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I humbly stand before you all and ask for acceptance into LST Forums....

Brian Wermund

By Brian Wermund,
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Brian Wermund Initiated

Brian Wermund

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I stand before you ladies and gentlemen and humbly ask for your consideration as an initiate into the Last Sparrow Tattoo Forums.

My name is Brian, some call me B, some call me Werm, some call me Homaside...

A lil history grew up in a suburb of north east #SacToe916...called Citrus Heights...graduated in 1990. All I have ever wanted to be is an artist and get paid for it. Left the heights in 91 moved to Oakland then East Oakland. Pursued my passion for art and culture of Hip Hop. Studied aerosol writing, graphics by copier, xacto blade and glue stick, and art. In 94 moved to Austin for a few years still studying the three areas of focus. In 98 moved back to #SacToe916 to pursue a degree, now the focus was art, and graphic design on computers. Got married had a daughter lost a daughter got another daughter and about two years ago the relationship started to unravel, separated living together, then separated living apart, now in midst of divorce with a soon to be 7 year old daughter. During this time I have been working 9 to 5 in print shop handling all the graphics plus everything else (payroll, taxes, invoicing & shipping).

Ok WTF dude what about the tattoos? About a year and a half ago I saw an old friend from high school she said "hey you still doing art? You should start tattooing"...now if i had a nickel for every time i heard that...well you know the story. So as of year ago I had no tattoos & only stepped into a shop once back when at Wild Bill's place in Roseville one night after drinking forties outside El Dorado Saloon where we followed some girls there. 100% greenhorn before I even stepped into my friends shop in Roseville. After my spring semester at Sac State I found some time on my Saturday's to come help out at the shop. I was told it wasn't an apprenticeship that i was sitting in and watching and from what lil I knew apprenticeships were hard to come by and either cost a lot of money or you had to become a shop bitch for many years. I didn't have the money and was too old to be someones bitch. I focused back on my drawing skills watched how the shop was run, helped with clean up and setup. I was told the only rule was in order to learn to tattoo you had to have one first. I was also told it wouldn't be earlier then 3 months. Well my personal goal was to be tattooing by time I started back at school begininging of September. Well the summer proceeded i would do my 9 to 5 during the week on Saturday's I would to old town Roseville and spend the day watching taking in what I could and getting anxious about what it is that I was seeing.

So long story short, I was hanging with an artist friend of mine and he thought it was silly that you needed to have a tattoo before you even tattooed someone. So one Sunday he said I will set you up with one of those starter kits...so ok we had a young lady whom offered up some skin...sink or swim whatcha ya want to do? So we picked up everything we needed we had a woman whom had some tattoo's before.. we clean up the welding table proceeded to draw up a peacock and proceeded to start my first tattoo on the side of the ribs. LOL! how funny is this right? I just happened to pick up a starter kit at some strip mall, had a stripper offer up skin, and was going to attempt a peacock on the side of the ribs for my first tattoo, and the only person whom had any experience with tattoo's was the person whom i was about to tattoo. What is so funny? Anyways that first half hour was priceless, the next three and half hours I worked so hard to outline that peacock with my 3 liner. So anyways my dumbass must have said a lil too much on my face book post so on the following Tuesday I get a call from my mentor. Did you tattoo someone without me? Why? Well facebook...um did it say i tattoo'd someone on fb? Um sure sounded like it? I was playing semantics...would that be a problem? I am done I don't need you thanks a lot good bye. WTF and she even deleted me as a fb friend. Wow I fucked up... I had it set up so nicely got a lil ambitious I knew I should have had someone watching over me what a dumbass. Lost it all I thought. I wallowed in my shame for a week and half but I had another couple friends whom wanted a tattoo. Where was i going to learn? That was only about a year ago...I started #2 and #3 went of to 4,5, and 6. No guidance no one showing me anything. I was reintroduced to a friend of mine about the same time whom had been tattooing for 14 years all self taught he invited me over and we talked I told him about my experience he was supportive and showed me some stuff. Meanwhile i continued to tattoo people get paid for it and really started to love the process of it. I was offered another apprenticeship with my friend whom was self taught and because of my first experience i was a lil gun shy about starting another apprenticeship type relationship. I continued on my own worked with friends and any other clients I could get and recently I just decided to tattoo out of my apartment.

So how did I get here....well a few months back I met another artist who came from the world of graffiti and was apprenticing under another tattoo artist here in #SacToe916. So anyways i added a few more fb friends and kept my eye to what was going on in my small town. A few months back I had the pleasure of meeting my new fb friends in person. Immediately the discussion goes to the importance of an apprenticeship, again I am doing fairly well on my own without one, so again I am a lil more hesitant about the status quo response from "tattoo community" but we go on to talk and this new friend says forget all the apprenticeship stuff go get some tattoo's done, go check out Last Sparrow Tattoo interview section and come by the shop. He told me two sites to check out one being Last Sparrow Tattoo and the other was tattoosnob.com, I wrote them down in my sketch book and proceeded to forget about it. A month later i am searching for which sketchbook I wrote it in.. what was the link again, i just couldn't find it. Somehow out of this faint memory i remember Last Sparrow, i find the site I find the interview section, wow i just found the gold mine. I still haven't yet checked out tattoosnob.com yet, i only just found the links two nights ago in my sketch book. That is why i know it is tattoosnob.com. Which interview did I check out first? Oh yaah that guy from that tattoo show with Dave Navaro, let me check out Oliver Peck interview. WTF That fool didn't change out his needles he made a foot pedal out of a cassette case, he was tattooing folks while on acid? They didn't tell me about that in the apprenticeships, that guy did it all wrong. Oh the lightbulb went on...i knew there wasn't anything to this, besides that there is so much to learn. Anyways I immediately devoured the rest of the interviews and understood that i just need to get more work done by more folks.

Again a year ago Ed Hardy was just some douchebag who sold his name to some fashion designer and every two bit douchebag would sport around town. A year ago I couldn't tell you the difference between a 7 mag and a 7 flat. Today I know that i don't know...and it's not a bad spot to be. As far as if i am a "scratcher" or a "tattoo artist" it isn't for me to decide only time will tell. I just know i have a lot of work to do and get done, but by far this has been one of the most important decisions i have done for myself. I love the medium, the process, the craft, and the history of it. I understand the current frustration discussed in these interviews with the current rise of the information age. I have seen it across many spectrums what happened to tattooing has happened in field of aerosol writing & street art, same thing happened to poker. In my field of graphic design anyone with photoshop can be a "designer". I have never been in this for fashion or to be cool. I am in this to make some money, and as an artist this is important to me. I don't care to be the best but i do care about learning whom is good and why they are good. I have a new level of respect for most of the cats that started doing this in the 90's and got the first hand experience from the cats that put it down. There is a lot to learn and i intend to learn as much as I can. So I want to Thank Scott Sylvia for putting out some proper content in the the interviews and forums. I want to thank Matt Marsango at Hemlock Collective for turning me onto Last Sparrow. I want to thank Victor Pryor at Greenskull for the guidance and support, and last but not least I need to thank Heidi over at Pretty In Ink for the opportunity to introduce me to this world. In hindsight you did exactly what you should have done. Looking forward to meeting more folks in the future.

Namaste,

Brian Wermund aka Homaside

http://www.facebook.com/Homaside.SacToe916

Twitter @homaside & instagram @homaside

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Androosh Regular

Androosh

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Hey. Holla. Sacto Represent.

That's a lot of info to digest. So wait, do you have an apprenticeship or what?

Really, take a pair of binoculars and a lawn chair down to the corner of 16th and J on a Saturday afternoon...maybe a little icebox with a sandwich and a pepsi...watch those dudes at American Graffiti just straight deal with walk-ins all day and put out great tattoo after great tattoo. Can you hang in that environment? That's what you should be aspiring to. My $0.02. Good luck on your journey.

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Abellve Regular

Abellve

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Hey. Holla. Sacto Represent.

That's a lot of info to digest. So wait, do you have an apprenticeship or what?...

Looks like a no from what I'm gathering. He's in it to make money (his words) and get all the hard earned information he can Google. His apprenticeship didn't move fast enough so he decided to throw it away and kickstart a career in his apartment.

Time has already told. You are indeed a scratcher. Here, you may not find what you're looking for exactly but there's a good chance you'll find what you should -- if you heed what experienced and established tattooers have to offer instead of throwing out whatever doesn't fit with your idea of how it should go.

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slayer9019 Autobot

slayer9019

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too long to read... someone please paraphrase...

quickly summed up below

Looks like a no from what I'm gathering. He's in it to make money (his words) and get all the hard earned information he can Google. His apprenticeship didn't move fast enough so he decided to throw it away and kickstart a career in his apartment.

Time has already told. You are indeed a scratcher. Here, you may not find what you're looking for exactly but there's a good chance you'll find what you should -- if you heed what experienced and established tattooers have to offer instead of throwing out whatever doesn't fit with your idea of how it should go.

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Abellve Regular

Abellve

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...My name is Brian, some call me B, some call me Werm, some call me Homaside... #SacToe916...A...friend from high school she said "hey you still doing art? You should start tattooing"...apprenticeships...I didn't have the money and was too old to be someones bitch...I was told the only rule was in order to learn to tattoo you had to have one first. I was also told it wouldn't be earlier then 3 months...my personal goal was to be tattooing by time I started back at school begininging of September...an artist friend of mine...thought it was silly that you needed to have a tattoo before you even tattooed someone... he said I will set you up with one of those starter kits...we clean up the welding table...LOL! how funny is this right? I just happened to pick up a starter kit at some strip mall, had a stripper offer up skin...So anyways my dumbass...face book...a call from my mentor. Did you tattoo someone without me? Why?...I am done I don't need you thanks a lot good bye. WTF ...I had another couple friends whom wanted a tattoo...I started #2 and #3 went of to 4,5, and 6. No guidance no one showing me anything. I continued to tattoo people get paid for it...I was offered another apprenticeship with my friend whom was self taught and because of my first experience i was a lil gun shy about starting another apprenticeship type relationship. I continued on my own... out of my apartment...#SacToe916. So anyways i added a few more fb friends...discussion goes to the importance of an apprenticeship...hesitant about the status quo response from "tattoo community"...this new friend says forget all the apprenticeship stuff go get some tattoo's done, go check out Last Sparrow Tattoo...Oh yaah that guy from that tattoo show with Dave Navaro, let me check out Oliver Peck interview. WTF...I knew there wasn't anything to this...As far as if i am a "scratcher" or a "tattoo artist" it isn't for me to decide only time will tell...I understand the current frustration discussed in these interviews with the current rise of the information age. I have seen it across many spectrums what happened to tattooing has happened in field of aerosol writing & street art, same thing happened to poker...I am in this to make some money...I don't care to be the best...So I want to Thank Scott Sylvia for putting out some proper content in the the interviews and forums.

Namaste

http://www.facebook.com/Homaside.SacToe916

Twitter @homaside & instagram @homaside

@G.Uristti

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Jomester Initiated

Jomester

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i'm 34 and if you want something bad enough you will make the sacrifice, maybe have to be some ones bitch.. and as a career graffiti writer i can tell you nothing has happened to that scene remotely close to tattooing. graffiti isnt or ever will be about a dollar.

edit when i say career writer it isnt be cause thats what i did for money, its because i dedicated every day all around the country for over 15 years to nothing but that.

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Brian Wermund Initiated

Brian Wermund

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Hey. Holla. Sacto Represent.

That's a lot of info to digest. So wait, do you have an apprenticeship or what?

Really, take a pair of binoculars and a lawn chair down to the corner of 16th and J on a Saturday afternoon...maybe a little icebox with a sandwich and a pepsi...watch those dudes at American Graffiti just straight deal with walk-ins all day and put out great tattoo after great tattoo. Can you hang in that environment? That's what you should be aspiring to. My $0.02. Good luck on your journey.

Nope no apprenticeship yet? American Graffiti is on the top of the list to check out how a walk-in shop does it... no argument there. Thank you for your two cents.

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Brian Wermund Initiated

Brian Wermund

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Looks like a no from what I'm gathering. He's in it to make money (his words) and get all the hard earned information he can Google. His apprenticeship didn't move fast enough so he decided to throw it away and kickstart a career in his apartment.

Time has already told. You are indeed a scratcher. Here, you may not find what you're looking for exactly but there's a good chance you'll find what you should -- if you heed what experienced and established tattooers have to offer instead of throwing out whatever doesn't fit with your idea of how it should go.

LOL not surprised by the comments....probably well deserved. If I were to check my personal motivations yes it is about the money, nothing wrong with that. Then again it wasn't an apprenticeship, I was allowed to sit in and watch and learn. Yes maybe it didn't go fast enough, maybe my ambitiousness got the best of me fair enough. Ok I can accept the scratcher title. I am not interested in picking up bits and pieces to find out what will fit. I am here to learn what I can. Help or don't help Hate or don't hate no worries i will keep it moving. Respect.

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Brian Wermund Initiated

Brian Wermund

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And me without a Facebook acct. Perhaps they could be posted here so we could see what doing fairly well on your own looks like. We love threads with photos.

I thought i needed to do my initiation first, then drop 10 thoughtful comments before i start posting pics...i have no problem posting pics...and will do...and looking forward to getting ripped apart...

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Brian Wermund Initiated

Brian Wermund

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i'm 34 and if you want something bad enough you will make the sacrifice, maybe have to be some ones bitch.. and as a career graffiti writer i can tell you nothing has happened to that scene remotely close to tattooing. graffiti isnt or ever will be about a dollar.

edit when i say career writer it isnt be cause thats what i did for money, its because i dedicated every day all around the country for over 15 years to nothing but that.

Yes writing isn't about the money...true I except that premise...then why have so many writers going into Tattooing? for the love? for the craft? or to support there writing? Its just a question...

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Jomester Initiated

Jomester

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Yes writing isn't about the money...true I except that premise...then why have so many writers going into Tattooing? for the love? for the craft? or to support there writing? Its just a question...

i want to state first and foremost i dont want to come off like im tryin to be a dick or "slaying" thats not my place here or anywhere on the net...

i feel like tattooing for me was just a natural life progression, i love tattoo's getting them learning about them and i like being creative. i dont like the art "scene" or much care to paint canvas. it doesnt get me off like writing does.

tattooing would not fund my graffiti, graffiti for me is "free" consider homedepot ect. a sponcer as i was pretty prolific with my racking.

i kinda lost interest with graffiti as i realized i was taking a fun nick name game to serious and when my son asked my why i just marked on the box truck in traffic and around the same time was focusing more on tattooing. ?(dont get me wrong i still get it in)

this is just me, i cant speak on other writers. but to be honest money doesnt have much to do with why i got invloved i make maybe 10$ a day as an apprentice where im at work 60 hours a week. basicly pays for lunch.

im currently located in a small seasonal town so wont make much money when i do tattoo. and as a young in skill tattooer i wont think ill see much money if and when i move.

but it gets me out of the house keeps my quest and hunger for knowledge fufilled as i cant see any end to me learning.

and legal fee's way down.

i can go on for ever but i doubt you or anyone else could give a shit about some dudes life.

i wish you good luck on your quest. you can message me in private if you wish to discuss any graffiti type shit further.

-JM1 NSF

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Brian Wermund Initiated

Brian Wermund

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There we go...that wasn't so hard. I will save graffiti talk for another forum that isn't why I am here. While I will admit my motivation is money it isn't my primary motivation for going into tattooing. I have spent years studying art, design, and craft. Primarily tattooing is a trade, trades are often done by craftsmen at times design comes into play and in few rare instances it can become art. I save my art practice for my own time, and i will design when it is called upon, but right now I am embarking on a journey of a craftsmen in a trade. For me tattooing does seem to be a natural life progression and it is probably the same for many other tattoo artists. I am very much an idealist and if you said there is no money in it it still probably would not deter me from pursuing more knowledge about this medium. I enjoy the process the craft and the history, I am not trying to jump into this to make my name open up a shop and start a clothing company. To me this is so much more then just a trade or a job, the experiences we get to have with clients are so much larger then most of our clients or even some tattoo artists even recognize. But that is just this scratchers opinion and you know what they say about opinions. I appreciate your comments and i may take you up on the private message if i want to chat up "graffiti type shit" but may hit you up more about tattooing. Hope all is well and maybe we shall cross path's on our quest. namaste

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