complaints - resonanteye

on ambition

30th of October 2007

In complaints, ethics, motivation, tattooing,

I want to get more motivated. I want to be less lazy. I want to do better, work harder, grab the day each day and fucking DO SHIT RIGHT…I don’t wanna look back later on and wish I was more motivated and more driven and less lazy and afraid…I wanna conquer the world

I see my friends getting better all the time, my colleagues outpacing me, growing, doing things I wish I could do…working, doing amazing stuff

people growing all the time. the seattle convention made me wish I was way better than I am. I don’t know where to start except to sink my fingers in to the knuckles and grab hold, and ride

I’m gonna work way harder way more often, I gotta catch up to my people and pass them, I want to be as inspiring to them as they are to me

someone told me over the weekend that they were surprised that with my attitude and interests that my book had a lot of flowers and bright lightness in it and foofoo things. they are right. I don’t get to do the kind of images I really like, things I like, as often as I want to

skulls, blood, gore, zombies, satans, devil, naked chicks…the scary stuff…I need to put myself into my work more, my secret self, and not be afraid that I’ll go broke

I know there has to be people like me, who like that kind of stuff, out there,…I know I can do it

I just gotta work really hard, hope that everyone helps me out when I need it, gives me directions to the place I wanna be

yes, i was late, so now what?

4th of January 2007

In clients, complaints, ethics, Tattoo, tattooing,

Now, I am going to discuss something most artists hate to admit. Bad Days.

We all have them. Once in a while everyone wakes up on the wrong side of the bed, breaks a nail, has bad hair, steps in dog shit, car won’t start, etc, etc. Most people go to work, hang tight, and eventually the bad mood fades. Not so for tattoo artists.

Our work’s quality depends upon our ability to be friendly, be focused, and be creative. If your juices aren’t flowing it doesn’t really matter how much we might usually like you or your tattoo art…it just sucks to have to smile when you’re having a bad day.

I think most artists work throughout the bad days-they just stuff it in, try to forget it, bottle it up…I see a lot of work that isn’t as good as the artist’s usual work, and wonder…We all have bad days. For a tattoo artist that can mean that someone is wearing your second-best effort for the rest of their life.

My usual solution is to try to call in sick. Or something to the effect-I take extra time away from work, I reschedule people, I stay away from tattooing until the mood passes, and then I come into the shop with a fresh perspective. This is usually in my client’s best interest. More often than not I feel bad, or guilty about rescheduling people. This makes me try harder with the artwork. Makes me try harder to hurt them less. Makes me try to make up for them waiting so long. Also I’m no longer in a bad mood. I’m happy to be there, my creativity is more available to me. This makes my work better in so many ways-I’m willing to take a littl elonger to get it just right-to try something new that will improve the finished product. Also my drawings just seem to turn out better with less effort when I am in a good mood about being at work.

Some people get very angry about this shuffling. I mean, I understand. The day you’re supposed to get tattooed is a big deal! You took off work, you skipped a class, you cancelled plans…and there you are, happy, excited, nervous, ready to pay big money that took forever to save up…and the artist’s not ready? Or asks if it’s ok to change the day or time? I have been there too, on that side of it. I am a tattoo artist, but I am also a tattoo client. I have tons of work. I have been bumped, rescheduled, canceled on, all of it. And it sometimes upset me.

I guess I’m just talking, wasting time and space here by saying it, but try (like I try) to keep in mind that you definitely want your artist bright-eyed and eager to tattoo you. If that means waiting a few more days, it usually is better to go ahead and wait. If it means that you will get better quality work, then it is definitely worth the wait. The experience of the process of getting a tattoo only lasts a little while, but you’ll be looking at the art forever. . .

Also remember that your artists is, indeed, human. We get tired, burned out, have surgery, our girlfriends get sick, our dogs die, and our cars break down too. Just like your life we have things outside of work that we care about. Try to be aptient with us, because most of us are less grounded than most people. We’re artists, too, and that makes us weird. So please be patient with us…we’re trying! We do appreciate it a lot when people are willing to be patient, and when you are understanding…just like you would.