A New
PERSPECTIVE
To become a licensed tattoo artist one must:
Being a tattoo artist is more than just someone who pokes people with needles dripping with ink. A tattoo artist has just as many licensure training and puts in as much hard work as any other professional. These individuals are people that are proud members of a slowly growing group of artists who leave their art on a moving canvas of skin and memories.
There are plenty of horror stories where people get tattooed in strange places or in someone’s basement. To participate in one of these instances is illegal on multiple accounts. The unprofessionalism coming from an inexperienced artist can lead to life-long diseases and embarrassing, permanent art.
“You have to pay if you want to play in this business now,” said Jason Ownby, owner of Joker’s Wild Tattoos in central Virginia. Ownby has been tattooing for eleven years. “I’ve had eight apprentices in this shop, not including the three that graduated,” Ownby explained. “People come in, they see TV shows and they think they can tattoo,” he said. To become a tattoo artist one must follow several procedures and “go through the proper channels” according to Ownby a certified instructor for the state board of cosmetology under which tattoo licensure is registered.
CPR Certified
First Aid Certified
Bloodborne Pathogen
Pass State Board Exam
1600 Training Hours
100 Recorded Tattoos
During one’s tattoo apprenticeship one grows as an artist and as an individual. Patrick Neil Wade is an apprentice of Jason Ownby at Joker’s Wild Tattoos. “This is definitely the best job I’ve ever had,” said Wade from the first time I met him during his first month of his apprenticeship. Now Wade has completed the test of not only tattooing himself, but has also tattooed a few of his own clients. For Wade, learning how to tattoo is both an exciting experience but also a nerve-inducing one. “It’s such a permanent thing…it’s still kinda scary,” explained Wade. The medium isn’t just canvas, clay, or another traditional art form. “It’s living art,” said Wade.
While he learns the process of tattooing the perspective dawned on Wade that “everything that we have to put out just for [client’s] costs money.” The materials and cost of a tattoo vary due to the size, colors, and specifications of each tattoo. My first tattoo, the size of my pinkie finger, cost fifty dollars excluding the tip for my artist. However, my second tattoo from a different artist, a little larger than my whole hand, cost three hundred and fifty dollars.“The cost that we tell them is really not that high,” explained Wade, yet the estimated cost of a tattoo is the main reason people phone for inquiry calls to the shop. At times when clients learn the estimated cost of a tattoo, they react in a negative or surprised way and may be less likely to get inked. Tattoo apprentices generally make less than a licensed tattoo artist; in Wade’s case he makes thirty-five percent commission of each of his learning tattoos.“These same people probably bought a hundred dollar pair of shoe,” said Wade. Each tattoo is a new experience he can add to his portfolio, but also a new way to learn about budgeting and other parts of the business. “If it’s cold no one comes to get a tattoo,” said Wade. However, despite some of the learning curves, pitfalls, and annoyances Wade still knows the importance of his new business trade. “[A tattoo] will last your entire life.”
“It takes a skilled season professional to do clean lines and sharp fill in,” said Ownby. On top of hours of training tattoo artists must be prepared for the type of business they are entering. “You need a lot of patience,” said Ownby. “You want everybody to think that they’ve had the best experience possible,” he continued. “Everyone that walks through that door, they’re a little nervous,” said Ownby and recommended that artists play music, stream a movie, or talk to their client to ease the nervous tension.
Ownby also warned that tattoo artists shouldn’t act intimidating or tough to their clients, or vise versa where the client acts tough once they enter the shop door. “To the person that is getting that infinity knot, to them that is that great big dragon,” said Ownby. Although Ownby admitted that “sometimes it’s hard to be the happy employee” he understands the importance of giving a client the professionalism and the politeness of a proper tattoo experience.