A Balancing Act

I've got a bunch of emails about this, so I'll go into a little more detail. My apprenticeship costs time and effort, not money. I'm not paying some lump sum up front to be taught.

Nor is my mentor paying me to clean, clean, get, and help with customers. While I push myself and try to make life at the shop easier for everyone involved - I've also got a weight on my mind that has to be controlled. See, I'm not 19. I'm a 27 year old husband and father. And, somehow, money has to come in while I go through this process.

At first I had bags under my eyes. Work the shop then go home and design late into the evening. It's wonderful that I have that option. If it weren't for connections made through the years, I'd be working at 7-11. Whatever it takes, right?

Thankfully, I'm at an in between stage. My tattoos are worth money, but the time to get there is still taking awhile. So I'm tattooing at a discounted rate to those who actually seek me out. But I'm not yet in rotation with the other working artists.

(Rotation is simply a fair way of balancing out walk in tattoos based on rotation and balanced pricing)

I'll admit I've still got some bags under my eyes, but I'm getting used to the routine. Hopefully, in time, things will begin to sort themselves out. But for now, we just keep on. So when posting gets thin around here, don't worry. I'm around... but probably working on a website or CD layout to keep up with that mortgage.

Well, that or drawing a fat, naked guy. You know, sitting on a turtle. Sure, he takes awhile to get to the scene, but he's one amazing superhero.