Tattoo Slims House O' Pain
Hello and thanks for stopping in and checking out this site. I have aimed this site towards
body art fans who are interested in persuing the next level, oh yeah, an apprenticeship.
I have been searching for an artist willing to apprentice me for many years and figured I
could help people learn from my mistakes. I will also share all of the advice I have
received from some pretty cool people in the tattoo community regarding apprenticeship. So
sit back relax and put your reading glasses on!
Well let me start out by saying that finding an apprenticeship is HARD WORK. If you are
only in it to score chicks/dudes, impress friends, make fast money, you will have a hard
time and poor results! If you are in it because you love art, love body art, want to live
an alternative lifestyle doing something you love, you will probably still have a hard time,
but if the so called "Tattoo Gods" are with, you will make it, don't give up.
Here are some things you can do to get started. First practice your artwork on paper. Get
the best of your work together and start a portfolio, so you can show off your work. Next
start checking out shops and getting tattooed. When you get tattooed watch what goes on in
the shop, ask your artist questions. Be sure this is what you want to do! You can also
check out some tattoo how-to books (I have some linked below), read through these to get a
better understanding of the tattoo process and terms. You can also pick up some literature
on BloodBorne Pathogens and Cross Contamination (also linked below). Do your homework,
learn as much as you can before asking someone to apprentice you. This will show them that
you are serious and devoted to learning the art of tattoo. Now get that portfolio and hit
the shops that you feel are competent and clean. When talking to artists/shops be honest
about your abilities and goals. Now like I said earlier, this can be a long hard road, so
you will probably not find an apprenticeship right off the bat. In that case there are some
other things you can do while still searching for an apprenticeship. You can attend some of
the many Tattoo Conventions, they usually have several seminars available on machine setup,
cross contamination, etc. These seminars are worth the money and also show artist/shops
that you are serious about learning. Also keep practicing your artwork. Draw up flash, see
if any of your local shops are interested in it. Another thing you can do is volunteer your
spare time to a shop answering phones, making appointments, cleaning, etc. Hey, at least
this will get your foot in the door.
Now the things I have learned personally that you DO NOT want to do. Do not rush out and
buy a bunch of mail-order equipment! When you find someone willing to teach you, they will
help you get the necessary equipment. Do not try to build your own "jail-house" type of
equipment. Do not start tattooing on yourself or others until you are totally confident
with your skills. You could really screw up someone's skin if you don't know what you are
doing and that could become bad publicity. This may come back to haunt you during your
quest for an apprenticeship. I am telling you this from personal experience. Starting out
I was misguided into buying some equipment and just going at it. Well I worked on a
friend's old bar-room tattoo. It wasn't the best tattoo in the word (see tattoo picture
page 1 below), but it looked much better than it originally did. Well, I was in a shop one
day asking about an apprenticeship and this guy just flew off the handle when he found out
that I had tried tattooing on my own. I don't stand a chance of getting an apprenticeship
there, and you know this guy has friends in the tattoo community too!
Well there you have it, my two cents. If you feel like you have to tattoo on yourself,
you've read every book, your a great artist, you just can't hold back that tattoo demon
here are some words for you too. I know it's not the right thing to do, but we all know
people are going to do it, hell I did unfortunately for me. Make sure you work sterile,
get an autoclave, learn how to use it. Never reuse the same needles and use disposable ink
caps. Use common sense! If you happen to transfer a bloodborne pathogen while tattooing
you will screw up a lot of hard work others have done to legalize tattooing in their states
and you will hurt the tattoo community reputation and your own. If you F%@K up the artwork
it can possibly be covered or lasered off, but HIV can't be covered or removed! Just think
if you are tattooing someone with some type of infection you are most at risk of getting it.
Please if you have to do this thing go get training by OSHA or APT.
If you have any tattoo apprenticeship experiences you would like to share please contact me
Email: tat2z4u@hotmail.com
LINKS
Web-Rings
Tattoo Reference Links
TATTOOS.COM
Safe Tattooing
OSHA BloodBorne Pathogens
Tattooing Book & Video
Tattooing Book VooDoo Tattoo
Tattooing A to Z Book
Technical Tattoo Supply & Manufaturing Corp.
Tattoo Super Store.Com
American Tattoo Supply, Inc.
Precision Tattoo Supply
Superior Tattoo Equipment
Tattoo Shop Links
Avalon Tattoo
Scorpion Tattoo
My Tattoo Art, Tattoo Pictures, and Stuff
Tattoo Picture Page 1
Tattoo Picture Page 2
Guest Picture Page 1
Tattoo Art Page 1
Tattoo Art Page 2
Tattoo Art Page 3
Tattoo Art Page 4
Music To Tattoo By
My Letter To TattooMagazine's Tattoo Mailbox
MY PERSONAl HOME PAGE
