I’ve spent the last few days in Las Vegas, unwinding and catching up with my extended family at the annual APP Conference. A yearly highlight is the time I get to spend with Dave Gillstrap.  Usually poolside. Always surprising in scope and content, spending time with Dave is always entertaining and educational; we always seem to challenge our own passion for scarification by dissecting the current culture of both artist and client. I generally come out of these meetings re-energized and inspired.

Shortly after getting back to Philadelphia, Dave shared this cutting that he recently completed.  He titled it “Tree of Life-ish”. Spectacular cutting by one of the nicest guys in the world.

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.

Another quiet night at SW central.
Eating candy, watching CLUE and cruising through a few external hard-drives for pictures to post. Tonight’s winner is of my friend Tom, taken in ’05 by Allen Falkner at the first SW event in Philadelphia.

Tom came to the event with a breath taking full torso cutting of the White Tara by my friend Dave Gillstrap; one of the most impressive healed cuttings I’ve ever seen. The image I’m posting today doesn’t do it justice; I was more impressed with the texture of the healed work than the design itself. Check back soon and I’ll find a more design specific photo.

Tom had this to say about the choice of imagery:

“Tibetan Buddhism has always peaked my interest, beyond mere musing to heavy rumination about devoting my life to its practice. When I was looking for some images of sanskrit sutras, I came across a beautiful image of White Tara, the protectorate deity of Tibet. Not only is she the mother of all Buddhas, she was born from the tears of Avalokiteshvara (whom His Holiness the Dalai Lama is the embodiment of), who is the Buddha of compassion, and she protects all living things. Now, Tibetans walk long distances for years to holy places as a form of spiritual cleansing; the more arduous the journey, the more cleansing received. They carry images of Tara (not the normal Green Tara, but White Tara), and pray to her for long life, good health, and a safe journey.”

Tree cutting by Dave Gillstrap; Photo by Philip Barbosa.

This stoic gentleman was a late addition to the first SW event in Philadelphia- I don’t know much about him save that his tree cutting was the culmination of a mistaken identity, his car being broken into and quite a bit of confusion on the part of Dave and I. Funny how that works.