98% of the “professional” tattoo industry is filled with sub-par artists learning bad habits from other sub-par artists. I personally don’t like the term “scratcher” any more than I like the term “nigger.” It is a negative label that embodies judgement, discrimination, and bigotry, and lumps a group of people into one generalization; usually only to make the judging party seem better than what it is. I have entered many tattoo shops just to turn around and walk right back out after seeing the working conditions, and they call themselves up to “OSHA standards.” What a joke. Sometimes I think my toilet is a more sanitary work surface than a LOT of these “professional” tattoo work stations. I have also seen tattoos that I’ve been immensly impressed with, and when I ask where it was done, they say, “Outta some guy’s house.” And this is an artist that is termed “scratcher” from these sub-par filthy shops that refused him an apprenticeship in the first place (which was probably for the better)!
Point is: Anyone can go online and study the OSHA standards. Common sense goes a long way, and if the heart is in the right place, a true artist is going to put as much care and consciousness into his surroundings and his client as he is his art; whether or not he is in a shop.
