MANSFIELD — The sound of humming needles filled the second floor of the historic Ohio State Reformatory this weekend as Inkcarceration returned to Mansfield for the seventh edition of the festival.
More than 40 tattoo companies were invited to take part this year, headlined by artist Paul Booth.
Booth, also known as the “dark lord of ink,” is notable for the chest piece he did on Corey Taylor, the lead singer of Saturday’s headliner, Slipknot.
The second floor’s Central Guard Room hosts the event with all of the artists stationed throughout the space. Each artist offers a unique experience with endless styles and art pieces to choose from.
(The photos below were taken by Nathan Zucker and shared here courtesy of Inkcarceration. The story continues below these photos)
The tattoo festival includes various contests throughout the weekend including black and white, color and portrait.
This year also includes a raffle for a Corey Taylor-inspired piece. Appointments are booked through each individual artist, and many of them are fully booked for the entire weekend.
The artists arrived between Thursday and Friday to make sure their stations were adequately set up for the long weekend of work. Several steps are taken to make sure the area is safe and clean for tattoos.
“The health department comes down here and checks all the booths before the event starts,” Paul Kirk said.
Kirk, the owner of Bare Knuckles Tattoo, is based out of West Virginia.
“I grew up on the west side of Cleveland but this is actually my first time at the Reformatory.”
Kirk has been tattooing for nearly 20 years and enjoyed being able to showcase his art in such a historic structure.
(Below are photos taken Friday afternoon during the Inkcarceration Music & Tattoo Festival at the historic Ohio State Reformatory, including a look inside the Monster Energy Tattoo X.)
