Food for thought LOOONG but worth it.

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Haynie

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[FONT=&quot]In my never ending search for text to assign to my reading students I stumbled across a pinstriper's website that had a link to this post from a pinstriping forum. It puts into words why I have not posted pics of any of my pens. They have yet to meet the bar I have set for myself. It is a long post but I think there are some important thoughts. But that is JMO

For All Aspiring And Struggling Stripers
by Mitch Macial[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Back in the 'old days', yes, before my time, there was something called an apprenticeship. If you wanted to learn to make furniture, use machine tools, fix cars build brick walls or paint signs, you found someone to mentor you. That person would take you on as an apprentice and show you the ropes, passing down the trade, craft and tradition. [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]The only people who knew how to do certain things, and properly, were those who wanted to learn the craft/trade bad enough to work for it, for nearly nothing, until they were ready to go out on their own. If you didn't have what it took to turn the trade you were encouraged to find another line of work. [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Fast forward... [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Save for a few instances these days, that tradition is gone, largely in my opinion, due to our fast food, disposable culture, the explosion of the information superhighway and the Internet. Now you can 'teach yourself' how to do just about anything. And now everyone wants to be a Pinstriper. [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]It's just not that simple. [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]I happen to come from a really weird rift in the generational split. Most people my age and younger are from the disposable generation. I happen to fall in with the value side. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]My father was a craftsman tradesman. my grandfathers were craftsmen and tradesmen. If they weren't dedicated to their craft/trade, they didn't eat. They had to be good. They taught me about craft, about not just learning how to do something the right way, but about the right way to learn doing something. [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]That's where most amateur/hobbyist stripers fall short. [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]With nobody standing over their shoulder they are left to their own devices and bad habits, just like 'home tattooists' 'self taught hair stylists' and 'the local handyman'. [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]They look at the Internet at all the jokers and rat stripers posting junk and say..."I can do that", and they're right. They can, and the work still sucks. [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]I say all that to say this. If you are new to this, please understand that you are not magically going to start laying down the most bitchin stuff in the world just by accident. [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]If you are struggling with designs or line consistency, stop. Just stop what ever you're doing. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]If you don't care about actually being good, stop reading now. If you do, continue. [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]There is one thing that cannot be substituted for in any craft. Practice. If you can't stripe 10 straight lines, you haven't practiced enough and you have no business trying to make designs. [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Find, learn and live the 100 line drills. When that becomes second nature, then move onto simple designs. One thing at a time, ask questions, go to shows, panel jams and letterhead meets and watch someone who actually knows what they're doing. Learn a new stroke every week or a new trick once a month. Don't jump in with both feet. It is both detrimental to your over all progress and can be quite frustrating and demoralizing also. [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]There was always one kid in wood shop or ceramics that wanted to carve or sculpt the next Venus di Milo but couldn't turn a simple bed knob on the lathe. He usually wound up smashing his work piece with a hammer out of frustration, not because he wasn't capable, but he was impatient and over ambitious and didn't want to go thru the process of learning. That's exactly what I keep seeing in post after post. [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Maybe its just fun for you and you don't care and you think I'm full of hot air. That's fine. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Maybe you're just a super gifted bad ass and you think I'm full of hot air. That's fine too. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]But if you fall into the same category as the other 99% of us, and really want to be good and kill'em at the shows and sell a million panels, and sell all the purses and rockabilly paraphernalia you can come up with, and paint a hundred mail boxes and tool boxes, and old beer bottles...oh...wait...does anyone stripe cars anymore? [/FONT] [FONT=&quot]

If you want to get good, you're going to have to learn the way they did in the old days. Practice, practice, practice. [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Back when, part of the apprenticeship process, much like in today's tattoo world, involved being forced to do a lot of menial crap that didn't make any sense at first but later you realize it was forming good working habits. It involved being challenged by your mentor, being over seen, guided and corrected by someone with more skill, talent, knowledge and experience than you, and being told when you're ready to start doing customer work. You didn't go solo until you were ready because it's more difficult to repair a damaged reputation then to build a solid one. [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Without those checks, and the addition of the wonderful internet, the level of work flooding the marketplace has diminished to the point that any kook with some 1-shot and a Mack is a pinstriper. I don't know how many real train wrecks I've seen with two pages of "that looks great", "I'd let you stripe my car", "looks good to me" and all kinds of other reinforcement that only hurts the 'striper'. To the uninitiated, I'm sure it looks great, but they probably don't know Von Dutch from Van deKamps. [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Simply put young striper.... [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Aspire to greatness. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Do not settle for mediocrity. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Do as much as is within your power to advance your mastery of the craft. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Don't rush. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Be patient. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Mitch Macial aka AlteredPilot - Tue Nov 14, 2006

Link to original post http://sketchkult.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=6014
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:confused: :confused: I personaly think you are incorrect in not posting photos of your pens. If you are waiting to be a "Master" before sharing your work, we will never see it. Your rap said you need a mentor to learn a craft, this is true, but a mentor only teaches you one way to do something. His way. There are always many people and many ways to complete the same task. The members of this Association are not here to judge you, we are here to show you different ways of doing the same thing. They will answer your questions, tell you where items can be found, give out tips and shortcuts only they know, and support you in any way they can. All you have to do is ask. If you can't show your work, either your quality is to low, or your standards are to high!! I do agree, there aren't enough young people willing to put in the time to learn a craft, but at the same time, the internet can bring the "Master" into your home. Keep turning and show us some photos. Jim S
 
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Actually very inspirational, I wish I'd had a sign like that in the machine shop at school. A few fellows approached learning their skill/trade with a good "teach me I want to learn" attitude, but there were also the "can I get out of here quicker by taking shortcuts"
Glad you posted this Mark and I kind of agree with Plantman, you should show us some of your work, it couldn't be any worse than my first wooden pen!!!
 
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Mmmmm....I'm not so sure I agree. The underlying theme in the post is 'practice,practice,practice, before you show and tell' but if you don't share with your peers whilst you practice and allow them to comment, how on earth will you know if you are improving or not???

I only share my pen making hobby here on IAP and if you look in my album you will see I made some pretty mediocre pens in my time. But if it wasn't for the critiques and comments and stuff I learned from many of the members here that I respect, then I'd still be making the same old stuff.
Share with us and learn with us.:wink:
 
There is a lot in that post. There really is no shortcut to being good at what you do. At work they tell us that if an employee is not doing well you aren't doing them any favors by not telling them. They would much rather have their issues brought to light and told how to do better than be told they are doing fine right up to the point they are laid off due to poor job performance. Also to be great at something one must have the desire to be great. To borrow a line from our training people," The enemy of great is good." I'm glad you posted that. Thank you.
 
Great post, I agree, but without the C & C of the fellow members it is hard to improve on our designs. Yes, craftmen of the past had to take the time to learn from a master craftsman, but, with today as it is, there are a lot of ways to improve on our craft. Once again, great post.
 
He was not saying don't show. He was saying if you show then people ought to be kind enough NOT to just post "great pen!" when the FF is not what it should be. I don't yet because I promised myself a specific milestone before I make the jump to SOYP. I was almost there when I trashed my back. Got everything just waiting in the shop. Trust me my first were much uglier than what has been posted here.
 
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