Sacred Art - Da Kapolei Kine
It’s been a little over a month and a half since the newest Sacred Art tattoo shop opened in Kapolei, and since I started my apprenticeship under Chris Curren (@2bitsmashisttattoos). In that time, I’ve already had the opportunity to purchase my own coil machine, spend dedicated time learning the mechanics of it with my mentor, filed and received my tattoo license, put in tens of hours tattooing fake skins, designed and painted flash, and on top of that, I have tattooed seven designs on friends safely and successfully. Whew! I think I’ve now finally been able to take the deep breath i’ve been holding out for…
In all honesty, I’ve had an incredible time opening up to this experience so far and I’ve learned so much from all the tattooers and artists around me already. Please enjoy the January/February 2023 recap. ✨
Some photos from the camera roll. Kindall (@Kindalltattoos), the other apprentice at the shop under Daniel Kunimura (@DanielKTattoos) has been such an incredible team player to the shop, myself and to the artists. She wants to go in the direction of blackwork tattoos, whereas I lean more towards the American Traditional style. She uses a rotary tattoo machine, whereas I chose to start with a coil machine. I gave her my first traditional tattoo (the Sailor Jerry sparrow) and I couldn’t have been more psyched with how it turned out. Kindall has truly been the yin to my yang at the shop so far.
I’ve started to hit some challenges, most of which are up in my head. Like progressing as fast as I have has brought me incredible opportunities, and I want to tackle all of them, but I only have so much energy to give and so many hours in a day. I’ve needed to prioritize projects, assess what I can reasonable give, and practice communicating my limits and boundaries. What’s been absolutely awesome for this has been the empathy that my mentor values and has a skill for. Since day one, he’s led and taught me with an emphasis on treating others with respect and kindness, proactivity, and integrity in character. As I’ve been taking risks, he’s really given me the trust and security I’ve needed as a student to communicate my energy levels or when I need a mentality shift.
Another challenge I’ve ran into as an apprentice has been the financial security. Most, if not, all apprenticeships are unpaid, and are extremely difficult to complete at a competent skill level. I’ve been pushing myself to take the opportunities as they come with money as a motivator. I’ve employed my design and marketing background, content creation, and traditional art skills to do this. On top of that, I work two days a week at the coffee shop located onsite. I’m extremely grateful for the trust Sacred Art has given me to produce work for them based on my background. Outside of the work I’ve done for the shop, I spend time on my website periodically updating products available, and sharing more of myself with anyone interested! Long story short, I haven’t quite figured out the secret sauce to financial stability as an apprentice yet, but I’ve progressed incredibly fast learning the skills of tattooing, and I have no plans on slowing my roll on working or giving, so it’s all faith that what I need will come to me as long as I continue to stay present through the work.
So yeah! That’s where I’m at right now in my tattooing journey. There are a few things I’d like to dedicate this blog to other than updates on my tattooing journey, but for now this is what you’re getting! Until the next post, I’m out.
Catch ya on the flip side,
Dani
