Needles and Skins

LA Ink and Ink Master are entertaining ways to gawk at (mostly) good tattoos, but the real fun comes from shows like Tattoo Nightmares, which shows how sometimes awful work can be salvaged into something great. Unfortunately you’re usually stuck with a bad tattoo -- unless you want a large,...

By Melissa Fossum

May 2, 2013

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LA Ink and Ink Master are entertaining ways to gawk at (mostly) good tattoos, but the real fun comes from shows like Tattoo Nightmares, which shows how sometimes awful work can be salvaged into something great. Unfortunately you’re usually stuck with a bad tattoo -- unless you want a large, dark coverup or costly and painful laser tattoo removal.

Great artists are few and far between, but they'll be easy to find at the 13th annual Arizona Tattoo Expo. Big Gus from Tattoo Nightmares will be there to offer sage advice and original work, alongside more than 150 other tattoo artists. Also on the body-mod schedule are a flesh-hook performance by Life Suspended, tattoo competitions, and henna tattoos for the less committed.

Fri., May 3, 3-11 p.m.; Sat., May 4, 12-11 p.m.; Sun., May 5, 12-8 p.m., 2013

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