when I was interviewing Gemma (a tattoo artist I interviewed for this parti of the award also) she mentioned that she is part of the team which has set up and runs the Norwich body art festival . The tickets I got were for the tattoo convention which was held at OPEN, inside there were live tattoos taking place, showcasing the artists work (other body modifications were also taking places, such as piercings). On the opposite page I have stuck in the brochure we got given on entrance and the entrance band I was wearing at the time, to add to my primary evidence. I really enjoyed my time here, I had never been to a tattoo convention before so wasn't sure what to expect from it. It was a large space that felt small as there were so many different tattoo artists with their own areas (it is the UK's largest tattoo convention) and when walking around it was interesting to see the collection of work done by each artist. Most of the artists there worked with very bold images, and big designs on the day. There was definitely less colour tattoos going on but still seeing a few was very inspiring as it made me think about adding colour to henna in the future, or filling in the spaces of design with colour henna. I definitely felt a sense of connection, as it was really lovely to stand in a group of people observing a tattoo being done, and then talking to others who are into tattoos as well. Really great to try something new again.
How is this going to help develop my work?
As I previously said, adding colour to henna work in the future is something going to this convention has inspired me to think about doing. Its also inspired me to look at really focusing in on ways of marking the skin for my part B. I would love to find training days for something like body painting as thats also something I have never tried and feel that is would really develop my arts skills in a different way. As paint on the skin would be a lot bolder then henna, and I would have to look at the shape of the body in a different way as well, as although its also a non - perminent body art form it would probably be a lot different to henna. Finally, I've also been inspired to actively go to more of these types of event. is there a henna convention? this is something I need to look into.
A tattoo convention? That sounds incredible!