Going into my senior year as a studio art major I was looking for a little more direction for my future after graduation and an internship really seemed to fit the bill. My degree has prepared me with artistic skills but my internship is preparing me for real world business and what it really means to work for yourself.
What I was really wanting out of this internship is experiencing the reality of being an artist and business owner. I found an internship with Shannon Young, a local artist, who owns a tattoo shop and studio here in Tallahassee. Though most my time is spent in the shop, I have nothing to do with the tattoo aspect of her business but rather her personal art and daily activities. Shannon mostly has me working as her personal assistant. I help plan her schedule, make appointments, help with customers and paperwork, promote and list her artwork online, and manage her webpages. Besides these day to day tasks, I’ve been very grateful for Shannon’s attention to my own artwork. She has me doing a lot of tasks in preparing myself for being an artist such as setting up a personal website, how to promote myself, making business cards, making proper portfolio, and how to contact galleries, etc. We’ve also gone out an done a few community events together like First Friday’s and Experience Asia in downtown Tallahassee where we set up her artwork and got a chance to interact with the community and promote her shop and art. So far this experience has been really encouraging for me in seeing that it is possible to be a self-sustaining artist at a young age. I’ve learned a lot about time management, organization, and the self-motivation that is necessary to have in working for yourself. I have also learned a lot about marketing myself and not being afraid to get yourself out there. I’ve really enjoyed be able to work one-on-one with Shannon. It’s made the experience a lot more interactive. This internship so far has fulfilled everything I was hoping to get out of this experience.