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Stay tuned... there will be projects in here soon that i want to do and will have discounted rates attached to them. Feel free to contact me at any time to inquire. Andy [email protected]
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The industry is going in a strange direction. When you once had to know some one, be family with or really need to prove your worth with a mind-blowing portfolio in order to get a tattoo apprenticeship, now anyone with a heartbeat can walk into a shop and get a 90-120 day worthless apprenticeship, even without a portfolio. Ive seen it myself at other shops - you don't even need to show you artwork or have any art experience to get an "apprenticeship" at a shop just looking to make a few bucks off you. It's now all about bragging rights for shops to boast about how many apprentices they've had. There's no quality. Only quantity that matters now. It's worldwide, unfortunately. Las Vegas is called the Tattoo Industry's Puppy Mill; each shop pumping out 2, 3 or even more apprentices every 3-5 months. Every country is suffering the same fate and its ruining the business. They're taught one technique (some linework/illustration basics), a few basic rules and then youre done. And that's what a $3k/90 day apprenticeship looks like. Once the "apprenticeship" is done, then it's out-the-door-you-go to make room for the next batch. So what do these kids do? they open up their own shop. 4, 6, 8 tattooists in a shop, the owner has been tattooing one year and not one person in the shop has been tattooing over 2 yrs and they all tattoo the same thing. I guess it's not really their fault. It's the original Shop Owner's/Mentor's fault. It's all about EGO now. "I've had "X amount" of apprentices! Look at me!" You all know who you are. The funny thing is that all these shop owners pumping out apprentices month after month have not considered one thing... YOU'RE CREATING YOUR OWN COMPETITION! Tattoo shop numbers have more than tripled in the last 8+ years and the talent and capabilities have only diminished. Yet this is the only industry where people go get a tattoo focusing primarily on how cheap it will be and how fast can i get it done. People look for the best (or at least good quality) when it comes to auto repair, electrical, home renovation, plumbing, painting, custom commission art, etc. But not when it comes to getting something so permanent as a tattoo. But in tattooing, anyone with a $20 amazon tattoo machine is now "an artist" and is ready for action. It's interesting, actually. I believe that any good artist could/should have only one apprentice in their lifetime when they have been doing it for at least 10 or more years, to pass only their talent and knowledge (if they have any) to the next generation. It's not about "look at me and how many apprentices I've had!" I don't care. If these apprenticeships aren't reined in, we'll have a whole industry of beginners with no guidance and the industry will suffer even more that it already has. I hope some tattoo collectors will someday see that longevity in their tattoo, knowledge of the artist, quality of the work done and overall experience is worth a lot more than, "check out what I got for $50 bucks". |
AuthorA tattoo artist for over 33 yrs. ArchivesCategories |
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