Inaugural tattoo contest brings out the ugly

Did you get your tattoo from the guy working out of a pigeon coop? Did your brother-in-law start his tattoo career with your tattoo?

Such were the questions that sparked the idea for Sonoma County’s inaugural Ugly Tattoo Contest, started by longtime Sonoma tattoo artist Shotsie Gorman.

“We wanted to start something creative and fun, and give people a chance to say, ‘yeah, I made a mistake and I have this ugly tattoo,’?” Gorman said. “During my 37 years of tattooing, you’d be surprised how many people I’ve seen with tattoos from artists who have not been properly trained, or who have no experience.”

More than a dozen people lined up Sunday night at Burgers and Vine in Sonoma to compete for the unlikely prize - ugliest tattoo.

“This is about mistakes. I mean, we’ve all done things we wish we could take away,” Gorman said. “But we also wanted to celebrate the mistakes; there’s a lot of pressure to be perfect in today’s culture.”

Gina Panelli, 40, of Sonoma, won first place for her faded tattoo depicting two women posing around her belly button, an image she chose when she was 20.

“It doesn’t really mean anything, it’s just a part of who I was at that age,” said Panelli - 20 years and two kids later. “Now I want something more meaningful, more significant.”

Panelli won $400 in cover-up tattoo work from Gorman for the top prize. She said she’s looking forward to planning her future body work with Gorman, who owns Tarot, Art and Tattoo Gallery on Highway 12 in Agua Caliente with his wife Kristine.

“I haven’t had the money to cover it up, so I haven’t really thought about what I want,” Panelli said. “I’m excited to get some guidance.”

Four judges chose Panelli’s tattoo as the worst out of 13 total entries. Amber McCurdy took second place for her tattoo of multicolored shooting stars on her foot, and Ryan Faye took third place for lettering tattooed across his chest that had grown faded.

Gorman said he organized the event also to bridge competitive divides in the tattoo scene by inviting judges from different shops, from the Bay Area and beyond. Judges came out this weekend from shops including The Golden Owl Tattoo in Napa, American Dream Tattoo in Petaluma, Wild Bill’s Tattoo in Roseville and Sacred Rose in Berkeley. Gorman said the interest this year’s event has generated gives him hope that he can continue hosting the contest in the future - perhaps as an annual event.

“Things are changing dramatically in the tattoo business, so I wanted to do something to bring tattoo artists together, who otherwise might be competing,” Gorman said. “The response so far has been unbelievable.”

Scott Sprouse, one of four judges at Sunday’s competition, drove to Sonoma from Roseville for the event, in part, because it’s a different concept in tattooing.

“There are a lot of ugly tattoos out there,” Sprouse said. “This gives people a chance to show them off.”