Thanks everyone for continuing to check up on my progress here! Sadly there hasn't been a lot of Star Wars action for me lately. Those of you have kept up on my posts here will know how busy I have been! For those of you who haven't I'll give you a brief update!
I currently work for a company that cares for disabled adults. I work in a home and help take care of four men. When I applied for this job, the idea was that I would be able to make a decent pay and have all the time and energy needed to make my art, my way. For a while this was true, and it was good! I was working overnights and my job was to sleep! I would get out of work in the morning, go straight to my studio space, make art all day with a fresh mind and head back to work around 11 pm.
Then my world was turned upside down. I won't go into the dirty details. I quit during the summer of 2008 to spend three months traveling the United States.
After my adventures I got right back into taking care of the disabled for the same company. Instead of third shift, I chose to work a second shift. The change was immediate, and I rose to the challenge. I had nearly no time to make art. My mind and energy were forcefully diverted.
I did my best. That wasn't enough. The job has continued to drain me physically and mentally. Making art was beginning to become a past time, a hobby rather than a focus. Thankfully, I noticed this and knew that it was not what I wanted.
Early 2010, my aunt Chandra was getting work done on her back tattoo. She was my eye-opener. Flat out she said "Caleb, you could make a lot of money doing tattoos!". I have been making art all my life. I have had a lot of people ask me to draw up tattoos, and many told me I should get into tattooing. Yet, I never seriously considered becoming a tattoo artist.
For the past ten years I have been literally giving my art away. One of my reasons for this was the belief that, up until now, I had not earned the right to put a price tag on my work. I love giving my work away. Literally, hundreds of times I was given the opportunity to make someone's day. Friends and others would come into my studio, they would see a painting and connect with it. I am very grateful for the ability to see when this happens. The only option was to make sure that when I saw that connection the work went home with that person.
The obvious problem with this is that it is very hard to put food in my belly this way! The best benefit is that I have developed a strong following! Tattooing came to me at the time I needed it the most. It is a career defined by making art, that is also a viable way of making money. The main downfall is the high amount of very poor tattoos that many people want.
I am willing to deal with that because I know that there are a great many people out there who want amazing works of art on their body. I want to be the artist that creates that art!
So I am now a part of a great tattoo shop, Mom & Pop Tattoo and Piercing in Fall River, MA. My apprenticeship has been an excellent experience. I am being taught about the fundamentals of tattooing, and I am teaching about the fundamentals of fine art.
You might think that fine art would be the basis of tattooing, but it is not. In fact in my area that is the exact opposite. I am proud to be one of a number of artists working very hard to raise the standards of the fine art of tattooing.
So, what does any of this have to do with Star Wars? I love Star Wars. I hate the prequels. I am willing to do anything that will get me to the end goal of making this comic to bring back the high art of storytelling and mythology.
Right now I have to sacrifice nearly my entire life so that I can make a 180 degree turn around. I need food in my belly and a roof over my head, not to mention for my beautiful wife! This is only attainable through hard work and a willingness to learn!
See you there.
Caleb
Next week, Tolkien and Lucas.
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