Hey everyone, I am not new to tattoos… I fell in love with them when I was a kid and have been hooked ever since I got my first tattoo at the age of 15. My Mom knew a tattoo artist from out of state who did tattoos out of his house (a little scary now that I think about it lol) but the second he was done I was looking through his flash books trying to pick out my next one. He just shook his head at me and said, “oh great, you’re one of those!” I had no idea what it was he was talking about but now 13+ tattoos later (two of them self inflicted) I’m thinking I get what he was hinting at. lol
Anyway, I have been into art even longer than tattoos and right out of high school I started to attend the Academy of Art in San Francisco for graphic design. A pretty penny in debt and a couple years later and I decided that it wasn’t for me and I switched to the medical field. All along keeping my love for tattoos and art. Two kids, a marriage and a return to college later and I find myself with a tattoo machine and some intenze ink and a whole bunch of free skin on my legs. My husband took it upon himself to “gently push” me in the direction of being his personal tattooist and thought it would be nice to buy me a machine…. or 4. I was obsessed (still am) and I am deathly afraid of putting needle to skin on anyone other than him (he has it coming) or me (eh, I can live with my own stupidity).
So here I find myself trying to gleen some kind of advice or direction from those of you already out in the field and just not fuck up anyone’s skin.
CHEERS!
@CheshireGrin 137041 wrote:
So here I find myself trying to gleen some kind of advice or direction
Put the machine down and go get yourself an apprenticeship.
Welcome.
Questions about non-professional tattooing isn’t allowed on this forum. Only advice you’ll get is what buttwheat said. Tattooing is not a hobby.
Feel free to participate in all other discussions, but don’t post pics of tattoos you have done or ask questions about the tattooing process 🙂
@CheshireGrin 137041 wrote:
Hey everyone, I am not new to tattoos…
CHEERS!
welcome to the forum ! I just wanted to say hi because I live near Hillsdale & Madison. 😀
Lol it’s funny how you say welcome and then very clearlysay you are not welcome to do anything except appreciate our supposed superiority from afar. Truly everything I’ve heard about the community!
Anyway… on to worth while responses.
Hi Dan 🙂 thanks for the welcome. I’m new to the area and having a hell of a time fitting in anywhere. Met an awesome lady down at the grocery store and chatted about tats for a while but with both my kids in tow it wasn’t anything spectacular….and hello in the grocery store! Lol anyway, nice meeting you. 🙂
Ps to the others… I never said I wasn’t looking for a apprenticeship but I’m not going to start out introductions with “oh God, please take pity on me and let me mop your floors for the privilege to watch you work.” It’s just not my style and certainly nothing that I would respond warmly towards either. Oh and please don’t forget where the art of tattooing originated. In the beginning there were no apprentice programs or ways to break into the field until you proved your chops and got your feet wet. There’s more than one way to skin a cat.
@CheshireGrin 137050 wrote:
Lol it’s funny how you say welcome and then very clearlysay you are not welcome to do anything except appreciate our supposed superiority from afar. Truly everything I’ve heard about the community!
Not what I was trying to say at all, actually I don’t think any of our active members are tattoo artists either, so not sure what sort of superiority that would be :p
Looking for an apprenticeship one day myself, and know very well where the art originated, this just isn’t the forum to ask about technicalities 🙂
@poxphobia 137051 wrote:
Not what I was trying to say at all, actually I don’t think any of our active members are tattoo artists either, so not sure what sort of superiority that would be :p
Looking for an apprenticeship one day myself, and know very well where the art originated, this just isn’t the forum to ask about technicalities 🙂
I think perhaps you read my open mind and willingness to learn as me hounding practicing artists for their trade secrets…. that’s not at all what I meant nor would I do that seeing as how THEY worked hard for their experience and expertise not me. I don’t want anything I haven’t earned which is why I’m taking it upon myself to work two part time jobs, go to school full time for psych abs occupational therapy, raise two children AND dedicate any free time to my passion. I actually find it rather offensive when people assume that it’s a “hobby” merely because it’s not the only plate I have spinning. On average I get 3-4 hours sleep a night because I AM dedicated to everything I have going on and that’s not going to change anytime soon.
So let’s start over…
Hi my name is Raven, I’m a very very busy woman with a passion for tattoos and art and I’m doing everything in my power to make ALL my dreams come true while still being a good mom to my kids. My rash and impulsive husband bought me a couple machines in hopes that he could spark my passion again and I’ve been bitten by the bug. I’ll be trying to glean knowledge aka stalking the forums and reading every scrap of info people offer up of their own accord as well as critiquing any tattoos I see posted in my own head as if they were fine art in a museum (which I have tons of experience with). I have no intention of spamming the forums with crappy scratcher art or uninspired tattoo designs better suited for a dirty 1980’s boardwalk shop somewhere.
CHEERS!
Wow. Just because someone tells you something that you don’t like doesn’t mean that their response isn’t worthwhile. (Especially when you have been given the same advice when you posted something similiar on another forum of PROFESSIONAL TATTOO ARTISTS.)
There IS value in an apprenticeship. In fact I would say that it is invaluable. You point out that in the beginning there were no apprenticeships. In the beginning tattooing was illegal in many places because there were diseases being spread. In the beginning tattooing was a dirty business, because they didn’t know any better. Much has been learned the hard way, then the knowledge was passed down, artist to artist, so that those hard lessons no longer needed to be learned the hard way.
You don’t want to humble yourself to ask for an apprenticeship? The best tattoo artists that I have met are all very humble. They paid their dues to get where they are, some of them take in apprentices and teach them to become better artists, not better floor moppers. They share their knowledge with others who treat the craft with respect, not with those who show blatant disrespect.
As said above, tattooing is not a hobby. And every tattoo you do at home is disrespectful to those that make their living at it, that feed and clothe and care for their families with the income they get from doing it the right way.
There may be more than one way to skin a cat. But however you do it, the cat dies.
So, if you came here to share a passion for tattoos then I welcome you to the forum.
If you came here as part of your search to find someone somewhere who will tell you that learning to tattoo at home is an awesome idea then you are going to have to keep looking elsewhere. I think that those guys hang out at KitchenMagician.com
Perhaps if your interest lies in being an occupational therapist, you should cease being an amateur tattooist.
A woman (or man) can only have one master. If you wanted to be a surgeon, the smart thing is not to let someone give you a couple scalpels and go hog wild on someone’s appendix. If you desire to be an occupational therapist, you’re not going to also have a second congruent career as a psychologist and a third one as a tattoo artist. Ergo, something else would be a hobby – It’s not meant in a demeaning way.
So you’re a fine art critique as well as everything else? We’re quite graced with your presence. But you’re still scratching as an unlicensed artist. Sorry, toots.
@CheshireGrin 137041 wrote:
So here I find myself trying to gleen some kind of advice or direction from those of you already out in the field and just not fuck up anyone’s skin.
As it happens, I’m a Mod here and when a new member breaks a forum rule in their introduction post, I take it upon myself to kindly inform that this is against the rules. If you’re still unsure, please check out this thread; http://www.thetattooforum.com/unlicenced-tattoist-discussion-t10240.html Where the ADMIN of this forum quite clearly states there is a no tolerance policy.
So. I’m not questioning your passion, how you lead your life or any such thing at all, I’m simply pointing out that you can’t ask for that advice or directions you ask for, on this forum. You won’t find posts containing details about tattooing, as they are limited to a part of this forum that’s only open to licensed artists. Really nothing personal towards you or your choices at all, but I do believe what you are doing falls under the definition of hobby, as it’s non-professional, not how you make a living and you don’t make money of it. Aka, a hobby. No matter how serious you are about it or how good you are. I make quite a decent amount of money of drawing, but still consider it a hobby. It was really not meant to be offensive or degrading at all, I’m sorry you took it that way and I’ll try to be more clear.
You know it’s amazing how my words can get twisted so badly online. The only thing I can think of is that people are responding to small portions of my posts and not the entire thing??
I said I wasn’t going to introduce myself with “hey can I get an apprenticeship?” Not that I didn’t want one… that it would be rude to the professional artists out there if I did introduce myself that way.
I could honestly go all the way through and explain every single thing again but honestly what good would that do since you all have obviously made up your mind about me and my intentions without knowing me, my situation or asking for any clarification if you were in doubt of anything I had to say.
The only other thing I will say is that I came here with humility and an open mind simply stating that I have fine art training ie the classical arts ie that’s the proper academic term for it not my over inflated opinion of it or words for it and what I got on return was a crap ton of lambasting and a half hearted welcome. I didn’t come here to try and take any possession away from anyone else. I came here to be an observer, a learner… I don’t think I will be staying though because in this case a few bad apples HAVE ruined the whole bunch and put a very bad taste in my mouth about this forum as a whole. It’s NOT because I disagree with anything that is being said (mainly because I do agree with what’s being said) its because not a single one of you took the time to read what I had to say. I absorbed everything you guys had to say, read it and reread it… I didn’t even get an inch of wiggle room in return. So yeah, you guys are right. This ISN’T the place for me.
CHEERS!
I’m so sorry you got that impression. I was just trying to clarify why I responded the way I did, sorry if you felt I ignored the rest of what you wrote.
I’m always very impressed by someone who manages to work, get an education, raise children and have time for other passions as well, it sound utterly exhausting and I completely understand that going under an apprenticeship that’s mostly without pay, takes up a ton of time and is hard work would be extremely difficult in your situation, if not impossible, and I meant no disrespect towards your choices 🙂 This forum typically has a very serious look on tattooing, and I personally believe that while very many people wish to do it, very few can do it well, because it does require 100% dedication.
My welcome wasn’t meant to be half-hearted at all, I guess some of us have become a bit fazed after having quite a few non-professional tattooers on this forum who repeatedly break the forum rules, and as such, it’s hard to always see the differences. I read what you said, even though I quoted one line, I still read the whole thing. I just didn’t want there to be any misunderstandings I guess 🙂 But well, I see you’ve made up your mind. Good luck to you.
Welcome to the forum (to a point)
I served an apprenticeship as a plumber. Electricians, carpenters, and other building trades union’s have them. Just recently a friend was buying a house. The home inspector remarked the it was built by union builders. He could tell by the way the wiring, carpentry, etc. was done. Tattoos are the same. Yes, you may have to mop the floor, but during your apprenticeship you learn all the correct practices. You learn the details by watching and doing them. When you get a tattoo by an artist that served three or four years apprenticeship the work shows. Mopping the floor? It is pretty fucking important. If I go into a shop with a dirty floor I think that if they’re too lazy to clean the floor, what else don’t they clean? I also don’t go along with a quickie apprenticeship ,of only a few weeks.
Good luck. Keep us posted. (and Happy New Year)
Being new to the forum, I thought that I would put my perspective in, take it or leave it(it’s what forums are for). CheshireGrin I would agree becoming an apprentice would be a better course to take in becoming a full on professional tattoo artist…’BUT’ keep in mind that no matter where you go, or what you do…there will always be negativity thrown at you…which in the tattoo world, hipsters and trolls do in fact tend to gravitate, which means that’s what there will be, lots and LOTS of snark and negative nonsense.
Being a fly on the wall on multiple occasions while getting ink done has made it undeniable. If you have talent and drive, you need to find the right person to teach you the trade, yes.
On the other end of that thought, I know of ‘professional’ tattoo artists who I wouldn’t trust with a potato gun, let alone a tattoo gun and my skin. Since one member touched on the subject of other industries. For an example, I once worked in an auto shop where I got to know a 5’0″ tall Vietnamese man whom barely spoke English, no formal education, out work and out perform the most highly educated and certified ‘mechanics’ the shop foreman could find, every single day…not to say that an education is a bad thing, but it isn’t necessarily always exactly what people are sold it to be.
My point being, no matter what you do, learn to do it right. If you are great at something, you’ll notice the negative people are as utterly insignificant then as they are right this moment. You have to start somewhere. I’m not condoning scratching, but honestly how many high profile artists started the same way? (I really don’t know actually, genuine question).
If this is what you want to do on an acknowledged professional level, get licensed in whatever way is required (i have no idea what that would even be and I’m not asking here) Which regardless, professional or no, there will always be people speaking negatively…not because everyone is against you, but everyone is out for themselves. Not being a professional in tattooing myself(clearly stated, since apparently some get really, really pissy on this subject) these are just my thoughts from past experiences in life. I see a lot of miscommunication going on, but then again, that’s how it is in the real world.
So I for one, am saying welcome to the forum. I, in my opinion, would recommend researching an apprenticeship with a worthwhile shop in your area to learn the trade, AND to get engrained in the local tattooing community. Good luck in your endeavors CheshireGrin.
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