TATTOO artists from Mindanao and Cebu showed off their skills at the event center of Limketkai Mall, Cagayan de Oro City as NorthInk CDO arranged one of the biggest tattoo competitions in the region this year.
The Ink Blast Summer Tattoo Competition, which was held on Sunday, May 6, featured a total of 117 tattoo artists from Cagayan de Oro City, Misamis Oriental, Ozamiz City, Zamboanga, Bukidnon, Cebu, and other areas.
According to Sylvester Maceren, owner of NorthInk CDO and organizer of Ink Blast, they were able to break the previous record in the most number of tattoo artist participants in a competition in Mindanao, with the previous count at 114.
“Wala ko nag expect nga moabot og 117 kay gamay ra ang akong kaila nga mga artist diri. Usually kung first time nga event nga wala nailhan ang nag-organize, daghan na ang 70, so nag expect ko 70,” Maceren said.
(I didn't expect that the participants will reach to 117 because I only know few artists here. Usually, if the event organizer does the competition for the first time, 70 is already many, so I expected it to be just 70.)
“Wala ko ga expect og ing ani kadaghan, mao nang na pressure ko gamay karon kay daghan kaayo then basin dili nako ma-meet ang ilang expectations sa event. Then first nako nga event so na tense ko gamay,” he added.
(I wasn't expecting this, so I was pressured a little fearing that they may not meet their expectations to the event,and this is my first event, so I am a bit tensed.)
With Sci-Fi (science fiction) as the theme for the competition, the tattoo artists spent almost eight hours drawing science fictional characters in the skin of their models.
Ink Blast has three categories: Newbie, Non-Professional and Professional, with each of them have two sub-categories, Black and Gray, and Colored.
Maceren invited four tattoo experts, namely: tattoo champions Michael Oblifias, Onat Alvarez Tano, and Jes Osilao, and Mindanao Association of Tattoo Artist founder Jesus Carlo Ligaya to judge the participants based on the execution and the placement of the tattoo design, its color harmony, combination, and others.
The winners
The judges picked the top nine for each of the three category where they selected the champions for the competition.
For the Newbie Category, Kagay-anon artists Ronald Lagura and Kingstone Cinco won as champions for Black and Gray and Colored, respectively. They each received a cash prize worth P2,000, certificate and a Star Wars designed trophy.
Non-Professional: Jan Lester Caylan from Zamboanga (Black and Gray) and Yandel S Tattoo (Colored). Each were given P3,000 cash prize, trophy and certificate.
Professional: Jefrey Actub (Black and Gray) and Ibarra Fuertes (Colored). Each received a cash prize worth P5,000, trophy, certificate, and tattoo supplies.
Lagura, who was the owner of Vibe Lounge Vape and Ink, said he did not expect to win as champion as it was his first time participating in a tattoo competition.
“Wala ko magdahom nga ma champion diay ko. So na shock kaayo ko. Ang ako lang kay experience,” Lagura said.
(I did not expect to be the champion, so I was shocked. For me it was only for experience.)
His winning piece is his original design which was a portrait of a lady and owl. Lagura has been doing tattoo for three years.
Fuertes, who came all the way from Ozamiz, for his part, said that he was happy as well as shocked that he won as the champion for Professional Colored Category of Ink Blast.
“Masaya tapos hindi makapaniwala kasi sobrang dami yung lumahok pero papaano thankful pa rin nanalo,” Fuertes said.
(I am happy and I could not believe because there are many participants, but somehow I am thankful that I won.)
His winning piece for Ink Blast is a portrait of Thanos, the supervillain in the movies Avengers Infinity War and Endgame.
“Idol ko kasi si Thanos. Mas gusto ko kasi yung mga villains kaysa sa mga bida,” he said.
(Thanos is my idol, I like villains more than heroes.)
Fuertes has been a tattoo artist for four years, owning a tattoo shop in Ozamiz, Ibarra's Skin Art, and has been participating in several tattoo competitions.
“Malaking tulong yung pagsali sa mga competitions, nahahasa rin yung galing mo, na-enhance ang talent mo at syempre marami ka nang makakilalang mga artist at exposure na rin,” Fuertes said.
(Joining competitions can help a lot, your skills can be improved, your talents will enhance, and of course you will meet more artists and get exposures.)
Advise for newbie or amateur tattoo artists: “Patuloy lang, sipag lang, tapos dasal, tapos dapat dedicated sa mga trabaho nila, dapat sa puso talaga yung trabaho, hindi lang yung pera lang yung habol. Sipag lang, walang imposible.”
(Just continue, be diligent, then you pray and be dedicated to their work, and put it in their hearts. Don't just work for money, just be hardworking, and there will be no impossible.)
It was a successful Sunday for Maceren. And although he, himself, admitted that there were some lapses or problems he encountered during the competition, it was still a success.
“Maingon gyud ko nga successful kung i-compare sya sa other events na akong na experience, makaingon ko nga successful gyud sya,” Maceren said, adding that next time, he will be ready and will do his best to avoid any problems from happening.
(I can say that it's successful, because if you compare it to the other events that I have experienced).