Apprenticeship in Pa PLEASE HELP!!!

hello, my name is alex.(alikat-apprentice name)i am new here but ive noticed there is alot of criticism amony individual artists here. i know alot of people submit these kind of things, but i am hoping someone will read this and hopefully have some advice. i have known "tiger"(names and shop names will not be mentioned...im not trying to smudge reputations) since i was 7 years old. he was a close family friend who also owned a tattoo shop in LA. as i got older he noticed my interest in flash art, and that i was probably the only kid not allowed to even go near sharpies. he told me that the day i graduate high school he would give me an apprenticeship. well 5 and a half years later, the day after i graduated, i called him. I lived 25 min. away from the shop, and he said that he was leaving in ten, and that if i wasnt there, then it was no dice....so 9 and a half min. and a huge head rush later my apprenticeship began. now i had been around the shop for years before, so i knew the kind of treatment to expect as an apprentice. a year of my life was mainly spent in the bioroom aquanting myslef with piles and piles of tubes(it was a VERY busy shop in NOLA)besides that it was mopping, trash, dealing with drunks, or the ugly chiks the artists didnt want to talk to, having shit thrown at me, redoing stencils over and over, you know an average apprenticeship. i knew i had to stick it out to gain respect, so they would teach me...then katrina hit... i was literally along with tens of thousand of people, banned from coming home.i was living in hotels for 3 months before it was "safe" for everyone to return. once i did i returned to the shop...but unfortunately, the boss didnt think i would listen to the armed marines(at the La border) he said i was gone for too long when the shop needed me(even though we had no customers)also my main mentor decided to stay where they were, and didnt return at all. i studied in my apprenticeship for a year and a half, and had never touched a machine. the boss said i could still apprentice, but that i would first do two years for piercing, then two more for tattooing, then he would THINK about giving me a chair. i was crushed by this and being that my partner was in Pa, i knew i couldnt wait that long. so i moved to Pa, purchased some equipment(now i know what youre thinking and honestly at first i was a scratcher because i was tatting myself and wasnt going deep enough...also i cant possibly imagine being able to learn from a :kit:.everything i purchased was what we had used in the shop, and very sterile...i had my CPR, and Health and Hazards licence)and started to teach myself. that was 2 years ago. ive had a suicide, divorce, and 2 heart attacks happen in my family since, and my passion was pushed aside, and seemed more like a hobby...but then i had a turning point i guess you could say. i tattooed a traditional gypsy skull on my calf, and was shocked at how much better my quality improved. once my friends saw it, they started to ask me to do theirs....which is great.....except tattooing out of my house isnt very reputable, and im in no shape to be in a chair yet. Ive been to almost every shop i could , and was told prices from 2000-10000 for one year!...In NOLA i worked for my lessions and paid nothing but was taught nothing.this is not a hobby for me. its the most natural form of art, and artistic expression. the idea of living canvas still amazes me, and even though i was literally disowned by family members i didnt and will not give up. is there any artist out there even if only one, that needs shop help? tattooing itself is evolving so much that ill never catch up without a professional mentor.please help me. i live right outside of reading in sinking spring PA im not a 14 yr old kid asking how to pull apart my cassete deck. ive been a shop kid forever, and i just want to learn.i just pray that someone will take me seriously. thank you

Hey, I would check out some of the artists from PA on this website. There are some really sick artists there! I would save and get tattooed by some of them and ask their advice in person. We are also co-hosting a tattoo convention not too far from ya with 60 of the best artists in the world tattooing in way western mass (maybe 3-4 hours from PA). There will be a focus on arts and tattooing education, two discussion panels open to the public, and a bunch for tattoo artists and apprentices attached to a studio. is the website. And post a link to your art up here, maybe we can give some pointers.

where in PA are you?

if you want it done right do it your self and get some practice skin and PRACTICE.start building machines and study