My Ink Is Bigger than Yours

The first prick stings your skin. Hurting more than a typical shot from your MD, it might bring a tear to a virgin’s eye, but a seasoned pro knows the pain from a tattoo artist’s needle smarts way less than a stab from an angry lover’s butter knife. For some, the pain is a rush; for others, just a throbbing means to an expressive, creative, or rebellious end. The art began in 18th-century Polynesian culture, but modern-day grandmas and teens from the Magic City to Main Street are all getting in on the action.

This Friday through Sunday, inkers and inkees from all walks of life will descend on the Miami Beach Convention Center for the 2009 Miami Tattoo Expo. You can gawk at all the dope body art or enter yours in the Tattoo of the Day contest if you think your tribal piece on your lower back is the shiznit. Jim Jones, Evergreen Terrace, DJ Laz, and others will provide the soundtrack, while performances by Shameless Burlesque and Way Wicked Body Art will take care of the eye candy. Tickets cost $20 a day or $50 for a weekend pass. Visit www.miamitattooexpo.com for a full schedule of events.
Jan. 9-11, 2009