Scarwars was started as a means of communication between artists; in a trade where most artists had never met one another we encouraged the idea of working on collaborative pieces at our events. Different artists with different styles and techniques working on the same client leads to really amazing results.

While not done at one of our events, Teresa has a great set of scars that came from the talented hands of Ron Garza and Wayde Dunn. I don’t know the specifics- maybe they each did one side, maybe they works on both sides together; regardless of the hows and who’s this piece shown here at approximately four years, is pretty dang awesome.

The fresh cutting.

My calendar tells me that today is Wayde Dunn’s birthday.
Swing by his facebook page and give him some love!
Or leave a comment about this kickass Tibetan influenced cutting he did. Either/or.

Happy Birthday brother!

You can never go wrong with a cutting by Wayde Dunn. I had already called it a day when I came across this photo; having updated several other blogs and finally settled down to watch Richard Pryor in THE TOY I had no plans to update the Scarblog. But what the hell. It’s been too long since I’ve featured new work by Big Red.

You can contact Wayde via WaydeDunn.com.

Scarification can be a lengthy undertaking, particularly with cuttings that require flesh removal. To keep yourself from being worn down by the repetitive cut/peel/cut/peel process, you have to get creative. Like Brian and Wayde on this collaborative piece done at SW3. When life hands you lemons, make lemonaid. When life hands you strips of human flesh… make a tic tac toe board.

I was just thinking the other day “man, the blog needs more Wayde Dunn”,
Since it’s been a while since the Thunda has sent in new scar pics, I took the ‘roo by the tail and found a photo OF Big Red taken at SW3 by Atom Moore. While it’s not quite the same as one of Mr. Dunn’s expert cuttings, it certainly ups the testosterone of the main page.

Crikey!

Lately I’ve been posting a lot of octopus cuttings; until tonight Brian Decker was the man behind all of the cephalopod action. I don’t think there’s any underlying symbolism here, octopi just look cool and make for an interesting design. This one, on my friend Maxine, was done by the talented hands of Wayde “Thunda” Dunn while visiting in Philadelphia and was photographed by the awesomely named MANDIC.

In progress shot after the break.

A few weeks ago Claire and I headed up to Pittsfield, Mass for the annual ROP Campout; I was able to catch up with a few friends who had healed scars for me to photograph; one of them was the always impressive V, who you may remember from here, here, and here.

The dagger brand by Mister Decker @Pure with a hyfrecator unit and her public cutting (done at SW3) a collaboration by Wayde Dunn & Brian. The pubic piece turns two years old in about a week.

Click through for a NOT SAFE FOR WORK full photo.

Photo by Atom Moore.

I’m fairly sure I attended SW3. But every time I update and scroll through Atom and Casey’s photos, I see pieces I swear I didn’t see being done at the event.

This piece, but the “Paul Hogan of Scarification” himself is a perfect example of that. Given it’s size and complexity, you would imagine Wayde was working on it for a few hours, minimum. But amazing as it is; I have zero memory of it.

Weird.

To continue our “Wayde Dunn Appreication day” them, my friend Timothy sent in this great multimedia experience.
Make sure to click through for the rest of the story/video!

Last night I got my scarification done by Wayde Dunn.

Three years ago I got a scarification piece on my left side, done by Brian Decker. I was in New York for a concert and was staying with Brian’s girlfriend, and was just hanging around Pure Body Arts. Brian asked me if I wanted something done, so I thought about it (briefly) and decided to get scarred, and to get a tree. Brian drew it up and we did it that day or the next day. It was a pretty spontaneous decision. Brian did an amazing job and I absolutely love that scar.

This time, my appointment was planned out well in advance, which was a lot different for me. There was way more anticipation. I sent Wayde some reference photos, letting him know the size and placement, and made the appointment. Then I just had to wait.

Last night, I met up with Wayde and he showed me the sketch. This tree has leaves, whereas my other tree has none. I wasn’t sure at first whether or not I wanted the leaves, but once I saw his sketch I knew I wanted them. They looked really cool the way he drew them and it makes for a bit of a repeating pattern. So he started tracing it onto the transfer paper and I got set up with my camera.

He got set up and we played with the placement a bit until it was good to go. Some parts didn’t quite transfer so he freehanded in the rest. I put on some music to take my mind off the initial pain and we got started.

The first bit is the most challenging. He has to cut the outline of everything before any anaesthetic can be rubbed into the skin. So the first bit, yeah, not too pleasant but it’s not too bad either. I just had to remind myself to keep breathing and not hold my breath. For some reason, I just kept holding my breath, which totally made it hurt more. When I focused myself and did some nice deep breathing, focusing on my dantium and just trying to ignore the blade it was much easier and less painful. I was pretty silent for this part and Wayde just quickly worked through it.

Wayde had started at the bottom and was working his way to the top. As he finished a section, he’d rub in the anaesthetic and cover it with clingfilm to keep it in there. By the time he got to the top of the tree, the rest of it was totally numb. So when he got back to the bottom to start really cutting, I couldn’t feel anything. That was a bit of relief, and I breathed easier and started talking.

We had a good chat for the rest of the appointment while he worked away and the whole thing was finished up in about two and a half hours, just as Wayde had predicted. The man works fast!

Afterwards he cleaned me up, we took some photos and then wrapped the wound. He had brought me one of his books, and I gotta tell you they are beautiful, really well printed. I got book #12.

I thanked Wayde and was on my way home. I got a cab so I could get home as quickly as possible. I passed out eventually, but it was hard because I normally sleep on my right side, which is where I got cut. I woke up a couple times in the night and had rolled onto that side so I kept forcing myself to roll back onto my left side.

In the morning, my shirt was bloodied and a few spots on the sheets but nothing serious. I’m about to shower, and I’m not really looking forward to it!

Wayde Dunn; photo by Atom Moore.

Today is “International Wayde Dunn birthday appreciation day” here at the SWblog. I have a million stories that I could share that would probably still not do justice to the man, so I’ll just say “Blood is thicker than water” and wish him a happy birthday.

Check back in a few hours for a huge update from one of Wayde’s clients!