Tattoo mavens painting the town Aficionados gather at Portland convention

PORTLAND – Looking for a way to cure the winter blues? How about a colorful tattoo on your arm, belly or, well, you get the idea.

Hundreds of folks will be getting tattoos this weekend as Portland hosts one of the nation’s largest conventions of tattoo artists, the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party, at the Italian Heritage Center.

The goal is “to show people what tattooing can be like, that it’s nothing to be afraid of,” said Lou Robbins, owner of the Mad Hatter’s Tattoo Studio in Old Orchard Beach, who started the annual convention 14 years ago.

Artists from New Zealand, Great Britain, Germany and South Africa will join New England tattoo artists in showing off their stuff.

The prices start at $100 and go up from there, depending mainly on the amount of time that it takes to create a tattoo, Robbins said.

It won’t be all ink, though.

There will be seminars on sterilization techniques, art techniques, tribal tattoos and tuning up equipment, along with plenty of food, entertainment and tattoo contests.

Robbins started the Mad Hatter’s Tea Parties at the suggestion of a tattoo artist, Paula Mills, who used to work for him.

“We wanted something to do in the winter because it was slow in Old Orchard. As strange as it may seem, she got married and left and has been to only one tea party,” Robbins said.

About 400 attended the first convention. This year, Robbins expects between 2,500 and 3,000 people to visit the event from Friday through Sunday, when it draws to a conclusion.

This year’s convention comes at a time when body art – piercings and tattoos – have been growing in popularity. But people who want piercings will be disappointed. This is a tattoo-only party.

“Piercing is not body art. It’s just punching holes in your body. I don’t consider that artistic at all,” he said.