Design for a cutting/flesh removal on my leg...
 

http://img234.imageshack.us/img234/7945/sharp9qr.jpg

In a few weeks this is going to be cut into the back of my calf with a scalpel. The design was done by my fiance based on a painting we liked. She asked me to post this here to see how people liked it. I've already told her its beautiful.

It's beautiful!

Reminds me of an old poem called The Twa Sisters...
http://www.contemplator.com/child/twasist.html
Loreena McKennitt has a version on one of her CDs--it's very haunting...

Loreena McKennitt - The bonny swans
A farmer there lived in the north country
a hey ho bonny o
And he had daughters one, two, three
The swans swim so bonny o
These daughters they walked by the river's brim
a hey ho bonny o
The eldest pushed the youngest in
The swans swim so bonny o

Oh sister, oh sister, pray lend me your hand
with a hey ho a bonny o
And I will give you house and land
the swans swim so bonny o
I'll give you neither hand nor glove
with a hey ho a bonny o
Unless you give me your own true love
the swans swim so bonny o


Sometimes she sank, sometimes she swam
with a hey ho and a bonny o
Until she came to a miller's dam
the swans swim so bonny o
The miller's daughter, dressed in red
with a hey ho and a bonny o
She went for some water to make some bread
the swans swim so bonny o


Oh father, oh daddy, here swims a swan
with a hey ho and a bonny o
It's very like a gentle woman
the swans swim so bonny o


They placed her on the bank to dry
with a hey ho and a bonny o
There came a harper passing by
the swans swim so bonny o


He made harp pins of her fingers fair
with a hey ho and a bonny o
He made harp strings of her golden hair
the swans swim so bonny o
He made a harp of her breast bone
with a hey ho and a bonny o
And straight it began to play alone
the swans swim so bonny o


He brought it to her father's hall
with a hey ho and a bonny o
And there was the court, assembled all
the swans swim so bonny o
He laid the harp upon a stone
with a hey ho and a bonny o
And straight it began to play lone
the swans swim so bonny o


And there does sit my father the King
with a hey ho and a bonny o
And yonder sits my mother the Queen
the swans swim so bonny o
And there does sit my brother Hugh
with a hey ho and a bonny o
And by him William, sweet and true
the swans swim so bonny o
And there does sit my false sister, Anne
with a hey ho and a bonny o
Who drowned me for the sake of a man
the swans swim so bonny o

sorry guys, excuse my ignorance,..what exactly is a cutting/flesh removal???

I assumed it was scarrification...

I'm not sure how those delicate lines of the harp will come out if it is scarrification....it may be something else, though.

Yeah that design is pretty awesome.

I'm not into scarification, but that would look pretty cool, I think.

Cutting -

Scarification through cutting of the skin

A cutting is a design cut into the skin using a sharp blade, leaving a fine scar. With a sharp scalpel and even cuts, it's not much different in pain than a tattoo - for many people even less.


Flesh removal is just the lifting off of skin that has been cut around to leave a solid scar.

Ummm... ouch?

Not too bad, you should see some of the other stuff I've done! :p

Awesome, and I think it would make for a great Tattoo...

As for cutting, is it like branding? Do you have to do special wound care to get the desired effect?

It's done with a scalpel, and the flesh removal parts are pealed up and cut off underneath. As for special wound care, it takes lots and lots of scab removal to get it to look just right. Should be an interesting experiment in self-control at least!

You're on. Where do I go? :-)

Will those fine lines turn out straight and not all lumpy or too thick?

I might get something like that done to myself... when Nelson gets his eye back..:D

I really like that design. Good luck with it... can't wait to see the results.

Scarification is really quite interesting to me. Personally, I have considered doing it. Basically what stopped me was that I never found someone that I trusted enough and had enough experience for it. It's just purposely leaving scars in a design. I thought you would have to go back multiple times just so that the design stays there for an extended period of time. But then again, some african tribes do the same and the scars are there for a very long time.

Hey streak, if you want to see something like that, Livewirerx here has the crocdilian pattern on his arms and back, hundreds of razor cuts to do.

The scars usually don't have to be touched up, and will usually stay very well. There are some beautiful pictures on http://www.bmezine.com if you look under scarification photos.

That's hardcore. Do the cuts ever become infected?

They can, but not that often, you have to take good care of them.