Gainesville, FL — When Jack Manfredi graduated from Gainesville High School in 2020, he went missing.
I fell in love with pottery in my high school pottery class, but when I applied to various universities and programs due to the pandemic, I realized something.
No matter where I applied, the answer was the same, I had to complete my ceramics degree online. For such a hands-on career path, this was a serious drawback.
“I feel like it’s not the best use of my time and money,” he said.
So instead of completing a degree, Manfredi decided to immerse himself in an old, largely forgotten method of education: the apprenticeship.
Apprenticeship is an ancient practice that spans a vast number of industries. Artists, technical workers, and merchants all learn through immersive practice under the watchful eye of their respective masters. An organic, personalized approach to education is intertwined with trust as apprentices grow into full-fledged professionals, regardless of profession.
For Manfredi, the choice between college and apprenticeship was an easy one.
His ceramics teacher in high school, Sarah Truman, had a brand new studio and watched him grow in the art. Her assistant had left the company at the time, so she needed someone to help with the store. Manfredi was already there, volunteering in the studio whenever possible. She decided this was the perfect time to take on the role of official mentor.
“We were interviewing people all over the country who had graduated from undergraduate studies,” she said. “And I was like, ‘Why are you bringing a student here to make us wait to see if they get a residency when he’s working here?'” studio potter magazine To fund his education, Manfredi chose to make clay-stained hands a lifestyle under Truman’s diligent guidance.
Non-academic education is often seen as outdated, but in fact remains the norm in some industries, including tattooing. talks about the value of Mentors actively invest in the success of their apprentices. The future of the shop depends on the quality of the art that comes out of it.
“A tattoo apprenticeship is an organic thing that tries to fit in with the person you’re learning,” he said.
(Elise Plank/WUFT)
Tattoos require a special kind of grit. The bold colors and clean lines carved into the skin of a human canvas take a long time to master and even longer to perfect. No, but the ultimate goal is to build trust in the artist’s work.
The relationship between mentor and apprentice is as unique as an individual’s art style. That’s why Anthem only accepts 2 or 3 apprentices at a time. Tattoo schools are generally frowned upon because she tries to en masse teach 20-30 students at a time. Such unique style developments are difficult to replicate in the classroom.
“People learn in different ways. People grow at different rates,” he said. “We want to be able to pay enough attention to not let a single person slip through the cracks.”
Many schools teach the basic mechanics of tattooing, but don’t encourage artists to lean into their own style in the way mentorship does.
“They’re not watching you and following up to make sure you’re doing those things,” he said. There is no one like you.”
After apprenticing at Anthem and working his way up to become owner and veteran artist, Strating credits this tough love mentality with his success in a difficult industry.
“Even when [criticism] It seems tough, but that’s because you have difficult clients,” he said. “It all affects your future success.”
Training for success and self-reliance is the hallmark of traditional apprenticeships. Apprentices in more technical professions, such as electrical engineers, rely on mentors who have undergone at least four years of her training to gain various levels of certification and guide them through the tricky world of circuits.
“We have an instructor who is also an electrician. Rega said.
He is licensed statewide to install electrical systems in buildings and to train under him electricians.
After an apprenticeship in 1988 and mentoring his three sons in the industry, Rega talks about the value of the trust a mentor builds with a mentee.
“If you don’t trust the person you work with, that’s a big problem. rice field.
Accompanying someone with years of concrete, hands-on experience creates a bond of trust and instills a sense of autonomy in learning that classroom instruction sometimes misses. Reflecting on her own journey compared to her apprenticeship, Truman continues to advocate the benefits of one-on-one relationships.
“I didn’t understand why he was going to collect so much student loan debt like I was,” she said.
Manfredi considers himself fortunate to have experience working through an increasingly obscure system. For him, “The Apprentice’s Dying Art” is kept alive by people seeking a different kind of life.He and Truman are friends outside of work. He goes to her for advice and they talk politics. Manfredi said he found connection with his job, his mentor, and the people around him.
“I am friends with her family and her children,” he said. “We have very good working relationships as well as social relationships.”
Whether in a fine art like pottery, a field like tattooing, or the basics of the craft trade, apprentices learn from their mentors and grow into experts in the craft’s traditions.
“You should be crazy about this job,” said Manfredi. “You should fall in love with what they make and be inspired by how they live.”
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