I am back to square one having only lost one calender year and on the verge of being where I should have been a year ago: working in a shop owned and operated by tattoo artists, people who understand the nature of the tattoo business. This is important to me having owned an operated a very successful business for over a decade before the bottom fell out due to the economy taking a shit. The only problem I had during that time was trying to run the shop AND focusing on the quality of the product I was executing. I juggled both for many years and had resigned myself to just doing one or the other since selling the shop, given I enjoy creating work more than overseeing it, I just wanted to work somewhere that I can focus on the work and let someone else deal with the rest of the bullshit. That's it, I don't need or want the stress that comes with owning/operating a shop, I just want to focus on my work and nothing else, I honestly believe my work can only get better if I can just focus on my product. I can still utilize all my business experience for my fine art and I have no worries about those products, it's second nature at this point.
In a way I am glad things didn't work out at my home, though I did manage to create a great deal of art with all of the down time, I have too many ideas for body art that would never come to fruition without the opportunities a shop will provide me with.