It isn’t everyday that you can enter the exhibit hall at the Kern County Fairgrounds and be found among hundreds of vibrating tattoo needles sounding off all at once.

Getting a tattoo traditionally is done in a tattoo shop; however, this wasn’t the case on this particular occasion.

Tattoo artists exhibited their talent at the second annual Bakersfield Tattoo Expo last weekend.

Artists from Northern and Southern California displayed various tattoo related drawings, paintings, photographs and lastly rendered their services to paying customers.

Tattoo artists have a $50 minimum. The pricing depends on the size and style of the tattoo selected.

There are so many different styles, colors and designs to choose from. Almost all tattoo artists offer skeletons, flowers, crosses, symbols, portraits and anything else you can think of. Narrowing down your options can be quite difficult.

Cindy Becker, 36, chose to get a clover with a skull in the middle on her right arm. “I try to get tattoos on places that aren’t that painful,” Becker said.

Despite pain, other tattoo enthusiasts chose to get tattoos on their heads, arms, legs, necks, chests, backs and breasts.

The Healing Art Foundation offers art for a cure.

Aimee Shaw, 32, is a breast cancer survivor who has opted to have tattoos cover up her bi-lateral mastectomy instead of reconstruction. Shaw was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2003.

The foundation has helped Shaw find a tattooist and also has paid for the entire cost.

“For me, it’s more than covering up scars. It’s more about healing. I don’t want to act like it didn’t happen to me,” Shaw said.

Shaw’s tattoo is only one-third of the way done. She has a sunset on her back that loops around her neck down to her frontal area and turns into Jesus’ hands on opposite sides, which meet at the site of her mastectomy.

The Healing Art Foundation was founded in March 2001 by France Garcia and Al “Tat Dude” Garcia in memory of their cousin Monica Terrazas.

The foundation offers breast cancer survivors the opportunity to fill their void by providing tattoos, permanent makeup, areola re-pigmentation and coverups.

Currently, the foundation is in the process of opening a private tattoo studio, which will cater to the needs of breast cancer survivors. They also are starting a petition to have medical insurance offer the option of covering the cost of getting a tattoo (for breast cancer survivors) instead of having reconstructive surgery.

“It is way cheaper to get a tattoo to cover up a breast mastectomy than to have reconstructive surgery,” Garcia said.