SCARWARS

Philip Barbosa shot this great portrait of artist Dave Gillstrap and client at SW1 in 2005. Dave had just finished the cutting on her leg and Phil decided to go for a very intimate pose to show the connection between the two. The photo loses a lot of detail with resizing, but take note of Dave’s torso scarification. (and his painted toenails)

I’ve told the story dozens of times now; but in place of a standard “happy birthday”….

The first time I met Dave Gillstrap, I happened to be exposing myself to a lady (she asked) and David walked up and SLAMMED me in the testicles. Before the shock could hit me, he started singing “yat-dat-dat-dat-daaaa” in a Carney-esque tone and was smiling from ear to ear.

I still love the guy. And today is his birthday. So there ya go. Happy birthday, ‘ol Blackballs- hope it treats you well!

(ps: I still owe you one)

More new old SW photos!
I love finding discs I had forgotten about; these were taken by my good friend and consigliere Brian Sowden. There are hundreds on the disc from the first and second events. SO many of our guests took pictures, and so FEW ever sent me discs of their images (that’s guilt-tripping, people… it’s never too late) but it’s always nice to see an event from another person’s perspective.

This shot features Dave Gillstrap, Ron Garza (back to the camera), Jesse Villemaire (on crutches), Johannes (aka Jo-hotness) Sammi (back to the camera) and in the distance Ryan Ouellette and Brian Decker cutting the first two pieces of the event at SW1.

My friend Ammre took a bunch of great pictures back at the first SW event in 2005. As I was digging through discs looking for something nonrelated I found the whole lot of em; of the two that I picked for tonight’s updates, this was the one without boobs. Sorry. That one will come next.

Tom’s torso scarification piece was featured in one of my first posts, and again a few months later. Dave was working on the little OM flesh removal that you can see bleeding in the first link.

I’m whipping up a website exclusive shirt/book combo that will be available late October 2009; incredibly low print runs (books will be around ten copies, shirts will be around 25 printed) available only through pre-order.

The book is from the same small printer that’s created the Modprom SW book (limited to two copies) and the APP exclusive (limited to 10 copies) and will feature tons of fun photos from the three SW events. Hardcover, 11.25″ wide and 8.75″ high with twenty double sided pages and a wrap around cover. (which is currently the AC/DC inspired text cover but is subject to change)

The shirt is going to be a “baller variant” reprint of the classic Hearts with Scalpel design by Dave Gillstrap done in metallic gold, silver and copper.

Book + Shirt combo: Limited to ten sets and available in small-xl at $66.60 shipped in the US. For other sizes/destinations inquire about price.

Shirt alone: Limited to 15 shirts and available for $25 in small-xl with shipping within the US. For other sizes/destinations inquire about price.

Contact me at shawn@scarwars.net for payment information.

I just added a section archiving all of the Merch we’ve made over the course of the last four years; tshirt/hoodie designs, stickers, buttons, small run books….

Sorry about the logo branded on the image (SW1 shirt designed by Dave Gillstrap), just don’t want the design being reused without our consent.

I’m kicking around a new shirt design. There’ll be a site announcement when it gets finalized. Until then, keep checking back; I’ll be adding thumbnails of the retired designs over the next day or so.