Yet another day

..at the shop. A dreary but warm Wednesday. Ken's about to start a cover up of a large scar..can't watch, since it's a bit more intimate than most people are willing to be open to others seeing. That's always an interesting concept-the idea of being private about your body. We all have the same body parts, people. we all had sex ed, in high school. So why are people still so self conscious of their body? Everyone was created in the eye of their Maker, not to mention, that there are genetic traits that are taken into consideration. Deal with it. You're beautiful the way you are, why are people so fixated on appearances? Well, that's self-explantory..

Humans are naturally visual creatures. If you take away our sight, we'd be even more bumbling fools. Honestly though, if i were to lose a sense, it would indeed be my sight. All other senses are magnified and art would definitely be interesting to create considering i would have no clue as to what it looks like...That's always an interesting practice-blind contour drawings or sketches. Try it. Find an object and set up an easel. As soon as the pencil/brush/pen touch that paper, you focus solely on the subject matter and cease to look at the paper. People cheat, though. What comes of it, is actually pretty interesting. It's testing your memory and your hand/eye coordination to see how accurate you can be without looking at the paper. It's fun.

But i digress. people are so concerned with their appearances, and of course, i can understand. i am a woman and my profession is that of art, whether it be body or fine. it's pretty difficult to just be happy with the bodies we're in, that house our souls and minds. But honestly. If we don't care for our bodies properly and show it the respect it demands, then does that not add to the self consciousness we feel? I always took my body for granted, until i broke my ankle in July by jumping off a cliff to prove a point that a woman was equal to a man..yeah not so much. Let me tell you, i've never realized how much i needed my legs to do just every day normal tasks. to be crippled temporarily..i'm so relieved to be walking again! but i digress again. i mean, women are subjugated to the throes of fashion and for what? who are others to judge us? Women, who actually have shapely womanly bodies. Why would we want to be anything but?

New ink

Click for larger view. Not much to say except this (above image) is a new tattoo that i've acquired two days ago. Will have more to say later. So what do people think of the whole Penn State scandal?

Art VS. Tattoos

I'm sitting here at the shop, while Marco's prepping for a Marine Corps back tattoo on this giant of a man. Earlier we were having this discussion about this article i came across, which was about artists having high salaries. We started talking about tattooing and fine arts, and the fact that it IS one and the same, yet a lot of people don't consider that. Think about it. You need to be able to have the vision of a 'fine artist' to be able to do a tattoo, to understand where this line needs to go or that area needs to darker, etc. To be able to create from the mind or have a colorful palette like Picasso. You also need to understand the body and anatomy of people. It's a damn shame, really it is, that "normal" people treat the tattoo industry like its some glorified hobby and that it's not a real career choice. Why do people look at tattooists so lowly. Well, then again, there are always all types of people.

Honestly, people treated me like that when I was in college. I would get the "Oh, where do you go to college?" and my response would be, "An art college" and they would get that look in their eyes that would scream 'Art college? That's not REAL college." Why not? Why is it not considered a real college? As for tattooing, to get your certification, it's a 3 year apprenticeship. Guess what? There's another education right there. Yet, people don't consider that either. What's the best way to learn, except on the job so to speak?

I've been at the shop for about, 6 months, give or take. I've been in skin for maybe about 3? I've been drawing, painting, sculpting for as long as I can remember, and let me tell you, tattooing is proving to be quite the feat for someone like me. I'm not trying to toot my own horn, but I know i can definitely draw, and that i have a gift, but damn! Learning how to tattoo from scratch is really something else. I don't understand how people can just ebay some machines, needles, and power supply and hit skin and just think that once they're in skin, they can call themselves tattoo artists. Even with my artistic background and formal training, it's a very complex thing to learn. You have to adjust to the weight of the machine, the feel of it, the way it runs, how it feels to actually be in skin and to adjust to each person, etc. You have to EARN the title of an artist. But I digress.

Just because the education or 'learning of the ropes' of the tattoo world isn't official doesn't mean that it isn't what it's meant to be: an education. I promise you that you will learn far more than you can ever learn about everything and anything once you step into a tattoo apprenticeship. To get your first machine(s) and inks .To feel that feeling of accomplishment when you hit skin for the first time. To ink into your first breathing skin practice pad (lol). To feel those jittery nerves right before that needle hits flesh. Granted, some people aren't meant for the tattooing world, but if you are, go about it the right way, and GET AN APPRENTICESHIP from a legit artist/shop.