Kelly Ackley and Tyson Bode were determined to get to as many tattoo conventions as possible when they hit the road from their home in California recently.
But Scranton wasn't on their radar until Mr. Bode, a professional tattoo artist from Monterey, saw someone post photos of the Electric City Tattoo Convention on social media sites.
"Tattoos are artwork, and it's something that I can carry with me forever," said Ms. Ackley, 23, over the sound of innumerable buzzing tattoo needles at the Hilton Scranton and Conference Center on Saturday.
Ms. Ackley had just stepped off a stage at the convention, which swarmed with tattoo fans and artists from all over the country and the region. A three-judge panel eyed up her colorful back tattoo of the Hindu goddess of creativity and knowledge, Saraswati.
Mr. Bode's design, which took 55 hours of work, won second place in a competition, one of several that will be held over the three-day convention that started Friday and ends today.
A total of 108 tattoo artists from North Carolina, New Jersey, Ohio, Connecticut, New York and elsewhere made the trip to the convention to show off their skills and spread as much ink as possible to willing customers, said event organizer Woody Wodock, co-owner of Electric City Tattoo on Spruce Street. Several tattoo artists from Northeast Pennsylvania also participated. The convention is now in its fourth year and will be back next year, Mr. Wodock said.
Pat Murdough, 31, who owns Liberty Tattoo in Berlin, Conn., set up shop in a large room at the hotel filled with dozens of fellow artists, most tattooing a constant stream of people on Saturday.
"This whole convention, it's very laid back and it's a lot of fun," he said. "There's definitely enough work to go around."
Events continue today from noon to 8 p.m. at the hotel, with contests for best tattoo at 1 p.m. and the best tattoo of the day at 5 p.m. For more information, visit electriccity tattooconvention.com/events.
Contact the writer: smcconnell@timesshamrock.com, @smcconnellTT on Twitter