Motorcycle enthusiast puts new spin on event
BECCA MARTIN-BROWN
bmartin@nwadg.com
Tina Archer-Cope says her dad “has always owned something with two wheels,” so an affinity for motorcycles came naturally to her — even though she took the long route to riding.
“I got on a motorcycle my freshman year of college and then didn’t get back on and own my own until just six years ago,” says the Fayetteville businesswoman. “I always enjoyed the freedom of being out on a country road, feeling the wind in my face. I am sure it’s similar to how people feel that own a convertible, but the rumble of the motorcycle and the excitement of riding something not everyone can ride was what drew me to it all!
“Much of society that does not ride assume that all riders have some bad attitude or reckless lifestyle,” she says, adding that no one would mistake her for that stereotypical “biker.”
“I am a stepmother to two amazing kids; I work as a director of sales in my day-to-day job; I am an avid kayaker, nature lover and conservationist,” she says. “The daughter of an arborist and the wife to a land surveyor,” she was recently accepted to the Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce’s Leadership Fayetteville Class No. 32.
“I ride because I am drawn to adventure, and riding a motorcycle is a new adventure each time you ride!”
As the director of sales for the Fayetteville Town Center, Archer-Cope’s involvement in Bikes, Blues & BBQ came as naturally as jumping on her Harley-Davidson Custom Sportster.
“When I joined the Fayetteville Town Center staff, I asked what we had going on for the rally — and the answer was ‘nothing,’” she says. “We had 14,000 square feet doing nothing. How could we activate that?”
She hit upon a unique answer.
“I knew that art and motorcycles went together, so I stepped out and curated an event idea that has become Ink & Art in the Ozarks,” she says. “Did people think I was crazy? Yes, most certainly! Is it coming together for the community? Yes, in tremendous ways.”
The idea started inside the Town Center with a showcase of tattoo artists — she expects 30 veteran and rising-star artists, some of whom will be tattooing live — but the “activations” have spread out to Mountain Street, where classic cars will be on show.
“Once you get on the plaza, we’ll have performing arts and music — blues artists, turntable mix artists — and in the lobby, we’ll have an art gallery with woodworkers and jewelry makers — all kinds of art,” she says with enthusiasm.
One of the tattoo artists is Lex Ly, a Fort Smith native who moved to Florida when she was 14 and back to Northwest Arkansas at 28. Now 34, she’s about to open her own tattoo business this fall.
She laughs and says she doesn’t own a motorcycle, but she does have other people’s artwork on her body and has ever since she got her first tattoo of fish — she’s a Pisces — at the age of 18. Becoming a tattoo artist just required finding the opportunity for an apprenticeship, which she has now completed.
“I’ve always been interested in art, and tattoo is just another medium,” she says. “Instead of paper or canvas, I’m using human skin.”
Archer-Cope says she wants the Ink & Art event to inspire “an overall engagement of the arts on all levels. From muralists to sculptors to tattoo artists to motorcycle builds, it’s all art, and each of us have our own version of what it looks like.”
Courtesy photos
Up-and-coming tattoo artist Lex Ly of Fayetteville will be among professionals tattooing live at the Fayetteville Town Center during the first Ink & Art in the Ozarks. She recently completed this owl for a local client.
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FAQ
Ink & Art in the Ozarks
WHEN — 9 a.m.-midnight Sept. 28 & 29; 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Sept. 30
WHERE — In and around the Fayetteville Town Center on the downtown square
COST — $10 advance; $15 at the gate
INFO — 935-4527 or facebook.com/events/228395761046635
BONUS — Inked magazine will be on site conducting a model search led by featured Inked magazine model, Monica Zamora.
