Teaching myself to body pierce!

xseanx

After so many failed attempts trying to get a piercing apprenticship. I have decided to teach myself. I worked in reception in a tattoo and piercing place in Australia for a while so I learned a thing or two there.
Can anybody recomend books, dvds etc, that can show and teach me?

Negative and positive feedback appreciated.

Thanks.

Star Lord

There are no books or DVDs or anything that can teach you anywhere near as well as an apprenticeship could, so in all honesty, I can only say forget it unless you're willing to keep trying for an apprenticeship.

Will

I would encourage you to keep trying to get one, just grit your teeth and keep plugging away. Any potential studio where you ideally would get an apprenticeship more than likely will frown upon you DIY'ing it as they will have to un-learn bad habits you picked up from teaching yourself. In saying that Paddy in body shock is self taught.

Hopefully Pierced Off will offer some advice as he/she is a professional piercer. In the past I offered my own pointers on how to get one and avoid the mistakes I made, but I didn't get one in the end so probably best not to listen

Atavan-Halen

How long have you been trying? As it can take years sometimes. Really do keep trying, persistance pays off. I know it can seem pointless after being turned down several times but don't give up

I wouldn't recommend self piercing unless you know what you're doing as you could end up doing something wrong.

xseanx

I have been trying on and off since i have been 18. I am now 21 and still no luck although it was looking good in Australia but i wasnt granted a second year visa.:(

Will

If you want it bad you gotta prove it and not half ass it, on and off isn't good enough. Regardless of whatever you are trained in, if someone does it on and off I wouldn't want to teach them, you gotta want it more than anything.

Atavan-Halen

Go to studios as much as you can. Get to know the staff and be friendly. As Will said show them that you are 110% committed to putting in the hours and work.

bodice ripper

a whole 21 years eh?

i can see why you would think it was high time you grasped what life hasn't granted you yet.

i was almost 25 beore I got an apprenticeship, and had a degree in fine art by then.


how many people are you willing to mess up rather than wait?

Pierced Off

Will wrote: »

Hopefully Pierced Off will offer some advice as he/she is a professional piercer. In the past I offered my own pointers on how to get one and avoid the mistakes I made, but I didn't get one in the end so probably best not to listen

Thanks for the vote of confidence,Will. When I started out, I was lucky enough to be related to my teacher. In saying that, after piercing on and off for around 6 years, when I decided to actually open my own place I took a long hard look at my skill level and decided it could do with tidying up. I then went and researched training courses that were available and found an excellent one in the UK.
It wasn't cheap! The best things never are. But after spending 12 days there and with what I had learned over the years, I knew I possessed the ability to work for myself and to pierce professionally.
I'm still learning. I'm constantly refining my techniques and developing/ modifying my style. Ask any good piercer and they'll tell you the same, you never stop learning. If you really want to do this for a living and for the life of me I can't understand why, then you'll just have to keep on trying. I don't have a position for an apprentice at the moment, but in saying that I haven't been approached either. So where abouts are you looking? Its not only 3 city centre shops that can pierce!!
In a footnote, it's He, not she. I was in my mid 30's when I started learning and although I now have my own place, my mid 40's are getting awful close! So being in your early 20's makes you a just a toddler in my eyes!

xseanx

Thanks for the replys and advice everyone.

Hi pierced off

I have been trying most shops around Dublin like snakebite,wildcat, connected and im gonna give this new Dublin ink place a try. maybe i should just stick with one place and just hound them all the time. I would not expect to get payed or anything. but i guess now with the recession and that crap they will be more hesitant to except anybody.

Pierced Off

xseanx wrote: »

I have been trying most shops around Dublin like snakebite,wildcat, connected and im gonna give this new Dublin ink place a try. maybe i should just stick with one place and just hound them all the time.

I don't wish to sound bad or to dishearten you, but you have to realise that this industry is full of "wannabees" Due to the "fashionable" status of tattooing and piercing, a lot of people have decided that it's a cool profession to get into. With the result that studios have endless people appearing in every week wanting jobs. Somewhere, in among all the talentless, ego maniac no-hopers, there exists a genuine person with a genuine desire and a genuine talent. Unfortunately for us we don't often get to really see this person because we have been blinded by the never ending lines of bulls*#t thats walked through the door before them.
If you really are determined that this is the career for you and you feel that you can take all the crap that it will throw at you (22 stone man with B.O. wanting a PA or the person with halitosis who wants venom bites and yes they do exist) then you don't need to hound a shop, you need to befriend a shop. Prove you're not a waster. Let them get to know you and see you're not full of BS. Show them you are genuinely interested. They will soon tell you if you've got what it takes. Also, as I've said before, the body mod industry doesn't end at Christchurch on the south and Parnell Street to the north. The world doesn't revolve around the city centre. You may need to broaden your horizons. If you really want this then you won't object to getting on a bus.