WORLEY — The tattoo gun buzzing a new design into Doug Cannon's right forearm was inaudible among the many other tattoo machines at work Saturday afternoon.

He closed his eyes from time to time, sitting as still as a statue as Black Matter Tattoo artist Jayme Goodson stopped, checked his work, wiped Cannon's arm and started again.

"This is just something I've been wanting to do for many years to show my journey,” said Cannon, whose arm was slowly becoming the new permanent canvas for a gnarled tree.

"It’s the tree that represents life and death,” said Cannon, of Hayden. "I’m a recovering addict — painkillers — and in my mind, the death represents where I was, and the life represents what I am now, a new lease on life. We’re going to also put a saying on it that says, ‘Sometimes you have to fight a battle more than once to win it.’ That’s by Margaret Thatcher."

Whether it was a full back piece of a samurai warrior, a "Star Wars" tribute, a flirty floral design or something completely different, the roughly 200 tattoo artists

at the All Hallows Tattoo Expo in the Coeur d'Alene Casino event center were quite busy throughout the day.

"I think it's looking great," said Sharon Gregg of Hayden, who wandered through to check out the different booths and tattoos being worked on. "There are a lot of interesting things to see. I'm looking forward to seeing the freak show."

This is the debut year for the Halloween-themed expo, which opened Friday and continues today from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Presented by Artful Dodger Tattoo and One Nation Under Ink, its organizers are planning to host the expo again next year with the goal of making it a permanent seasonal tradition.

“What I wanted to do was throw an end-of-the-year Halloween party for all of my friends that we get to tattoo at,” said Lucky Barnard, owner of Artful Dodger. “Why not throw a Halloween party as a road-end for traveling tattoo artists?"

Barnard, of Coeur d'Alene, has spent two decades in the tattoo industry. He said big factors behind the expo are the need to build community between shops, the need to build relationships between professionals and the community at large and the importance of promoting education on a variety of tattoo topics, including sterility, art quality and legislation.

"By doing events like this and bringing lots of people into one room where they can see all the artists from the area and out of the area, it gives them an opportunity to go, 'OK, this is what it’s supposed to be like," he said. "But I also want to have fun. I love Halloween, I always have."

The event center is lined with booths decorated for the season, with zombies and creepy clowns, skulls and bowls of candy sprinkled throughout.

The All Hallows contests begin this afternoon, with best costume at 1 p.m., best booth decorating at 1:30 p.m. and several tattoo contests later in the afternoon. Entertainment will be provided by the Wreckless Freeks of Seattle.

"There’s a lady hanging disco balls from her eye sockets while she’s walking on a bed of nails, a bearded woman smashing cinder blocks on her head,” Barnard said. “It’s legit.”

Merchandise vendors are on site with a variety of clothing, tattooing equipment, artwork and more.

Tickets are $15 at the door. Children 12 and younger are free with a paying adult.

Info: www.cdacasino.com/event/hallows-tattoo-expo