Painting on people

The creative project that brings me the most relaxation and joy is a bit out there. Dare I say it is something that one would not expect. It is not something that I can just go find a group that enjoys the same things to talk about. It requires a lot of skill and is a work in progress for me.

I would love to get someone that I can learn under to get more skilled in this craft but being a parent of two and working many jobs to support my family I often have to "make" time just to give myself a chance to unwind with it. I often have to have people volunteer for me to have a chance to practice. It is actually quite an expensive hobby to keep the supplies needed to do it.

I did ask someone once if I could work under them but was told that they did not have time to teach me how to draw. Which threw me off because I had some of the people I had worked on there with me to show him what I could do. He said that I should practice drawing until I was able to draw a picture of anything without looking at another picture to do it. I guess that would be a good idea to do though if one has a business out of it and has a lot of walk-in clients. That way you could work quicker and on the fly. For a person with a family that is insistent upon constant attention though I am not sure it is really reasonable. I understand they call them starving artists but I cannot afford time without getting paid as I have children.

However, at that moment when it is just me and the tattoo machine and the soft buzz in my ear, the only thing that matters is doing a good job that I can be proud of and that the volunteer can appreciate. There is no mom I need this there is just the hum of the machine and whatever music I might be playing in the background. Sometimes there is some small talk like a person would get at a beauty shop.

In the moments that it is just me and the artwork, I am trying to do and nothing else is expected of me I find my peace. The inner quiet of my soul. The moments when the world feels like everything is going right. Sometimes I have bad tattoos where the ink just does not seem to stay. I just take the time to go back and fix it and correct the previous issues. Every tattoo I do I feel I get so much closer to being the "artist" I hope to be.

For me, that is what a hobby should be moments when nothing else around you going on matters and it is all about that very moment and what you are accomplishing in it. A person that loves the tattoo I give them is the most enjoyable feeling. I have given them a gift that will last their entire lifetime and will never leave them. It is not like a ring or an item that can get lost. It is till the day they die.

I love my hobby and it gives me both pain and pleasure. Due to my family home-life and the fact that in those moments when I am doing it nothing else matters. Here's to maybe one day my hobby helping me to take care of my family, until then I will settle for moments of meditation the use of my tattoo machine.