Slow and steady wins the race. And while Brian may not be the fastest racing snail, he does make the coolest looking ones. By the looks of the photo I’d say this is one of his cutting and burning combo pieces, with the cuts for the lines and branding for the shading.
Here fishy fishy fishy…
Brian did this cutting a little while back when he was doing a guest spot in Berkley, CA
In keeping with the theme from my last post, “mods that stir up a genuine sense of awesomeness for me”, I present to you Mason’s (who you may remember from this Modblog gem from the past ) deep chest “piercings”. I say piercing in quotes, because while these are opening in the skin filled with a piece of jewelry, the procedure to get them there (and healed) was FAR from a piercing.
When I first saw this picture on Tumblr, I shot Mason a message I wanted 2 things: a) a better photo of this mod and maybe some additional photos. b) his permission to post this on modblog. That little bastard never responded to me and I realized 2 things: a) this mod is so AWESOME that if all we can get is a homoerotic myspace mirror shot, then that’s what we will post! b) This is Mason, am I really waiting on permission from him?
Since I never got the full 411 from Mason, I am basing the following information on what he told me a long time ago, and my own theories so if anyone involved with this project wants to jump in and correct me, please do so.
These “piercings” started as subdermal implants done by none other than Brian Decker (if memory serves me correct). After the subdermals were allowed sufficient time to heal, they were removed which left behind a healed fistula. Then the entry and exit points for the new “piercing” were opened by Howie and teflon jewelry was inserted. (Thanks to Tony for correcting me on the implant to piercings steps). This left behind a piercing that would be nearly impossible to heal using traditional manners and a mod that I have only actually seen one other time…and that was on Fakir Musafar!
Today’s follow-up is only four months old, but it’s looking great right now so I figured it was due for a follow-up. You might remember back a few months to this scarification by Brian Decker.
If you recall, Brian was tipped with 4 live lobsters for doing this piece. The lobsters that Brian used for comparison are long gone, but the scar remains. To see how it looks today, just keep on reading.
See what I mean about it looking great? Hopefully we’ll get more healed photos as the scar turns white. Keep an eye on Brian’s BME gallery for any updates.
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.
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.
Be it cutting or burning, Brian has scarification down to a science. This recent cutting of his shows exactly why he is a master of both. It should be noted that Brian has had this design planned out for over 6 years, and only recently found someone to put it on.
With his skilled hand he was able to carve this image out of flesh, only to follow it up by branding sections to create shading. It’s exquisite and really shows why Brian is one of the finest scarification artists working today.
Today’s other follow-up is brought to you by the letters B and D. Over the past couple of years, Brian Decker has been experimenting with combining scarification with branding. Following the initial cutting, he’ll go over parts of it with a hyfrecator, as a form of shading or accent. Below you can see how successful this technique has been. The scar/brand was done over a year ago, and the results are remarkable.
Be sure to check out Brian’s BME Portfolio Gallery to see more of his scarifications and brandings.
4 days to go before BMEFest 2011! I think everyone knows by now how much I’m looking forward to the bouncy castles, obstacle course and slip’n’slide (3 lanes!), yet there is so much more going on. The party begins on Saturday, but if you show up Friday night, that’s alright as well. There is a LOT of room for tents, while there are hotels a short distance away, sleeping in a tent will probably save you some money. Of course there will be a big bonfire, and no I won’t be jumping into this time. I singed enough of my beard off last time for me to even think about doing it again.
Now, one of the many awesome things happening over the weekend is we have Cere from ROP facilitating both suspensions and pulls. Along with Cere, some of the other practitioners include ChrisB, TrickyDick, and Brian, as well as many others who work alongside these guys. Now if you’re thinking about suspending, feel free to get in touch with Cere ahead of time. He will be bringing extra supplies to facilitate pulls and suspensions for those who don’t get in touch with him, but letting him know ahead of time lets him estimate a bit better. Now supplies do cost these guys, so they’ll be asking for a minimum donation of $150 for suspensions, and 60 for pulls. One of the main tenants of the suspension community is that they’re there to facilitate, not make money. So any donation given covers the cost of the supplies, and anything in excess goes towards purchasing new equipment.
With that all said, here’s a shot taken by Jen on New Year’s Day at the last BME BBQ. Suspending is IAM:Velo, who is the guy with the massive burning monk scar.
For more information regarding BMEFest, head on over to the sign up page and let us know you’re coming. And if you have any questions, feel free to ask them in the event forum.
While I’m sure some of you might be expecting a video game related post with that headline, the fallout I’m referring to is happening on ChrisB‘s arm.
As Chris’ branding heals, the ink that was branded over will fall out, leaving a nice negative space flower on his arm. As many of you with brandings know, they hurt, a lot. So who was it that got to torture Chris? None other than Brian Decker. Which of course brings us back to the title, as Brian and Chris both work and live in New York City. You can see more of Brian’s work in his BME portfolio gallery.