldridge, Bob Tyrrell, Shahn Anderson, Dan Dittmer, Mike and Mary Skiver, Tom DePriest, Pat Fish, Mr. G. and Madame Chinchilla. Newcomers Megan Hoogland and Monte were on the scene and even "Mr. Convention" himself, Dave Yurkew had a booth. It was also good to see Book Mistress Harriet Cohen and photographer turned tattoo artist Dianne Mansfield from Spiral Tattoo. That's just a partial list, of course, and although Thursday and Friday were a tad slow, most everyone was working on Saturday. A lot of it was due to the 3,200 people that braved the cold and paid their $15 entrance fee. Rick did a good job of contacting the press. Every local newspaper gave the convention front-page coverage. Alas, Sunday was the day of the big Packers-Vikings game and, if you know Green Bay, that pretty much means the town closes down. The population is 103,00 and Lambeau Field holds 72,569. You do the math. But big game or not, several tattoo magazines made the trip, including Tattoo Savage and Tribal Tattoo from Japan, Tattoos Down Under from Australia, Skin Deep and Skin Shots from the U.K., Pain Magazine from the U.S. and Tattoo Arte from Spain. But the highlight of the weekend and further proof that a tattooist was in charge was the amazing list of seminars. I hesitate using the word "convention" to describe standard tattoo shows, but the coming together of so many great artists and, especially, the emphasis on world-class seminars and learning through sharing makes Rick's 11th Annual as much a convention as any tattoo event in America. There was a seminar every hour, from the moment the door opened to late afternoon. Jack Rudy on Black-and-Gray Tattoo Work, C.W. Eldridge on Wisconsin Tattoo Artists, Capt. Don Leslie on Circus Sideshows and the Tattoo Connection, Mr. G on Doorbell Machines, Pat Fish on Making Clients into Informed Consumers, Bob Tyrrell on Realism, Susan Preston on How to Set up a Tattoo Studio?and there were many, many more. As far as I'm concerned, the seminars were the star of the show. Terrific slide presentations, great speakers and all topped off by Capt. Don Leslie blowing ten-foot flames while the whole room gave him a standing ovation.
But the lion's share of credit goes to Harnowski himself, as he negotiated relentlessly with the Oneida tribe to use this marvelous facility. Yeah, it was cold, but Rick is already planning to change to a cozier time of year. Actually, it was no big deal. The airport was right across the road and although it was an icebox outside, the facility's thermostat allowed us to wear the usual T-shirts and jeans all four days. I must admit that, when we got home, our clothes smelled of cigarette smoke. But that's Wisconsin — what can you say? Rick mentioned making the tattoo room a no smoking area, next time, because how sterile can an area be with second-hand smoke lurking in every hallway, booth and elevator — But all that is far outbalanced by the respectful tone of this exceptional event. Everything was thought out, every detail was executed with the utmost professionalism. Even the farewell party had a chummy, living room feel. The crowded lobby bar was a sea of celebrities. It was great fun to watch newcomers hobnob with some of the industry's big names in this casual setting. At one point, I asked Rick who the guy with the suit jacket, long hair, goatee and shades was. "Let me introduce you," he said, as he motioned Ray Youngman to come over. A longtime Midwest tattooer, Youngman, I discovered, was a big fan of SKIN & INK. In fact, after our conversation, he presented me with an autographed piece of flash. "This is in appreciation for your great magazine," he said. It was a really nice moment. The perfect capper to a first-class weekend. And just like Rick Harnowski's warm, Midwest hospitality, it's something I won't soon forget. |
Every
so often, a large, neat envelope arrives at the SKIN & INK offices.
I can spot it ten yards away. It's from Rick Harnowski, and inside
is a sampling of carefully mounted tattoo photos. The tattoos are
good, too. In fact, the first thing Rick said when I arrived at
his International Tattoo Convention in Green Bay, Wisconsin was,
"I want to thank you for publishing my work in the Readers'
Gallery." It was clear from the first, this event was produced
by tattoo people, not hucksters trying to make a dime on the backs
of tattoo artists. This was a four-day celebration of camaraderie,
friendship and love of the art. It was inside an excellent hotel
with Frank Lloyd Wright architecture, there were carpets on the
floors, the entrance fee was affordable and the list of attending
artists was first rate. This might well be the class-act show of
the year. Rick Harnowski from Skin Illustrations in Green Bay was
the ever-gracious host and, although the thermometer registered
17 degrees outside, the positive energy from Rick and his family
shone like the sun in the comfortable exhibition halls and nearby
casino.
Speaking
of all over the world, Rick brought in an inspiring selection of
international tattooists. That speaks volumes about Rick Harnowski's
reputation, especially in these days of heightened airport security
and hassles getting visas. It was good to see Sabado and Genko from
Eccentric Tattoo in Japan and Bernard Soufflet from Paris, France.
Also in the booths were Josh Roelink, Mick Aplin and Matt Cunningham
from Australia, Cory Ferguson from Canada and Marco Bratt Tattoo
from the Netherlands. Lee Clements was there from Wales and Jason
Butch, Alan Hale, Gary Whitman, Madame Butterfly, Morag Sangster,
Bob Hoyle, Spacey and Jo Harrison represented the U.K. Not bad for
a freezing day in Green Bay.
Rick
Harnowski held his first convention back in 1985. His show this
January 6, 7, 8 and 9 ran so smoothly, it didn't seem there had
been a ten-year hiatus. The first one was held in the back of a
bar and subsequent venues weren't much grander. The last time was
in 1994, a fundraiser for the Paul Rogers Tattoo Research Center.
About then, Rick's two boys, Dan and Josh, were in grade school.
Ten years makes a big difference. In 2005, Rick pretty much turned
the event over to his boys. It was a smart move. The artists agreed,
if you asked the Harnowskis for absolutely anything, they immediately
broke into a run and got it for you, whether an announcement over
the P.A. or a roll of paper towels. My wife, Mary, told young Dan
she would, without hesitation, vote for him for President —
with brother Josh as his running mate. And while we're on the subject,
New Jersey's Chris Longo is the man for Press Secretary. Longo,
with his sea-foam blue, short-pants leisure suit is, arguably, the
best tattoo M.C. in the business. Fully inked and debonair, Longo
kept a running commentary of the too-long tattoo contest and was
never offensive, boring or shrill. He also does the New York City
Tattoo Convention and, in my book, is light years ahead of all those
humorless egocentrics who think embarrassing people is funny and
love the sound of their own voices. Longo is knowledgeable and easy
to listen to. Green Bay was a class event and Longo was the perfect
man to be its voice.