Maria Connors

If you played a word association game with the phrase ‘botanical garden’, one idea that would certainly fall close to the end of your list is ‘tattoo convention’. The connotations attached to each phrase may seem paradoxical, and the concepts hardly sound compatible. And yet, Tower Hill Botanical Garden is defying stereotypes and radicalizing the use of botanical gardens to display a myriad of flower-inspired tattoos in their second Botanical Tattoo Weekend.

The second iteration of the event is scheduled for the weekend of July 20th, with programming running Saturday through Sunday. The event will showcase an expanded variety of the artists and activities offered at the first Botanical Tattoo Weekend in 2017.

Kirsten Swartz, Events Manager of Tower Hill Botanical Garden, spoke about the event. Tattoo artists are given an inventory of all of the flowers currently in bloom at Tower Hill to inspire their work. Swartz said that one of her favorites parts of the event is seeing people take pictures of their new tattoos alongside the flower it was based on. Live tattoo demonstrations showing artists connecting with botanical illustrations attract many people to the event, but there are also ways to participate that are a little less permanent. The event boasts a beer garden, live music, food, and walking tours of the garden throughout the day. Face painting and henna will be available, as well as arts and crafts activities, like flower printmaking, for a younger generation of tattoo lovers and blossoming botany experts.

Swartz is excited to announce that the weekend is going to be “bigger and better” than the first, with three art workshops hosted every day instead of just one. The art exhibit, that showcases both local and international talent, will be on display from mid-July to mid-September. When asked about the general response to the event, Swartz said of the first Botanical Tattoo Weekend, “It was surprising to a lot of people internally, which is why we were kind of conservative the first time around.” The success of the first event firmly established it as a weekend worth repeating; Swartz is excited about the future of the event and the new faces it will bring to the garden. She said the last event attracted “a lot of younger people and a lot of students” and that many memberships, including student memberships, were sold that day. She said that this is “a good sign the event resonates with people”, which has helped inspire its growth.

Several tattoo artists who are participating in the tattoo weekend spoke about their expectations for the event. Zafera Kambouris of North Moon Tattoo Studio is passionate about botanical tattooing, and was drawn to the event when it was first held in 2017. She described being honored that Tower Hill invited her to be one of their featured artists,“I always said that if I could tattoo flowers every day, I’ve made it.” Since most tattoo conventions are held in cities, she was especially excited about having a direct connection to the outdoors and nature during this event.

Irene Peterson of Zaza Ink described the event as more of an “artistic demonstration of tattooing”, and is looking forward to potential clientele being able to identify different artists and styles that resonate with them.

Meanwhile, Cassandra Warren of Siren and Sea Tattoo Studio said that her “favorite things to tattoo are plants and animals”. She hopes that the diverse crowd will help people see tattoos “as actual pieces of art”, rather than just skulls and gore. Warren hopes this weekend will be an educational experience for everyone, herself included, and she wants to inspire people to ask questions about her work and that of her fellow tattoo artists.

Swartz explained that Tower Hill Botanical Garden has a reputation of being “a garden on a hill”, and not necessarily connecting with their community. She stated that, “we’ve done a lot in the past five years to get past that reputation”, and hopes that events like the Botanical Tattoo Weekend will make Tower Hill more attractive and accessible to different groups. Tower Hill has hosted events in the past that, while being well attended, had not exhibited growth in membership numbers. According to Swartz the Botanical Tattoo Weekend, “really spoke to people.” Tower Hill is not only invested in introducing people to their garden, but giving them a reason to come back. Swartz is confident in Tower Hill’s ability to continue appealing to different communities in this way. She said, “if what we’re doing isn’t relevant to people, then there’s no reason to do it.”