Inked southern Alberta woman in the running for magazine cover competition

A matching family symbol was the start of the Maria Bishop’s love for ink.

“I got my first one when I was sixteen,” said Bishop.

Now 41 tattoos later, the single mother of three is hoping to show off her body art on the world stage for the cover of Inked Magazine.

“It’s a pretty cool magazine — you go into a tattoo shop and it’s there,” said Bishop.

The annual spotlight competition gives contestants the chance to win a cover shoot and $25,000.

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The public votes for their favorite model.

Now sitting in first place in her group, Bishop has the chance to be the first Blackfoot woman to win.

“We come from Standoff, (Alta.,) and it’s pretty rough, so to show the people from there that you can actually do things and get farther,” said Bishop.

1:44 Calgary woman hopes to become Inked magazine’s cover girl

Throughout the competition, Bishop has seen a lot of support from neighbors in Fort Macleod.

“I’m proud that they’re helping support this because not everyone’s into tattoos either, but it’s pretty cool,” said Bishop.

The majority of her body art comes from southern Alberta, she expects a win could show off local artists to an international audience.

Bishop hopes to see southern Albertans show her their support by voting at cover.inkmag.com