I am amazed that it's been a year now that I have been back to working back in NYC, and I don't think anyone could have imagined how that year actually turned out. Far from what I expected is the only way I would describe it, had I known how it was to be I certainly would have done things differently but who can't say that about their lives. It's been a learning experience to say the least but the bottom line is that I am still here and have taken all the lessons from the past year to heart. Either way I am grateful for the experience/s and that I have endured them, not that I would care to repeat the last year. I still have much to accomplish and have no doubt that it's only a matter of time before I will since I'm not too far off course from what I had set out to do a year ago. Currently I'm working from my home studio but the days may be numbered as I want and need a greater audience to reach to insure my success down here. As much as I would prefer to work at home just for the volume of art I have been working on to say nothing of how enjoyable I have found working without the distractions I get working in a shop, I am just not working often enough to cover my costs. I wish I was doing half as well as people think I'm doing, the reality is it's been a struggle from day one and continuing on at this pace would only serve to insure another unstable Winter - and there is no way I am willing to suffer through another one like this past one ever again.
Without a sudden influx of steady work that would help the growth of my small enterprise I am bound to find a shop where I can ply my trade on a percentage of a rate set by the house, let them set the hourly rate and prices. And once I do hang my hat at a shop that will be the only place I would tattoo, I had to rearrange my habitat to accomodate the tattooing, and am ready to put things back and sell off my excess equipment and use the room as an art studio as I originally intended and why not, it's only being used part time for tattooing, not often enough for me to continue overlook living like this in such a small space.
I am starting to look and don't know how long it may take to secure a spot in a decent shop - but for now I am here looking forward.