Great Lakes Tattooing

I think the thing to remember is that everyone who is tattooing as a career got into it differently. There is very few tattooers I know that had a real apprenticeship. Most worked for free as shop help first. Learning to tattoo is a lifetime commitment and it takes years just to understand the basics. All the good tattoos posted on here are more than likely executed by people who are more than seasoned. Its easy to look at this industry from the outside and think it would be great to be in. You know, tattooers are on tv and at celeb gatherings, they look like they have lots of money and have spare time to be in bands. Shops are portrayed as super fun spots to hang out where you dont have to take life too serious. What could be better than doing "art" for a living and making money doing what you love?? I think a steady paycheck is better, health insurance is better, retirement...There are a huge amount of sacrifices that come with this demanding job. Its not all roses and especially not until you start to really get a handle on the craft and the drawing and coloring aspect. Just about the time you have something figured out, you get humbled right back down by something else or, maybe even that something you had figured. Now, tattooing is so mainstream, that a fair amount of people treat it with a lot less respect than they did say fifteen years ago. These are only getting worse with the amount of people now tattooing. With all that said, Support your Local Tattooer, give them lots of money in exchange for tattoos. Support the industry and the people doing the thing everyday and maybe someday, someone will invite you to clean the nicotine stains off their bathroom walls:)

Of course the craft of tattooing must live on through new blood...pretty sure there is plenty of young tattooers with another 40 or 50 years ahead of them. Seems a good shop helper is what most tattooers really need, but why pay someone when you can get free help from an apprentice?

Bukowski?

With the tattoo world saturated with tattooers, do we really need to bring anyone else into the fold? Is every shop incomplete without a "yoshi" of their own? Are most tattooers too lazy or busy to help with general stuff around the shop or is bringing new blood into tattooing necessary? How good do you have to be qualified enough to teach this?

If you are getting what they are drawing and painting during that time, Its a safe bet they are being genuine.

done by me

he would be better off playing the game. that way when it looks like crap healed, he will have a reason other than picking out a bad artist.