kciR (aka Rick) has been warned, flagged heavily, and then finally banned from the forums for his natural tendency to be an asshole. Unfortunately, he also provides a great amount of helpful advice, so what do we do? We bring him aboard as our first columnist!
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I hope someone sees the humor in this =)
Advice from an Industry Asshole
Hello and welcome to my column! I am kciR. that's like Rick, but spelled backwards, in case you didn't realize. I've been piercing for near 11 years as of writing this. I am blunt, brutally honest, argumentative, and always right. So much so that I was denied general access to the forums of Bodymod.org for the safety of others.
At first, I was a bit saddened about this. Then I thought "Wait, I'm fucking awesome." So I decided that I should continue to spread good advice, answer questions, and keep hacks in check while still remaining on the site I love. I contacted Adam Callen, the owner of the site, and told him of my thoughts and he agreed to give me this space, the same space you are reading now, to do just that.
Since I'm relatively new to actually writing something intended for publication, I figured I'd pick a common subject for the first article and see how this column even ends up. I'd like to have suggestions for future articles, or I may choose them by browsing current and past forum topics.
The Asshole's advice for today is a break down-on apprenticeships; what to look for when trying to select a studio to mentor you, how to obtain them, and what to expect. Each of these points actually deserves an article of it's own and I'll try to keep this short for the TL,DR crowd and break it into three parts since I've rambled a good bit already. The part I'm covering today is also exactly the same steps you should go through when searching for a studio to get a new body modification from.
When selecting a studio it is important to do a good bit of research. Word of mouth is always good, but Google and other search engines can also be helpful. Find a list of 5-10 studios in town that come well-recommended. Discover their online presence, as most studios today will have a myspace/facebook account, a business website, or at least some mentions in a local establishment listing. View pictures of the physical location, visit the artist's personal online profiles, check out reviews, etc. If the place looks dirty, If the work looks poor, or if the site or artists seem lacking in any manner cross them off your list.
For the next step, you'll want to visit the studios still on your list personally and have a good look around. (If you are) do not mention that you are looking for an apprenticeship at this time. Make sure the studio is well-kept and clean, see that the artists are using proper protective supplies (single use needles, sharps containers, dental bibs, gloves) and are not afraid to dispose of them when necessary. Some common warning signs: sweeping/mopping or handling contaminated surfaces, handling a phone without changing gloves, allowing clients to dig through or handle jewelry bare-handed, obvious signs of drug use.
You may ask them about their autoclave and how it works, but unless you understand it's operation yourself you are probably going to just look like a dumbass. Ask what they recommend for aftercare, and why they prefer that method. Pay attention to how they answer the questions as much as the answer they give. A good artist will be able to answer almost any question you ask and provide you with supporting reasons, a bad one will only have a few answers and keep referring to them.
Look through all the portfolios available. Examine the work displayed, don't just flip pages. Is it placed well? Does it look right? Is it off-center or crooked? If it is part of a larger project does the entire project correlate properly?
If there is an apprentice or shop help ask them some questions, too. What do they think of the studio and the artists that work there? How are they treated? Are they learning what they think they should?
When you've satisfied your curiosity about this location thank them for their time and go to the next. You are not obligated to get work done and as long as you aren't a severe nuisance and they have free time most artists will not have a problem talking with you for a short while. If you want to be nice and have a higher chance of being remembered you may consider bringing treats (coffee, cookies, donuts, pizza) for the studio, as everyone loves snacks, when they're free.
Soon to come: Part 2: What to expect in a good apprenticeship! If you have comments, questions, suggestions for further articles, please do! If just want to tell me that I'm an asshole or that I'm fucking amazing, I already know.
- kciR
and damn good on ya for the article... great to see something being done like this finally...
all, you are quite the asshole....
The one part I don't get is the "common warning signs, sweeping and mopping". Please elaborate. My front people sweep and mop twice a day.
I'm obviously not seeing an apprenticeship, but I like seeing the advice anyway. This seems like some of the things you want to look at to find a shop to get work done anyway. (But, for the slower crowd, you may want to write a "warnings of a shitty studio" article in the future.)
<3
I agree that perhaps you should post examples of poorly placed piercings nect to properly placed ones so that people who aren't as well educated as some of us can see the difference.
This means I need to check out the front page here more often