The sum of all parts

When I first started posting on ModBlog, one of the first things I did, was a short interview with Gregory. Greg and I were not friends way back when. In fact, I think it’s safe to say we disliked each other quite a bit. Life is funny though and it has a way of turning things around and you end up finding out that person you really didn’t like is not so bad after all.

Recently, I happened to see the new work that Greg is turning out and I thought it was time to catch up with one of IAM’s more controversial and outspoken members and find out what was new.

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Life doesn’t always deal us the hand we’re looking for. Suffering a serious motorcycle accident and then battling cancer might cause another person to fold and give up. Not Greg. But nothing is ever quite as it seems and, opening himself up and showing me a more vulnerable side, Greg confessed to me that for nearly three years after his accident, he was a drug addict, addicted to pain medication, and it wasn’t until he was diagnosed with cancer that he quit the drugs.

This isn’t a sad story though because, as Greg tells me, “With my melon finally getting its shit together and me moving out of East Van and all of its negative vibe I am once again the Greg of old.” Like any rebirth, beauty rises from the ashes and Greg’s work is just that, beauty.

Wondering about his inspiration, I asked Greg to explain how he came up with these new designs:

The new stuff came about while I was looking at this woman wearing glasses and the frames she had on. They have what is called a torx screw holding most of it all together. Then out of nowhere I said that would be cool looking finger ring. Lucky me who just happens to use Solidworks, I went into my shop the next day and started to fuck around. It took me a few days of looking but I found a company in the great white north that manufactured the torx screws. Once I nailed that down I got started messing around on my lathe and mill. These rings were all just up inside my messed up melon and I just did what I thought I saw. But now that I have had a chance to see them and touch with my one good grubby hand I see what I want to do next. The two finger ring was just for shits and giggles and I of course want to change that up to but this time I will use torx screws and something else which I can not tell you about or I would be forced to kill you…

What’s up Greg’s sleeve remains a mystery but he did share some of what he’ll be doing in the future. Next fall Greg will be taking that mighty leap back into the murky waters of education as a full time student at the British Columbia Institute of Technology. There will be no stopping him then! If you want to keep tabs on Greg (or maybe order a ring for someone or for yourself), you can visit his website: http://www.gregorycullum.com

One of the reasons I wanted to interview Greg back then and why I’m posting this now is because while we deservedly give a lot of focus to the practitioners of body modification, we often don’t stop to find out about the rest of us. I’m not talking about long dramatized stories about what a tattoo means to you so you can get some air time on TV, but who we really are and what we’re really up to.

I did promise you I’d be serious this Friday and I like to keep my word. There is a lot of negative energy thrown out there in the world. I’m a little tired of it personally. So let’s take a minute and focus on the positives of triumph over adversity and creating beauty in the wake of something ugly. Have a happy and safe weekend folks.