I promised a life update back in… January? And then life happened 😅 but better late than never right 😂🙏🏻
So the beginning of the year was a bit of a shitshow for me, but thankfully things are finally stabilizing and I'm doing a lot better than I was for a minute. The rest of this month and April are a blessed calm before the storm - things are about to get hectic again, but should be good chaos at least.
Something I wanted to write about in Jan were my goals for the year. Probably the most prominent goal being: my intention to get a tattoo apprenticeship this year. In pursuit of that, I've been making an effort to draw every day and also trying to draw as much as possible with tattooable designs in mind. I wasn't sure how long getting an apprenticeship might take - the number of available opportunities is much limited with not many shops accepting apprentices, and in particular I've been a bit picky about which shops I ask at. I want to work at a shop with artists who inspire me, and with artists I will feel excited to learn from. So I hoped to get an apprenticeship this year but didn't expect it to happen quickly, and also knew it might take another year or two for my art to be in a good enough place for the shops I want to be at to want to take me, and also have them have space to take me.
I ended up with two offers from shops I really like this month. I'm asking at one more shop this week just in case to balance my options, but pretty sure I know which one I'll be accepting, and they want me to start in May. After days of riding the high of getting such positive feedback so quickly - I find myself facing a bit of imposter syndrome. I know there's a lot of room for growth in my art. I'm kind of old to be switching careers and risking so much financial instability. I know working full time and doing an apprenticeship is going to be a ton of stress, and will require sacrificing a lot of the outdoor time I typically find necessary. That's all….. Really scary.
But this is also something I've wanted for a long time. And while my current job is fine….I resent it. I hate sitting at a computer all day. I appreciate the flexibility of working remotely, but I hate being in my apartment alone all day. I miss being knee deep in creative projects all the time. Being beholden to the whims of the tech industry is increasingly unsettling.
It's kind of funny, kind of sad. I always wanted to be an artist growing up. I was a Studio Art minor in college. I wanted to major in it, but I was very very lucky that my dad was willing to help me pay for some of my college tuition - but he wouldn't if I majored in art. He didn't see that as a viable career path and I was afraid of taking on different loans. My dad really wanted me to pursue medicine or STEM. We compromised on an English major haha…. And then I still ended up in the tech industry with that. And now all the STEM jobs are seeing huge layoffs every year. I'm pretty sure my job will be primarily covered by AI within 5-10 years.
While the tattoo industry has it's own issues, I figure if I'm going to navigate career problems and instabilities, it might as well be in a field that fulfills me. So I'm excited nervous stoked anxious and enthusiastic about the things that are coming.
There's probably more I could share about, but art and tattooing is where most of my brain is these days, so I'll save whatever else for another update.
If you've made it this far, thank you, and maybe consider following the Instagram I made for my art - I'd really appreciate your support 🤍
https://www.instagram.com/annika.tattoos
I also have my art thread here on SG!
https://www.suicidegirls.com/groups/artists/thread/576416/
And some of my favorite things I've drawn recently:
