It used to be that tattoo's were the staple of society's rebels, those who liked to live on the edge and weren't shy about showing it. But in recent years that seems to have changed; tattooing has gone mainstream.

For anyone in the market for a tattoo, the Fresno Tattoo Expo was the place to get inked this weekend.

The show featured 74 booths and hundreds of tattoo artists from all over the country.

Promoter Chris Earl said he couldn't be happier with the turn-out.“Every year it seems to get better and better. Fresno really embraces the convention and it turns out really good,” Earl said.

And the show definitely wasn't just for browsing. People like Erica Garitano came with a mission and an idea. On Sunday she was putting the finishing touches on a dragon down her side for her dad. When asked if it hurt, she confidently responded, “Not right now…it’s really not too bad right now.”

The expo also drew some big names in the tattoo industry. Cory Miller works in southern California and is one of the featured artists on the hit reality TV show “L.A. Ink”.

“There are excellent artists here that come from a lot further than L.A.,” said Miller, as he carefully sketched a design.

As soon as people found out, there was a mad rush to have some of his art on their bodies.
“I made about four or five people happy and probably disappointed 100 of ‘em,” laughed Miller.

Whether it's Miller or another artist who’s doing the creating, Earl says more and more people are willing to offer up their bodies as a blank canvas. “Some people do it for the expression of freedom or rebellion...now it’s getting so widely accepted that everybody's starting to do it.”