Butte abuzz for first-ever Montana Tattoo and Western Arts Rendezvous

Tattoo guns hummed, flash sheets were flipped through and artists cooked up designs while waiting for clients.

The Copper King Hotel and Convention Center was abuzz with over 100 tattoo artists who came from across the country for the very first Montana Tattoo and Western Arts Rendezvous.

“Butte is showing up,” said Nate Drew, one of the event’s organizers.

Drew, who works as an artist out of Lost Art Tattoo in Salt Lake City, and co-organizer Thad Robison have for several years put on the Salt Lake City Tattoo Expo.

When Drew moved to Wolf Creek, he said he kind of fell in love with Butte. So the organizers decided to try hosting an event in Butte, with a focus on bringing out Montana artists.

“Butte is the center of the spoke of the wagon wheel of Montana,” Drew said.

Whitefish-based tattoo artist Thomas Titus hand-painted the design for the poster and merchandise sold at the event. In addition to tattooing, art for sale ranged from earrings made from scavenged bones to fine art prints from Bozeman-based artist Emily Gonzales' "The Brave One" tarot deck series, a project focused on conjuring the spirit of Indigenous people from the past.

Being able to bring artists from all over Montana and the country to Butte’s backyard is a big reason for attendees to come out to the event, according to Drew.

Artist information and booking was available ahead of the event, and some artists came into the weekend fully booked. Artists took walk-ins based on availability; most artists enjoy doing so, according to Cristine Lewis, who helps manage volunteers at the Salt Lake expo.

“Several of the artists came with material specific to the area,” said Lewis as she talked about flash sheets drawn up specifically to cater to walk-ins for the weekend’s event.

“I think it really ups the game here in Montana, because there’s some great artists in Montana that a lot of people haven’t heard about,” said Drew.