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Interested in an apprenticeship? Here’s a once in a lifetime opportunity courtesy of Russ Abbott and Ink & Dagger Tattoo.

We are now accepting portfolio submissions for a rare opportunity to enter in to an apprenticeship under Russ Abbott. Ink & Dagger Tattoo is looking for an Atlanta area creative who dreams of becoming a tattoo artist. Great tattoo apprenticeships are hard to find and are rarely offered publicly so don’t miss this chance of a lifetime.

APPLY NOW: Please submit the following materials by mail to Ink & Dagger Tattoo c/o apprenticeship 1036 West College Avenue Decatur, GA 30030

1. Your resume

2. A 500 word personal essay. Tell us about yourself, why you think you would make a great tattoo artist, etc.

3. 15-20 samples of your drawings, paintings, sketches, and tattoo flash. No digital files please. Print them out.

4. Several photos of you and your tattoo collection. (Having tattoos is a requirement).

Please do not apply unless you are already deeply commited to creating artwork and collecting tattoos.

We are expecting a huge number of submissions so please be patient and don’t bug us. If you are selected as a finalist, you will be contacted for a series of personal interviews. If you make it through the interviews and are selected for the apprenticeship, you will be required to pay a $2000 deposit up front that will cover the cost of your initial tattoo supplies once you are ready to start tattooing. Leaving the apprenticeship early will forfeit the deposit. There is no charge for the apprenticeship itself but you will be expected to be present and dedicated to the cause at all times the shop is open for business and sometimes longer than that. A typical apprenticeship lasts for one to two years depending on your progress. At some point you will be able to start earning a living tattooing in the shop. For the next few years, you will not have a life, you’re girlfriend or boyfriend will most likely break up with you, and if you’re right for this job, you will love every minute of it.

I’m not going to lie, it’s getting tough to keep writing original witty entries for all of these owl tattoos. With that being said, I still love them.

Tattoo by Kurt Fagerland at Ink & Dagger Tattoo in Atlanta, GA

After doing a little research into Kabuki, it looks like this villain mask is the closest I can get to the real deal without a lengthy trip to Japan.

Tattoo by Brandon Bond at All or Nothing Tattoo in Atlanta, GA

Dave Tedder consistently puts out quality work like this, but for some he seems to fly under the radar. I’d love to see a big update from him. I know he does big pieces, now it’s just a matter of us seeing them.

Tattoo by Dave Tedder at All or Nothing Tattoo in Atlanta, GA

I’ve never watched a single episode of Lost, so I had no clue who this was when I first saw this tattoo.

Tattoo by Kurt Fagerland at Ink & Dagger Tattoo in Atlanta, GA

Just a reminder that Ink & Dagger Tattoo are hosting the 2011 Man Day this Saturday.

If you’re anywhere near Atlanta, I highly suggest checking this out. I went last year, and it was one of my favorites events of the year – by far.

Tattoo by Kurt Fagerland at Ink & Dagger Tattoo in Atlanta, GA

We’ve all seen a ship tattoo similar to this, but there’s a lot to be said about an artist that can do it and still make you say “Oh, wow.”

Tattoo by Jason Monroe at at Ink & Dagger Tattoo in Atlanta, GA

I’ve been waiting for Ink & Dagger Tattoo to announce the dates for Man Day, and they finally did. The testerone filled event will be taking place Saturday, August 13th. From 12pm to 4pm, the crew will be at the shop hammering out $50 Man Day tattoos. From 5pm to 12am, make your way down to Twains Billards and Tap for all of the manly fun.

Last year I was fortunate enough to be able to attend Man Day, and made a video to recap the event. The video turned out really well (if I can say so myself) and it really captured the spirit of the event. At approximately one minute into the video, I show Myke Chambers and Timmy B. pretending to be very affectionate with each other. While this was obviously a joke, people really jumped on the band wagon and gave Myke and Timmy a hard time about the video. This subject came up again in Detroit, and Myke was able to record his official rebuttal.

Below are the two videos. The first video is the Man Day from 2010, and below that is Myke’s rebuttal.

Myke Chambers has spent the past week hanging out at Ink & Dagger Tattoo, where he did the tattoo below. Myke’s headed to Endless Summer Tattoo in Cocoa Beach, Florida next. If you’re interested in getting tattooed, give Myke a shout.

Tattoo by: Myke Chambers at Art Machine Productions in Philadelphia, PA

A picture might be worth a thousand words, but sometimes a little background can add a lot:

About three years ago this guy left a crazy review on Yelp about how everyone that works for me is a bunch of drunks that never show up for appointments and have been fired from every shop they’ve ever worked for. He goes on to say that I am a good guy (and tattooer!) that I felt bad for all these people and took them on.

According to him, my staff is a bunch of black sheep and I am their captain… or something like that. We found out who the guy was and let’s just say his issues had nothing to do with tattooing. He had never been in our shop and had only met one of my tattooers. I have this amazing crew of not just great tattooers, but great people I am proud of: my black sheep squadron! Right after this happened we had a black sheep party at the shop and did 67 black sheep tattoos in one day!

Tattoo by: Jason Kelly at Memorial Tattoo in Atlanta, GA