Where I am

I've been at Bluebird Tattoo for two years. I remember the first few months filled me with cleaning and observing. Every day I itched to know more; to be thrown into the thick.

Now I am where I wanted to be... right in the middle of learning. So what have I noticed about my process lately?

1. A walk-in hasn't made me balk (worried, confused, or hesitant) in months. Finally!
2. My stretch is stronger. Much stronger and it can last just as strong for the duration of the tattoo session. My left thumb still gets sore at the end of the day, but it's perfectly manageable.
3. Based on the skin, I instinctively adjust my machine speed. It's amazing to me how we just know based on feel and sound.
4. This one may be incredibly obvious, but it helps. When I feel more resistance, the customer is usually hurting more. So I stretch even more.
5. I'm slowly developing a color vocabulary. I see a color and can figure out the steps (i.e. colors to mix) to get there.
6. I beginning to know my weaknesses. By sight, it's easier to know if a line isn't strong. And I'm close to knowing when to back off.
7. I'm able to let go and know that, someday, my client will come back for a next session. That's the nature of the large pieces and I've swallowed that.
8. My ability to guesstimate time is getting closer. My world is taking on the semblance of real scheduling.
9. Pricing is still difficult. But because I can kinda figure out how long I'll take, I'm getting much closer.
10. Around 85% of the time I can pay attention to whoever I'm tattooing and respond accordingly. Nice.