Many people believe that art is nothing more than a hobby, but everyday people are proving this belief wrong by pursuing the art world further than a hobby. One student doing this is Senior Kendall Lee. Lee is a student at Oviedo High School that has done artwork ever since 2020 during the pandemic.
“Over Covid I had nothing to do so I really started getting into it, and started applying to art shows,” said Lee.
They would mostly draw and paint, and started to take this hobby more seriously and view it more as a potential career. They discovered tattooing when they were twelve and found much interest in it.
“My mom went to get a tattoo, and I joined her. I saw it and realized that it is literally the coolest thing I have ever seen in my entire life,” Lee said.
Lee felt that it was a whole other world of art to explore. They then realized that once they turned 18, they wanted a tattoo. They’ve talked to many artists from different shops, asking to be their apprentice. They quickly learned about all of the qualifications to be an apprentice, such as being safety and health certified, as well as knowing CPR.
“This summer I am signed up to take my blood borne pathogens course, which is one of the safety courses you have to take to become an apprentice,” Lee said.
Lee hopes that with her art experience, and her practicing with fake skin it will help lead her to becoming a better apprentice. Lee also is trying to branch out by starting to do digital art to help out with their apprenticeship.
“I want to take other people’s ideas and put them into my own style of art,” they said
Lee wants to pursue their tattooing as a possible job for them. Their main goal with being an apprentice is to learn this new art style and see where it can take them.
“Tattooing is just another thing that I want to master” said Lee
Some people might really like the idea of tattooing and becoming a tattoo artist, but may not want to commit to it because it isn’t a job that a lot of people have. Lee knows that to pursue this apprenticeship isn’t easy, but they know that this is what they want.
“You have to have a strong confidence in yourself. If it is good enough for you it doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks” said Lee.
Lee realizes that there is a lot of criticism when it comes to art, but for them the key is self confidence, and knowing to believe in their artwork as being great. No matter what anyone thinks.
“People really like to look down on you because it’s not their idea of art and you need to push past that,” said Lee.
Luckily to help Lee through this journey they have full support to pursue tattooing. At first they might have been unsure of it, but realized how much it meant to them. With this support, they have big plans for the summer to put up their artwork in business, and to be in a ton of art markets.
“I’m going to do a couple of art shows in Cities Art over in Orlando over the summer,” said Lee.
Getting this apprenticeship will mean a lot to Lee, and will really bring their artwork to a new level, and become a master of multiple art forms.
“I want to gain this experience and technique to expand my own art, and to eventually tattoo their art on people,” said Lee
