Science tattoo… literally

I’m probably done (emphasis on “probably” — you know I never follow that “I’m not posting rule” when I say I will) until Monday, but before I go a quick science tattoo done at Exotix in Toronto. As well as BME’s huge “Geek Tattoos” section, I wanted to recommend the superb “Carl Zimmer’s Science Tattoo Emporium” blog, which has lots of science tattoos and their backstories and makes a great read.

Nintendo Controller Skin Removal Scarification

This intense scarification project was done on Metal_Games by Jeffrey at Paradigm Bodyart in Arnheim. He describes the experience,

“Starting with the lines, the pain wasn’t half as bad as I’d expected. In fact, it was a breeze for the most part. It took Jeffrey, the artist, about twenty minutes to cut all the lines. A couple of deep breaths, and we went straight on to removing the skin. I wasn’t looking forward to that, but again, it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. Obviously, it was a lot more painful than the linework, but never unbearable. I was able to watch calmly as Jeffrey was working on it, although for the most part I just concentrated on the ceiling or the wall across from me. Some parts on the more sensitive parts of my leg had me clenching my jaw, and after about forty-five minutes I just wanted it to be over with. We were nearly done at that point however, and after another painful ten minutes it was all over.”

“Stopping the bleeding was a different matter though, and I lay there for a while until it stopped. After bandaging it, it felt like a large abrasion. So, back to Utrecht, where it turned out the bleeding had started again, but the next morning when I cleaned it for the first time, it had stopped. Cleaning it for the first time turned out to be pretty painful (duh), but the second time it was a lot better. Now all I have to do is to care for it according to Jeffreys advice, and I can’t wait to see how it’s gonna come out when it’s fully healed. All in all, it wasn’t the most fun experience I ever had, but I’m glad I went through with it. It looks so cool!”

See more in Skin Removal Scarification (Scarification)

Lovecraft-Escher-Tolkien Combo Tattoo

Anna writes with some pictures of her labret in which she wears a handmade talon. She drew up the basic template and then it was molded by Antro del Drago and mounted on the labret stud.

She’s also got a great back tattoo (seen below, which you can click on to zoom in for more detail), based on Escher’s 3D work, and a Lovecraftian creature based especially on the story “Hunter of the Dark” in which an entity is released by a non-euclidean solid. The tattoo was designed by a friend and then tattooed by Giancarlo Capra over three sessions. Slight changes were made to accommodate her anatomy and to give a bit more symmetry, and the Quenya word “Mother” was added as well (“thus making this the Escher-Lovecraft-Tolkien backpiece of utter nerdom.”)

If you’re wondering why, Anna explains,

“Whenever the argument of tattoos popped up in the conversation, I always told my mother I would get a sailor tattoo with ‘mum’ on it sooner or later as a tribute to her patience. Despite my love for pirates and octopi, I hate the whole anchors & hearts traditional style tattoos so it was always said in joke.

“Since I left home the ‘mother’ idea begun to sound less and less stupid… Distance and time have brought us closer than when we shared the same roof, to the point that rather than ‘harrumping’ and raising her eyes, she was so supportive with the whole tattoo thing that she offered to pay a whole session as a birthday/Christmas present… and it occurred to me that the giant geometrical egg-shape giving birth to inane creatures I was in the process of getting was a definitely better way of paying tribute to the one who brough me to life, so I surprised her by presenting a whole back tattoo dedicated to her for her birthday, a couple of months later!”

EXTERMINATE!

If the previous post was too high on the new age factor and too low on the geek factor (since it had both), I’ll suggest you may prefer April’s Dalek tattoo, done by Rick at Inkognito in Kingstown… She works as a nanny — I wonder if this will help or hinder this work?