tiana cuttng
I field a few questions a week from folks looking to learn how to “do” scarification. While it may be easier to just cut/paste a form letter, I generally respond with a (admittedly standard) treatise on how to get envolved in the community and how to earn your way into learning proper technique.
Needless to say, most people respond with a curt “well, no one will apprentice me, so I’m just going to learn it on my own” message. The greater truth is this; you’re probably NOT going to find an apprenticeship for cutting/branding. Sure, there are classes to purchase take, but to really get an education, the best way to do it is to show artists that you respect that you’re worth their time. By not expecting anything to be handed to you. By doing the right thing and by putting your heart where your mouth is.
That brings us to tonight’s update. My friend Tiana is in the process of learning scarification in what I consider the “right way”. Slowly, cautiously and under the eye(s) of established professionals. On a recent visit she told me that she was headed up to New Hampshire (while on vacation in Philadelphia) to do a collaborative piece with Ryan Ouellette. The piece was on a friend who could have easily gotten the work done back in the Bay Area. But Tiana chose to do the piece as a learning experience.
I guess for people who want the instant title of “scarification artist” on their business cards would consider driving from Philly to New Hampshire just to do a cutting under someone else’s tutelage a waste of time. It’s nice to see that there are some folks out there who still care about doing things the right way; and looking at the finished piece, clearly Tiana is one of them.
You can find Ryan at Precision Body Arts in New Hampshire.
You can find Tiana angry at me for putting her under a spotlight.
I’ve known Tiana for many years and I’ve always respected her ethics. I met her at an APP conference back was she was working the counter for Slave to the Needle in Seattle with aspirations to get a piercing apprenticeship. Over the years she moved to San Francisco for an apprenticeship at Blue Star and I’ve watched her grow every step of the way. She never asked for an apprenticeship, never just started cutting up clients for a portfolio shot, never rushed anything. She took it step by step, waited, observed, and asked questions. And I’m really proud to see where her patience has brought her.