Congratulations on a thus-far fulfilling apprenticeship! I live in a town where you can't throw a rock without hitting a good artist. This has both positive and negative effects, but I find that most artists really want to share a collective vision of some kind. I think that tattooers in particular can relate to this, as a tattoo is the culmination of the vision between artist and client. Anyway! What I was going to suggest is maybe (if it's ok with your mentor and the rest of the shop) start an art night where you open the doors to anyone who wants to come draw or paint or talk about art with you guys. Cliques are both annoying and useless. If you can draw a group of people who can see beyond stupid things like popularity, I think everyone involved would grow a lot and make some new friends.

Thank you!

Thats a great idea , Im not so sure it would work here - it can be that far gone..but I wishhh it would - I would love to learn some little tips and tricks even just by seeing where they start to draw certain things - not to copy it just to ad tools to my tool belt..

Do you tattoo as well? If so have you tried a group/ has it worked and or gone well?

Fuck it, who cares! If nothing else, just do it with the people at your shop and keep the doors open. Maybe hang up some fliers or pass them out. Just my opinion, but I feel like people who do really care about making art(certainly over politics) would show up for something like that because it benefits both the individual and the community.

All art is basically stealing ;)

I do tattoo, and there is a weekly paint night at a shop about a mile from my house. There is also a drawing group out in East Oakland that gets together on a weekly basis as well, and those have both had great turnouts. It's just really cool to be in a room full of creative energy at work, you can totally feed from it and give it back to others.

I think if we put out fliers we would end up with a bunch of D&D people and anime fiends... do you have it just open to tattoo artists or to everyone??:)

I like that idea..I wish I was in your area!! I would love that kind of thing!!

i like your positivity -i need that this week.lol. thank you:)

Hehe, no problem. The paint nights over here are open to pretty much anyone. Of course, you do have some influence on who hears about it first!