JANESVILLE Janesvilles annual fall downtown art festival, Art Infusion, has a history of being tied to giant outdoor mural painting.
This year, an addition to has a new, smaller-format canvas thats more personal than the side of the building: skin.
The annual arts festivals organizers added tattoo artists downtown to Art Infusion, inviting three tattoo studios to participate, host special flash tattoo events, and compete in a Peoples Choice contest for best tattoo art.
Tattoo Obscura, Mint Ink Tattoo Studio, and Metanoia Tattoo Studio, all have joined in the art festival. Some body-ink artists were hard at work on Friday as Art Infusion kicked off.
Tattoo Artist Megan Lily loves the idea of joining a local arts festival.
When she moved to Janesville, she said one of the first things that caught her eye was the downtowns many colorful murals the bulk of which, 30 murals now, were painted during part of past Art Infusion weeks over the last five years.
Lily said she finds inspiration from the bright-painted walls along downtowns riverfront.
It made me feel really happy when I first came here to see that so much public art has found its way into a small downtown, Lily said.
Art Infusion, hosted by the Janesville Area Convention and Visitors Bureau. It runs all weekend and includes three new murals being painted in downtown, at the Woodmans Center, and at the citys Youth Sports Complex off Wuthering Hills Drive on the citys east side.
Alongside Art Infusion bringing a trio of new murals, the weekend event includes chalk artists a trio of art teachers wholl demonstrate chalk art techniques at Firehouse Park at 113 N. Main St.
Art Infusion also hosts a public sidewalk chalk contest for families to join in the color splash downtown. Adults and children 10 and older can register for a fee in the morning on both Saturday and Sunday to compete in chalk art downtown, with cash prizes awarded for best chalk art in multiple age categories on Sunday afternoon.
Art Infusions chalk art warms Lilys heart, even if its not her chosen medium. It reminds her of youth.
Much of the tattoo art she designs, by her own description, brings forth a blend of nature and animals through a lens of childlike whimsy. Her tattoo flash sales during Art Infusion include frogs sipping from teacups and rabbits and insects frolicking on playgrounds of flowers and leaves.
But the chalk? Lily learned to be an artist from her grandmother, Rosie, an art teacher who Lily said hosted summer camps to teach children how to draw and color with chalk.
Her name, Rosie, inspired my first tattoo, a rose, Lily said.
Lily worked on a tattoo, a simple, black-ink design of a tree frog she created on Whitewater resident Morgan Shores outer elbow.
Lily said tattoo artists are entering Janesville-history themed tattoos in Art Infusion for the festivals Peoples Choice award.
She said her week got sewn up with client bookings for the events flash sales before she had a chance to dream up a tattoo design thats signature Janesville.
Then she learned Janesville is nicknamed The Park City, which gives her hope that some of her tea-sipping woodland frog tattoo designs might feel right at home, at least conceptually.
Lily said she just hopes the tattoo side of Art Infusion brings a spirit of variety, creativity and good memories for Janesvilles tattoo artists and their clients, who will be the living canvas for their unique, mini-mural art.
Its great, and kind of an honor to see some of our towns (tattoo) shops included in being considered local artists, and joining in this creation of art, Lily said.