left to the desert to make a decision.
Whoever has been in the desert knows that you can’t run away from
your own thoughts there. There is something about the endless horizon, the sand, and yourself alone that could bring the spirituality even
into an atheist and make him face the truth. After five days alone in
the desert, I decided to dedicate my life to the philosophical-spiritual
point of understanding what is so special about tattoos by becoming
a tattoo artist.
Every second that I thought about being a tattoo artist, I had a shiver
running down my spine, that taught me that this is the right thing to
do. I decided to reside in Berlin, I have never been there before, but
had a good feeling about the place and to take the chances to learn
how to be a tattoo artist there seemed more realistic than in Israel.
I knew that the hard part will be to leave everything behind and
thought that if it wouldn’t work out in Berlin, I would just continue to
the next destination and it wouldn’t be as hard as leaving Tel Aviv. So,
I sold everything I ever had and landed in Berlin in the search for the
opportunity of the open door…
Was it hard to find a tattoo shop in Berlin where you could work
at?
Landing in Berlin was easy, finding a place to live and a shop that
would take me was very hard. I was couch surfing for three months
and after finding a place to live, I started my search of a shop that
would open the door for me. I ran into so many different people and
artists but most of their answers were negative. I didn’t have any
portfolio to show and no experience in drawing, just a lot of motivation and a lot of hope. Finally, I found a place that opened the door of
opportunity for me and allowed me to have a little room in the back
where I practiced on punks that didn’t care what their tattoos looked
like. I also agreed to clean the shop as a way to thank them for taking
me in. I guess they didn’t actually believe that I would succeed as a
tattooist but they really couldn’t resist the motivation I showed.
After 2 months of practicing, I started to feel more and more secure
with my tattoo machines and started to get customers. It was a bit
stressful in the beginning but it start to feel more comfortable as soon
as I held my machines. I remember that I felt connected to some
ancient subconscious that was living in me for many years. And I still
get connected to that point whenever I hold my machines and get
filled with a warm feeling inside. You know, I always had a little problem tattooing in front of people, as I think that this is a very intimate
process and the experience of getting tattooed raises a lot of feelings
to the tattooed person in very interesting levels, pain, happiness,
satisfaction, trust, hope, love, and even hate. A lot of those feelings
are surround us while getting tattooed and I guess that in order to
have this experience as best as possible, it has to be as intimate as
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