Today we’d like to introduce you to Morgan Bruinsma
Hi Morgan, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I grew up in Erie Pennsylvania surrounded by a pretty artistic family. I started drawing and creating art around 12 years old and it quickly became something that consumed my time after school. I would spend all day in my room drawing. I’ve always dreamt of leaving my hometown since I was young and felt like needed to spread my wings even though I didn’t know what that looked like. Right after graduating high school I moved around for a bit trying to find something that felt right. I lived in colorado and Virginia Beach with some traveling in between working random jobs. A couple years later I ended up back in erie temporarily doing construction. After a few years I grew more and more tired of the 9 to 5 grind doing something that meant nothing to me so I started brainstorming options. I honestly never thought of being a tattoo artist growing up, it seemed unattainable so I hadn’t given it much thought. It wasn’t until I started to get tattooed at 21 that I began to become more interested in the industry and found myself wishing I could do something like that. One day I told myself there’s no reason I couldn’t be a tattooer and that day jumped online to buy everything that I would need to start tattooing. I tattooed a honeydew, myself, and then some friends. It quickly became clear that this was something I did not want to try to learn on my own. I needed some guidance and no amount of Youtube tutorials were going to help me. I quit my construction job and learned how to bartend to get me through an apprenticeship financially. After a year or so of drawing, I compiled a portfolio and moved out of my small city to San Diego to look for an apprenticeship. After months of walking in to countless shops with no luck it I decided to get tattooed by Hernan Coretta at Guru Tattoo and had brought my portfolio with me. After the session I asked him if he could take a look at my portfolio and that led to me having a meeting with the owner of Guru Tattoo (Aaron Della Vedova) who offered me an apprenticeship at his shop. With the talent inside Guru and the reputation the shop had I couldn’t have imagined a better outcome to my journey. I started my apprenticeship April 2023 and I graduated my apprenticeship the start of 2024 and am now a full time tattoo artist.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It has not been a smooth road figuring out being an artist is what was meant for me. I think as I explored who I was as a person and got to know myself better I realized that a traditional job was just not going to work for me if I wanted to be happy. Moving across the country without much savings and no job, getting turned down by so many shops was discouraging at times but I wasn’t going to give up. Getting through an apprenticeship making very little money was stressful especially in a place like San Diego. I worked 7 days a week for months to be able to pay my bills during that time.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
Currently I don’t have a specific style of tattooing or artwork that I specialize in but I’m moving towards doing japanese inspired work. I would like to do more large scale projects.. leg/arm sleeves, bodysuits etc. Aaron Della Vedova, Hernan Coretta, his wife, Salome Sajnin, and the rest of the artists at Guru have been a huge inspiration and help to me along my tattooing journey. I wouldn’t be where I am today without their influence. I think what sets me apart from others is my willingness to jump in to large projects and not being scared of getting out of my comfort zone. I believing that what I can do is limitless.. tattooing and in all areas of my life.
Networking and finding a mentor can have such a positive impact on one’s life and career. Any advice?
Tattooing can be a bit tough to get started out in since it is mostly verbal agreements between an apprentice and a mentor, there’s a lot of room for things to go wrong. My advice would be to build a strong fountain within yourself and rely on your intuition. You need to have confidence in yourself to make it through the ups and downs of reaching your goals and dreams that you have. Be genuine and kind. People are much more likely to want to help you they can tell you’re heart is in it and you have good intentions. If you stay true to yourself, good things will come your way.
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