Celebrating body modification culture since 1994.
Written by
Richard Effin Ivey knows how to make a mark on a person. Including the one he’s dating. This North Carolina scarification was done on Rich’s girlfriend, and includes what I’m guessing is her favorite flower, the stargazer lily. Last time I checked the state flower of NC was the dogwood. Rich works out of Warlock’s Tattoo, which is located in Raleigh, NC.
Written by
What can I say that hasn’t already been said? Ron Garza is a genius with a blade, and any one who doubts that need only look at this Hindi style Mosque that Ron cut recently while on the road.
Written by
You know, I completely forgot today was Friday. This week has been a blur and for some reason today felt like Thursday. Of course with it being Friday, that means it’s time for this week’s scarification follow-up. We’ve seen a couple of scars by Richard Effin Ivey this week, and today’s follow-up is another example of his talents. This scar in particular was important to Richard as it is on his friend, author Malcolm Randall. Malcolm’s book, The Malchemist, is about accepting yourself, and living through the troubles life can throw at you. With self-acceptance being a big part of body modification, it’s no wonder that Malcolm’s book is important to Richard. But enough about the book, let’s take a look at the scar.
To see how this big rib piece healed up, you know what to do.
Here’s how it looked 2 months after the cutting..
And here is Richard and Malcolm 4 months after the cutting, on the day Malcolm’s book was released.
You can see more of Richard’s scars in his BME portfolio gallery.
Written by
Those of you familiar with Jainism will recognize this symbol right away. For those that don’t, the palm with the wheel signifies Ahimsa, one of the main principles of Jainism. It essentially is a symbol meaning to do no harm to any other living creature. Seeing it in this form is interesting, as the creation of this involved not only cutting but branding as well, both of which are pretty harmful. So who better than a minister then to create this piece. Richard Effin Ivey is a minister with the Church of Body Modification, and part of his personal beliefs is using modification for spiritual growth and harmony. Richard serves as a conduit, bringing his faith and skill into his work so that the owner of this scar will take away something that will be with him forever in body, mind, and spirit.
Richard works at Warlock’s Tattoo in Raleigh, NC.
Written by
After talking to Richard Effin Ivey about this scar he did I learned a few things. First, that this is the symbol for Sasuke’s cursed seal from Naruto, and second that the script around the seal spells out the name of his dog. Keep in mind that this photo was taken before the clean up, so there’s a bit of excess blood scattered around.
Written by
It’s time again to check in with the master of the scalpel, Brian Decker, to see what he’s been up to in his Brooklyn studio, Pure Body Arts. From the looks of it, he’s been adding a second wing to a client. Now I don’t know if Brian did the healed one, but it looks like they’re going for an asymmetrical aesthetic. I don’t think I’ve seen a back scar piece of this scale go for asymmetry before, but Brian’s the type of guy who is always looking to do something new, so this is right up his alley.
Check out more of Brian’s scars in his BME portfolio gallery.
Written by
Today’s follow-up is going to be a little different as IAM: Nilrem has not only sent in photos of his scars as they healed, but also wrote about them. So today, you get to hear about the scar healing process from the owner of the scars. But first, here’s how the scar looked right after Brian initially cut it.
The follow up ‘Healed’ pictures are of scars that are 2.5 years old. The were initially cut by Brian Decker of Pure Body Arts in Brooklyn NY, then after healing 5 months later, they were branded over with a hyfrecator for a 2nd round of scarification.
I knew that when getting scarification that the results would vary based on individual healing characteristics, so to not have any expectations. I hoped for a strong visible scar, but was willing to try knowing I may not get exactly what I want. I have very stretchy skin, and I speculate that for this reason I havent scarred as well as I would hope. For this reason, I got the same scar done twice. Initially I thought I wasnt fully satisfied with my experience with scarification, but I have since changed my mind. It might be more subtle then I had initially envisioned but the current pictures I have are taken after I got a recent tan, and when that happens the scars pop, and really highlight my tattoo and I just love it.Even if the elevation of my scar is inconsistent I still think that simple scarification accents work really well with my style of getting simple tattoo designs and words.
You can read the rest of his story after the break.
I wanted to submit this followup, as I think using scars as an outline of lettering tattoo, is semi unique. I have seen other scar and tattoo combinations and scars to create words, but not scars to outline an existing written tattoo. I think its good to see results on someone who is into scarification, but knows that the elevation of the scars will not be consistently as raised or uniform as desired.
One thing to point out is that the aftercare can be exhausting. I always heard that its best to cover fresh scarification for 4-5 weeks, to make it heal extremely slow. Keeping it covered means wrapping it with clear wrap like probably 2-3 times a day. I went through a ton of plastic ziplock bags that I cut in half and medical tape. Occasionally the area under the wrap would get irritated, so I would hold off for a day or 2 and use diaper rash cream. Afterwards as the scar starts to show noticeable closure, the next step is to irritate the skin with sugar&vaseline or light brushing with a toothbrush. In total your looking at a good 2 months before you just leave it alone and dont touch it. It just drains on you after awhile, to always carry bags and tape around, and to have to go to the bathroom when the wrap gets to moist with sweat etc. Depending on the location, wearing the wraps wasnt noticeable, but I started to hate hearing the crinkle of the plastic, and just wanted to be free. After it was time to leave the scar alone to heal, I let it do its thing for a good 1.5 months. This was a nice break, but after 2 months I would like longer. However in my situation knowing how I dont heal as well, and that my scar is now over 4 months old, I figure its best to give it a 2nd attempt at professional scarring, before it starts to really heal at 1yr+. So I jump right back into the 2nd scarring of the same piece, and the process starts over again. In the end its like 6 months before I leave it alone, and its the biggest relief ever, that you almost dont care if it doesnt come out great, you know you tried hard as hell.
Thank you Nilrym for sharing your experience with us. You can see more photos of his scars in the scarification galleries and his IAM page.
Written by
Weeping willows have a bad rap. They’re always seen as a “sad” tree, and most literary uses of them have been to emphasize sadness. However, this cutting by Trickydick is anything but sad. Just looking at it makes me smile at it’s intricacies. See if you can spot the Church of Body Modification logo in the design that Rich cut into Twack.
Written by
EvanxBurke has been featured here a few times before, most notably for his stunning eyes. Today we’re traveling a little south to check out his new chest piece, by Jim Warf from Rogue Elephant in Moreno Valley, CA.
Oh, and the cutting on his chest is by Wes from Electric Chair in Riverside, CA.
Written by
Triskelions seem to be popular these days as it’s the second one we’ve seen in the past week, although in this case it’s a scar and not 33 microdermals. This one in particular was done on Huxley by none other than Steve Haworth, while he was a guest artist at Piercings by J in Guelph, ON.
