A Glance into Star of Texas Tattoo Revival
At A Glance
Star of Texas Tattoo Revival
Most every Texas Artist has heard of, been part of, or wished to be present at Star of Texas Tattoo Revival. This long standing invitational has a reputation of bringing tattoo artist together in a true family fashion. A show this amazing has to be run by a badass… Well, it is!
Marcy aka “Moose”, started Star of Texas 18 years ago. THAT is some dedication and deserves a little pat on the back. Keep reading to see how she has pulled it off, and plans for the future.
This Marks the 18th year of the Star of Texas, the longest running and first Invite only show in Texas. How Exciting is this!!!!
It's crazy that it has been 18 years already and amazing how far tattooing has come both in artistry and acceptance!
How do you keep a show running this long with top tier artists!
I think it's a combination of several things. From the beginning the idea was to promote as ART ART ART not come oggle the freaks, and to show hospitality to the artists----little things like asking people who they want to be next to (or don't want to be next to haha) and then encouraging people to take down the dividers between booths and create a more family like atmosphere, goes a long way. Also lucky, I was heavily involved as things started to rapidly evolve. I'm a screen printer by trade and in the 90's was lucky enough to start the merchandising of tattooists as we know it today---doing a shirt line for Guy Aitchison started the ball rolling at a time when flash was really the only things most artists had for sale. Soon I was producing shirt lines for Paul Booth, Little Vinnie, Bob Tyrell, Markus Pacheco, Timothy Hoyer and on and on. This gave me a really amazing talent pool to draw from when we started and though most of those artists no longer tour much it set a great standard that people wanted to be part of.
Then there's Austin itself, that was another reason I did the show in the first place, to show my friends how great Austin is! One of those artists that I've know forever is Keith Underwood, he actually met his wife at my show and moved to Austin. Keith has now added another great unique event to the weekend with his Tattooed Gloves Boxing.
For a newcomer, that has never been to a tattoo convention, what can they except to see?
For a newcomer it's a great way to view all of the possibilities tattooing has to offer from black and grey to traditional to Japanese to portraits to smooth neo-traditional and modern pointillism and beyond in a fun setting with no pressure---with the option of actually getting tattooed if the mood strikes! Beyond that, we always make the show a visual overload with art and other displays like hot rods and choppers and a taste of all manner of alternative entertainment, form burlesque to sideshow, bellydance to drag show and unique vendors. We also try to keep the tattoo contests fun for those watching and try to make those participating comfortable.
There are a ton of Texas shows now, yet every year artists look forward to SOT how do you keep yours fresh and popular?
Aside from things I've already mentioned I think it has a reputation as both a fun and busy show. I have a great crew that treat both the artists and public respectfully and we promote heavily to help insure artists stay busy.
Who are some of the artists you are most excited to see again this year?
I don't like to play favorites but I'm really happy Dana Brunson is coming back this year. Dana is old school but still the epitome of living life to the fullest. He certainly doesn't NEED to go to any shows so the fact that he wanted to come back to Austin means a lot. Dana is living tattoo history and he still loves it. (and does beautiful tattoos!) Also thrilled that a few of my good friends form the 90's are coming this year, I used to travel to shows all over Europe with Matthew Wojciechowski , he's coming down from DC. Tim McCarthy from Tsunami Tattoo in Tacoma Washington is bringing his whole shop down.
The flyer designs are always top notch! Who made this years flyer? Do you give them an idea or do they just freely create?
Joey Ortega has painted the designs for the poster since 2007 and always kills it! We joke every year now about how are we going to top the previous year, but he always does. We've worked together long enough now that there are usually just a couple vague ideas talked about in advance and then Joey just runs with it. Once scanned, I do the actual poster layout and lettering.
How different are the shows of today vs 18 years ago?
Well first tattooing is much more excepted these days, on TV and all, so shows have gotten bigger and the fan base has become much more diverse. Young artists have no idea what it was like to be heavily tattooed 30 years ago----to have the police called when you stop for gas in Nebraska because your hair is flaming red and you have tattoos haha. In the early days of conventions there was a strong community bond---each show was kind of the misfit family reunion, and you really only had 4 or 5 shows a year in the country, we all traveled to them. Now shows have become very regional. Artists still travel ,which makes it a great opportunity for collectors to get work from someone distant, but the majority of patrons are local, though we still get a decent amount that travel to Austin just to attend which makes me feel really good. Also, never by design, but Star of Texas has a bigger percentage of female artists than most shows----not sure if that's because it's female run or because we try to promote art and diversity and provide a comfortable environment, but that too makes me happy.
Anything extra or special you want to share with us about this years show? Want to share some future plans?
The biggest thing about this year is the size of the show itself. We are moving to the bigger Hall 1 at the Palmer Events Center, which nearly doubles our square footage! Beyond that, we always try to introduce new flavors to the show, like bringing in a Drag Show 2 years ago and Alternative Comedy last year---just always want to give people more added value.
I'm excited to bring in special guest artist Coop this year---his beautifully concise drawing style and especially his devils and devil girls heavily influenced tattoos and tattoo flash in the 90s and continues to influence today. I would certainly like to bring in more alternative artists in the future because I think it's all quite complimentary to tattooing and the custom culture in general.
