The success of last year’s international tattoo, which brought in over 600 visitors, prompted organizers to hold another one this year, said Saipan tattoo master Ed Elenzano, more popularly known as Dragon Edong.
Over 30 tattoo artists set up their tables displaying catalogues and work samples to lure clients to sample their artwork.
The artists came from the Philippines, South Korea, Japan, Hong Kong, France, Norway, Malaysia and the U.S. mainland.
Elenzano said there will be daily contests in different categories for the duration of the four-day festival which ends on Sunday.
The categories include best portrait, best color, best black and gray most realistic, best tribal, best Japanese tattoo, best bodysuit, best dragon, sexiest tattoo, best arm tattoo, and best leg tattoo.
For Rico Lim of Tattoo World, seeing his work of art by tattooing a person gives him satisfaction.
“I’d been tattooing people for the past 10 years and it’s something I enjoy,” he told Variety.
Sammy Bockelman of Club Tattoo from Phoenix, Arizona said he has been tattooing for nine years.
He said the most complicated tattoos sometimes take several weeks to finish
“The length of time depends on the intricacy of the design. Some designs take as long as 80 hours to finish, with intervals like three weeks in between before the tattoo will be finished,” he said.
He added that finishing a complicated tattoo at one setting will be too much for the client and too tiring for the tattoo artist.
The cost of tattoos could run up to $6,000, depending on the design.
Other tattoo artists charge on an hourly basis and this means the more complicated the design a client chooses, the higher the rate will be.
For Ronan Poe, son of the late Philippine actor Fernando Poe Jr., tattooing is an art he enjoys even if he is new at it.
He works with three other teammates in a tattoo shop in the Philippines called P&P — or Poe and Poniente, his partner.
Visitors at the tattoo festival will have to pay a $10 fee which includes a free drink and live entertainment. The festival is open from 2 p.m. to 9 p.m. until Oct. 26.
Sponsors for the festival are iConnect, Budweiser, the Marianas Visitors Authority, Fiesta Resort & Spa Saipan, Aquarius Beach Tower, Salbahe Brand, National Office Supply, Gold’s Gym, Island Apparel, Pro-Tech, Islander Rent-A-Car, Godfather’s Bar and El Drako Kooleksions.
