the arthouse inc

What is in tattoo ink?!?!

2014-05-02T10:55:00.000-07:00

whats in tattoo ink?!?!

Manufacturers of inks and pigments are not required to reveal the contents. A professional who mixes his or her own inks from dry pigments will be most likely to know the composition of the inks. However, the information is proprietary (trade secrets), so you may or may not get answers to questions.
Most tattoo inks technically aren't inks. They are composed of pigments that are suspended in a carrier solution. Contrary to popular belief, pigments usually are not vegetable dyes. Today's pigments primarily are metal salts. However, some pigments are plastics and there are probably some vegetable dyes too. The pigment provides the color of the tattoo. The purpose of the carrier is to disinfect the pigment suspension, keep it evenly mixed, and provide for ease of application. I have recently discovered some tattoo ink manufactures are putting their MSDS ingredient sheets up on their sites! Intenze has theirs online and I found a few from Alla Prima too.

Black

Iron Oxide (Fe₃O₄)

Iron Oxide (FeO)

Carbon

Logwood

Natural black pigment is made from magnetite crystals, powdered jet, wustite, bone black,and amorphous carbon from combustion (soot). Black pigment is commonly made into India ink.

Logwood is a heartwood extract from Haematoxylon campechisnum, found in Central America and the West Indies.

Brown	Ochre	Ochre is composed of iron (ferric) oxides mixed with clay. Raw ochre is yellowish. When dehydrated through heating, ochre changes to a reddish color.
Red	Cinnabar (HgS) Cadmium Red (CdSe) Iron Oxide (Fe₂O₃) Napthol-AS pigment	Iron oxide is also known as common rust. Cinnabar and cadmium pigments are highly toxic. Napthol reds are synthesized from Naptha. Fewer reactions have been reported with naphthol red than the other pigments, but all reds carry risks of allergic or other reactions.
Orange	disazodiarylide and/or disazopyrazolone cadmium seleno-sulfide	The organics are formed from the condensation of 2 monoazo pigment molecules. They are large molecules with good thermal stability and colorfastness.
Flesh	Ochres (iron oxides mixed with clay)
Yellow	Cadmium Yellow (CdS, CdZnS) Ochres Curcuma Yellow Chrome Yellow (PbCrO₄, often mixed with PbS) disazodiarylide	Curcuma is derived from plants of the ginger family; aka tumeric or curcurmin. Reactions are commonly associated with yellow pigments, in part because more pigment is needed to achieve a bright color.
Green	Chromium Oxide (Cr₂O₃), called Casalis Green or Anadomis Green Malachite [Cu₂(CO₃)(OH)₂] Ferrocyanides and Ferricyanides Lead chromate Monoazo pigment Cu/Al phthalocyanine Cu phthalocyanine	The greens often include admixtures, such as potassium ferrocyanide (yellow or red) and ferric ferrocyanide (Prussian Blue)
Blue	Azure Blue Cobalt Blue Cu-phthalocyanine	Blue pigments from minerals include copper (II) carbonate (azurite), sodium aluminum silicate (lapis lazuli), calcium copper silicate (Egyptian Blue), other cobalt aluminum oxides and chromium oxides. The safest blues and greens are copper salts, such as copper pthalocyanine. Copper pthalocyanine pigments have FDA approval for use in infant furniture and toys and contact lenses. The copper-based pigments are considerably safer or more stable than cobalt or ultramarine pigments.
Violet	Manganese Violet (manganese ammonium pyrophosphate) Various aluminum salts Quinacridone Dioxazine/carbazole	Some of the purples, especially the bright magentas, are photoreactive and lose their color after prolonged exposure to light. Dioxazine and carbazole result in the most stable purple pigments.
White	Lead White (Lead Carbonate) Titanium dioxide (TiO₂) Barium Sulfate (BaSO₄) Zinc Oxide	Some white pigments are derived from anatase or rutile. White pigment may be used alone or to dilute the intensity of other pigments. Titanium oxides are one of the least reactive white pigments.

Tattoos and Piercings

2013-03-20T13:23:00.000-07:00

Whats new at the the arthouse inc in Calgary, AB?!?! Well here are some pics to show you!

14G Industrial by Sondra Musa @ the arthouse inc. Calgary, AB

Dermal Anchor project by Laura Barrett @ the arthouse inc. Calgary, Ab

Forearm tattoo by Shannon Edwards @ the arthouse inc. Calgary, AB

In-progress tattoo by Katina Scheffler @ the arthouse inc. Calgary, AB

Ear Project by Laura Barrett @ the arthouse inc.Calgary, AB

Cover-up by Shannon Edwards @ the arthouse inc.Calgary, AB

2 year old dermal anchor project by Laura Barrett @ the arthouse inc.Calgary, AB

Strawberry tattoo by Katina Scheffler @ the arthouse inc.Calgary, AB

Feather tattoo by Shannon Edwards @ the arthouse inc.Calgary, AB

In-progress forearm tattoo by Jay Labrecque @ the arthouse inc.Calgary, AB

Rosary tattoo by Jay Labrecque @ the arthouse inc.Calgary, AB

Floral tattoo by Shannon Edwards @ the arthouse inc.Calgary, AB

Mermaid tattoo by Katina Scheffler @ the arthouse inc.Calgary, AB

If you want to see more of our work check out our web page or find us on facebook

I want to get a piercing

2011-12-16T12:23:00.000-08:00

So I want to get a piercing, what do I need to know?
Well as with any respectable, licensed and inspected piercing studios there are age limits.
Here's ours:
For ear, nostril, navel, or lip piercings you must be 16 years of age with government issue photo I.D. with proof of your age.
For any other piercings, you must be 18 years of age or older govenment issue photo I.D.

If you are under 18 years of age, you must have your Parent or Legal Guardian attend with supporting documented proof of Guardianship/Custody as well as Photo I.D.

Written notes of authorization and/or phone calls from parents/guardians do not work.

We are very clear about this point - No I.D. No Piercing.

Now you have I.D. and you are old enough or have your parents, now what do you do?
Shop around, visit the shops you have interest in and talk to the piercers, look at the studios ask some smart questions. Don't price shop, use your head, we are talking about your body and putting a hole in it somewhere. Do your research on the piercing you want then ask the piercer about the piercing and the aftercare for the piercing. Use common sense and gut instinct. If you don't feel comfortable at the shop you are in or you feel rushed by the piercer, leave and come back later or find another shop.

Key things to remember when finding a piercing studio

Reputation and referrals from friends and other people with piercings.
Experience of the piercer you are talking to - how long have they been piercing?
Environment of the shop - is it clean, comfortable, Licensed and Inspected?
Materials used for the piercing - what type of metal is used for the jewellery?
Aftercare routine - is it simple and do you get it in writing?
Customer support - if you have trouble will they help you out?

Well here's some things that you should consider before getting a piercing.

Be sure you have your Photo I.D. and secondary proof of age. No I.D. No Piercing
Parents or Guardians be sure you have I.D. and documented proof of custody and/or relationship.
Ask about payment, not all studios accept credit cards or debit cards and generally no one accepts personal cheques.
Be sure you are fresh and clean, truthfully most piercers hate working on someone who smells of garlic, or last nights booze etc. Have a shower and be happy.
It's a good idea to be sure you have eaten at least two hours before you get your piercing done, it keeps energy levels up and prevents fainting.
Scared? Ask about bringing a friend along to keep you company but don't bring 6 friends along they just get in the way and will distract you and the piercer.
Make sure you don't have a cold or any other medical condition that will cause a problem with your piercing.
Booze or Drugs for a little help? NO! No respectable piercing facility will render piercing services to you if you are on dope or alcohol, we aren't dumb we can tell.
Relax, You will be in the care of a Professional Experienced Piercer who will guide your through your piercing experience with confidence and skill.

the arthouse inc: Stretching your lobes

2011-09-29T13:51:00.000-07:00

the arthouse inc: Stretching your lobes: The number one thing to remember about enlarging piercings is to listen to your body! Your body knows when something isn't working, and lear...

Stretching your lobes

2011-09-29T13:50:00.000-07:00

The number one thing to remember about enlarging piercings is to listen to your body! Your body knows when something isn't working, and learning to hear what it's telling you is important.
Stretching piercings takes time and patience. Scar tissue can build up and create ugly, problematic piercings that can be difficult to stretch. A good general rule is to wait three times as long as it took to heal before the first stretch. This allows the new skin some time to thicken and toughen up before it gets traumatized by the enlarging process.
Each new size becomes larger exponentially (14-12, 12-10, 10-8 etc). 10ga to 8ga doesn't seem like much, but 1/2" to 9/16" is a major jump even though it is the very next size. The larger your hole, the more time you should allow between stretchings. Usually you can start out with a month or two between stretchings and, as you get larger, begin extending that time frame in some cases 6 months to a year. Stretching piercings can be traumatic and sometimes painful, but it doesn't always have to be. Knowing how and when will help.
Since lobes are the most commonly stretched piercings, special attention must be paid to them. Lobes get plenty of circulation so they tend to heal quickly and grow new cells easily. But it's also easy to injure the soft tissues of the lobe. To avoid injury, soak the tissue in hot water prior to stretching to increase circulation and soften and relax the tissue. Massage is also a good way to help the tissue relax.

insertion tapers

Using insertion tapers is the best way to stretch a piercing. A taper is a long, needle-like tool that gradually thickens to the size you desire.

When you're ready to begin stretching, it's come see on of our piercers. The stretching procedure should be completed following the same aseptic techniques used during a piercing procedure. Even though a piercing is healed, the skin can become so thin that it can become susceptible to infection or even rip (this is why it is so important to wait the appropriate amount of time inbetween stretches)

After stretching

Allowing lobes to relax:
There are many benefits to allowing your lobes to relax for a few hours each day. While wearing jewelry, no matter what type, stress is being put on your lobe, thus restricting the flow of blood, oxygen, nutrients, etc. to the bottom of your lobe. Over time, this can cause your lobe to thin out, and also cause it to become irritated. One of the best ways to alleviate this problem is to take your jewelry out for a few hours each day to allow the piercing to breath and increase blood flow to the bottom of your lobe. Over time, this will promote healthier lobes, including thickening the tissue, thus providing more room to stretch in the future.

There is no steadfast rule on when it is a good idea to start allowing your lobes to relax. We personally believe that at ANY size it is beneficial to leave your plugs out for at least a little while, and that at any size larger than 2 gauge (1/4') anyone should be able to leave their jewelry out overnight. If you are concerned about leaving your jewelry out, take it out for a progressively longer period of time each day until you find the amount of time that is the longest you feel comfortable with. If you have trouble reinserting your jewelry after leaving it out, a hot compress for 5-10 minutes and some lube along with a taper will quickly resolve your problem

Healed Piercings:
By far the two most important things that you can do for healed lobes are oil massages and relaxing your lobes. Relaxing your lobes is described above. For massaging your lobes, the two most popular types of oil to use are jojoba oil and Vitamin E oil. Jojoba oil is good because it is an extremely close match to the oil that your body naturally secretes, and it therefore much less likely to irritate your skin. Vitamin E oil also has an extremely beneficial effect, as it breaks down scar tissue. In stretching, scar tissue is the enemy, making future stretches much more difficult and making your lobes less supple. By doing Vitamin E oil massages, you help enable the breakdown of any scar tissue that has formed and keep your ears as healthy as possible. Another benefit to oil massages is that it helps to promote blood flow throughout your lobes, thickening them up (often substantially) over time.
What is this gunk on my jewelry? I thought my ears were healed...
If your ears are healed and you seem to have some funky suff on your jewelry when you take it out, this is most likely dead skin cells. Your entire body sheds dead skin cells as it grows new skin, you just don't see it (guess what a good part of the dust in your house is!). Since there's a signifigant amount of skin touching your plug, those dead skin cells don't have anywhere to go, so they build up on your jewelry. This effect and the smell that goes along with it varies from person to person and from material to material, with metals generally seeming worse than other materials, like organics.

After stretching my lobes are very sore / bleeding - HELP!
If you are experiencing any of these problems, then you have stretched your lobes too quickly. Unfortunately, this means that you are going to have to backtrack to heal your lobes before you can consider stretching again. Downsize your jewelry to at least your previous size (if not farther) and treat your ears as if they are a fresh piercing or fresh stretch. Once you think that your ears are completely healed, wait another two weeks and begin doing vitamin e oil massages for at least another month prior to stretching. Properly healing your piercing after a damaging stretch should take 2-4 months to be safe.
I think I have a blowout! What exactly is this and what do I do about it?
A blowout happens when one stretches too fast. These generally happen during or immediately proceeding (within 48hrs) a stretch. A blowout occurs when the pressure on the insides of the piercing is too great, and the hole deforms itself by twisting inside out, resulting in the "blowout," or section of tissue that appears as a flap on (generally) the backside of the piercing. There are a few things you can do to try and recover from a blowout. First a foremost, you must downsize immediately. Being stubborn and not taking this action could result in the blowout healing, which almost always requires surgery to fix. Second of all, the piercing absolutely must be treated like a brand new piercing. This means religious sea salt soaks and aftercare. Blowouts go hand in hand with tears, and most blowouts result in at least minimal tears to the lobe, so the aftercare becomes especially important.
Materials:What materials are appropriate for fresh stretches?Titanium, Niobium, 316L or 316LVM implant grade surgical stainless steel (sss), Glass, implant grade PTFE (Teflon)
Benefits of certain materials (organics & glass):
There are certain materials that offer something extra to the person who is stretching their ears because they offer additional properties that make them more appealing. Glass is very popular, as it is a special material termed a 'super-cooled liquid'. This means that there is much less chance for any edges, and that the surface is super-smooth. Glass is also hypo-allergenic, which is a great advantage for people who have skin that is very sensitive.

The other group of materials that have something special to offer is organics. I am a personal advocate of organics in healed piercings. Many people have found that the body tends to accept them extremely well, often resulting in increased comfort and decreased amount of smell and 'ear cheese' being given off. However it is important that you pay attention to the type of wood the jewelery is made of as some woods are toxic.

(toxic wood to the human body - rosewoods, kingwood, violet wood, sono wood, cocobolo,sugar maple, birch,camphorwood, ziricote, bocote, macassar ebony, bubinga, pau ferro,wenge, purpleheart, snakewood, willow, teak, thuya burl, padauk, red oak, american mahogany, afromosia, australian blackwood,
greenheart, mansonia, sassafras, satinwood, cedar, hemlock, pine, yew)
info thanks to Botanical dermatology: Plants and plant products injurious to the skin
Dangers of acrylic / improper materials:
An entire book could be written on the dangers of acrylic and other improper materials being utilized as long-term body jewelry. There are many different types of NOVELTY jewelry that are produced out of a wide array of materials. This jewelry is just what is says: a novelty. There is no great danger in wearing them for a short while, but they should not be the primary jewelry worn as they are not of the same high quality as the other materials available. Acrylic is a porous substance and its use can lead to irritation. It also begins to react with your skin over time - breaking down tissue and releasing toxic chemicals/fumes to be absorbed by your skin.

the arthouse inc: Laser Tattoo Removal - cynosure affinity QS

2011-09-23T13:41:00.000-07:00

the arthouse inc: Laser Tattoo Removal - cynosure affinity QS: Here at the arthouse inc we not only do tattoos but we also remove them. we work in corelation with Enhance - cosmetic and laser dermatolog...

Laser Tattoo Removal - cynosure affinity QS

2011-09-23T13:31:00.000-07:00

Here at the arthouse inc we not only do tattoos but we also remove them. we work in corelation with Enhance - cosmetic and laser dermatology where Sondra does the removals

the machine we use for removal is the cynosure affinity QS

The Affinity QS is a high-powered, Q-switched Nd:YAG laser that lets you choose the most effective wavelength for treating multi-color tattoos and pigmented lesions: the 1064-nm wavelength or the 532-nm wavelength.

Two Wavelengths-and Twice as Powerful
·         The 1064-nm wavelength is ideal for treating darker tattoos and dermal pigmented lesions, such as nevus of Ota or nevus of Ito
·         The 532-nm wavelength treats red-colored tattoos and epidermal pigmented lesions, such as solar lentigines
·         Two hundred percent as powerful as competitive Q-switched Nd:YAG lasers
·         Optimal versatility enables you to switch wavelengths, select spot sizes (2mm, 3mm, 4mm*, 6mm) for customized treatment and deliver more energy where it's needed for faster treatment of large areas

The Affinity QS is a high-powered, Q-switched Nd:YAG laser that lets you choose the most effective wavelength for treating multi-color tattoos and pigmented lesions: the 1064-nm wavelength or the 532-nm wavelength.

How does laser treatment work?

Selective absorption of very high power peak laser light pulses by tattoo ink in the skin causes the targeted ink particles to breakdown mechanically while significantly decreasing potential damage to surrounding tissues. The fragmented particles are then removed from the skin by the body's immune or lymphatic system.

Are there any side effects to treatment?

Overall, treatments are gentle and mild, causing only slight discomfort with minimal side effects.

How many treatments are required?

The number of required treatments is dependent on several factors, including depth of ink penetration, age of the tattoo and color intensity-that is, lighter versus darker colors. However, most people need five to six treatments and begin seeing results after only one or two sessions.

Is any recovery time needed between treatment sessions?

Although treatment sessions are scheduled approximately four to six weeks apart, no rest or recuperation time is required after each visit. You will immediately be able to resume normal activities without restriction.

What types of tattoos can be removed?

While certain pigments and inks are harder to erase than others, the majority of colors can be removed-including black, blue, green, brown and even red.

for more information about laser removal or to book in for a consultation email sondra or call the arthouse 4032832883

the arthouse inc: tongue splitting

2011-08-18T09:59:00.000-07:00

the arthouse inc: tongue splitting: The tongue splitting procedure is the central bifurcation of the tongue, so as to achieve a "forked tongue." With practice, each half can b...

tongue splitting

2011-08-17T14:09:00.000-07:00

The tongue splitting procedure is the central bifurcation of the tongue, so as to achieve a "forked tongue." With practice, each half can be separately controlled.

Placement

The median fibrous septum that centrally divides the tongue is cut, separating the two lateral halves of the tongue. Done carefully, very little damage should be done in the process.
The tongue can, in theory, be split back to where it meets the base of the mouth. Attempting to split past that would endanger muscles that shouldn't be split, as well as glandular structures in the area. Note again that once the tongue is split further than suggested, there may be some minor speech artifacts.
It is not a good idea to cut the tongue in more than two pieces. To do so would risk cutting into the lingual nerves, the lingual glands, numerous major blood vessels, and it is dubious whether full nervous control could be sustained even if done by an oral surgeon. Attempting a "trifuraction" (or more) would almost certainly end in disaster.

Procedure

Tongue splitting can be accomplished by one or more of the following methods:

Oral surgery

The most recommended method is to seek an oral surgeon. Any oral surgeon who uses a laser should be able to bifurcate a tongue with ease, providing their ethics allow it. A doctor will normally charge between $500 and $3000 for this procedure. After applying anesthesia, using a laser, the practitioner will first create a guideline along the top and bottom of the tongue. Then, they'll slowly cut through the tissue until the tongue is fully bifurcated, cauterizing the wound as they cut. This is usually, at most, a fifteen-minute process. In general, there is little to no blood during this stage. The only bleeding tends to be during suturing.
Laser procedures usually take 1-2 weeks for primary healing, and a month for the healing to be complete.

Scalpelling

To put it simply, the tongue is split down the middle using a blade. This is generally very bloody, and this bleeding can be difficult to control. Many practitioners choose to use cauterization, either from electric cauterizing pens or traditional branding tools, on large blood vessels. Others use chemical or herbal means to control bleeding and/or to assist in healing.
Prior to the split, many practitioners insist on a well-healed large-gauge tongue piercing being in place. If there is no existing piercing of this type, a large-gauge piercing is often made by performing a piercing using a #11 scalpel along the grain of the muscle, followed by a taper and 2ga or 0ga jewelry. That should heal within a month or so, setting a good foundation for the split.
Other practitioners choose to use a "clamp and cut" method similar to the home-meatotomy technique, although it is relatively uncommon. Using a long clamp, the tissue to be split is compressed to almost paper-thickness and left that way for 45 minutes. When the clamp is removed, the cut is made along the center of this compressed tissue in hopes that the extreme compression will provide a "seal," minimizing or eliminating bleeding.

Cauterizing

A cauterized tongue splitting is similar to a scalpelled tongue splitting, but a heated blade or tool is used to burn the split through the tongue, hopefully (and generally successfully), cauterizing the tongue in the process, almost totally eliminating bleeding. This technique does carry a greater risk of peripheral damage and may be outrageously painful.

Suturing

Suturing pulls the top skin of the tongue down into the split, leaving a more "natural" and rounded appearance that many people prefer. While similar healing often occurs without suturing, in other cases a non-sutured tongue may heal with a somewhat "flat" inside that looks artificial rather than natural.

Risks

Assuming the procedure is done by a doctor, the risks are negligible, and complications that arise in a controlled medical environment can typically be dealt with easily. Doctors will provide you with paperwork explaining the secondary risks, such as reactions to anesthesia.
If the procedure is done outside of a controlled medical environment, loss of blood is the single largest risk. The tongue contains major blood vessels, and without proper training and tools, amateur practitioners may find themselves unable to control blood loss. In these situations, a visit to the hospital emergency room is advisable.
Damage to nerves and glands in the tongue is also possible, although unlikely if the split is not extremely deep and remains centered. Care must also be taken not to accidentally damage glands in the base of the mouth.
Infection and scarring are certainly possible as well, but they are very rare.

Healing and aftercare

Tongue splitting takes about as long to heal as tongue piercing does. Primary healing (where you can talk and eat relatively normally) takes between one and two weeks, and full healing is usually complete within one month.
Regrowth is quite common. Some re-growth (where the tongue slowly heals back together) is normal, and in the case of short (1/2" or less) splits, total closure is not unheard of. Even in deeper splits, if care is not taken to combat re-growth, 50% closure is not uncommon, but this can be prevented by keeping the wound open. The smooth body of a cotton swab can prove useful for this task. It should be done regularly as the body heals incredibly fast. In addition to the regrowth that will occur during the initial healing, there will be some closure over the first year or so. Short of re-cutting, there's not a lot that can be done to stop that.
Many people have found that a well-healed large-gauge (4ga - 0ga usually) tongue piercing can act as an anchor for the split. Because the piercing is surrounded by solid tissue that does not, by nature, want to seal itself, if this tongue piercing marks the rear of the tongue split, closure may be all but eliminated.

Long-term health issues

Initial bleeding and infection can be a risk, especially with home-jobs. In a worst-case situation, the tongue can swell and block the airway, although this has not been documented. As far as long-term risk, there may be minor changes in some speech sounds, but this rarely happens, and effects are extremely minor at most. Tongue splitting does not appear to have any side effects with regards to eating.

History

Tongue splitting, to some, a pinnacle of "Khechari Mudra" practices, is a part of Hatha and Kumbhaka yoga where the tongue is split and then "milked" until it is long enough to be turned back inside the mouth and flipped up to the epiglottis. It then is used in breathing exercises, the goal being to seal the body's energy leaks and become aware of only the internal, thus entering a catatonic state, crossing back and forth between life and death (note that Westernized versions often omit, and even censor, the splitting).
Yogis that practice these rites believe that it allows them to be absorbed "into God" (that is, becoming conjoined with the universal soul, an experience that is also common in suspension and other body rites).
In addition, Kaliya and other characters in Hindu mythology are depicted as having split tongues, as are characters (often evil) in various other faiths. Most obviously, Christian mythology bestows a forked tongue upon Satan.
Recently, starting in 1997, tongue splitting became very popular in the West. I Am Not My Body (issue #2, summer 1997) postulated the possibility, and the first person (modern/Western) to be clearly documented as having this procedure was a man in Italy who had it done progressively by his dentist using silver nitrate for cautery. The second is believed to be Dustin, featured in Fakir Musafar's Body Play Magazine (issue 16). Dustin achieved her tongue split using the tying-off method over several weeks. Next is believed to have been The Lizardman and then Shannon Larratt, with their promotion of the modification starting the snowball rolling. Documenting the other "firsts," after that, Patrick Bartholomew did the first cautery (heat) tongue splittings in 1998, followed by Allen Falkner's strike branded split; the first scalpelled tongue splittings are believed to have done by Todd Bertrang and Blair at about the same time (first on himself and then on Philip Barbosa).
Since about 2000, tongue splitting has been one of the most popular, common, safe, and highest long-term satisfaction extreme modifications out there.

Reversal

By removing the skin on the inside of the split and then suturing the tongue back together, it can be induced to "go back to normal." While, to date, no one has gone on record as willingly having undergone such a procedure, it has been forced on some people by new military regulations in the United States. Tongue splitting reversal is far more painful than splitting, takes far longer to heal, and seems more prone to complications.
Because of scarring and other damage done during the reversal operation, permanent damage to tongue mobility is not unheard of, leaving a shortened and narrowed tongue that is not as nimble, which of course damages speech and other activities. In addition, nerve damage from the reversal procedure is more likely than from the initial split, and there have been reports of damage to both touch and taste sensations in tongue splitting reversal procedures.
Reversing a tongue splitting is strongly discouraged—don't split your tongue if you think you might have to reverse it in the future.

win a trip to las vegas just for getting tattooed at the arthouse inc!

2011-07-15T13:38:00.000-07:00

the arthouse inc: STELARC

2011-06-16T14:28:00.001-07:00

the arthouse inc: STELARC: "I came across this artist about a month ago and have been trying to figure out what to write about him and so far i still cannot come up muc..."

STELARC

2011-06-16T14:28:00.000-07:00

I came across this artist about a month ago and have been trying to figure out what to write about him and so far i still cannot come up much to write however i did find an interview with him...

Extended-Body: Interview with Stelarc

Paolo Atzori and Kirk Woolford
Academy of Media Arts, Cologne, Germany
Stelarc is an Australian performance artist, born in Limassol, island of Cyprus. Stelarc moved to Australia, where he studied Arts and Craft at T.S.T.C., Art and Technology at CAUTECH and M.R.I.T., Melbourne University. He taught Art and Sociology at Yokohama International School and Sculpture and Drawing at Ballarat University College.
Stelarc has been extending his body through performances since the late 1960s. His performances include attaching a "Third Hand" to his body, extending himself into virtual space with a "Virtual Hand", and over 25 "suspension" events where he hung his entire body from hooks piercing his skin. Stelarc's artistic strategy revolves around the idea of "enhancing the body" both in a physical and technical manner. It originates as a polarism between the "primal desire" to defeat the force of gravity with primitive rituals and a low- tech and the hi-tech performance with the third arm and the related cybersystem. His intention in both cases is to "express an idea with his direct experience."
Through Stelarc's work, we reach a second level of existence where the body becomes the object for physical and technical experiments in order to discover its limitations. When Stelarc speaks of the "obsolete body" he means that the body must overcome centuries of prejudices and begin to be considered as an extendible evolutionary structure enhanced with the most disparate technologies, which are more precise, accurate and powerful: "the body lacks of modular design," "Technology is what defines the meaning of being human, it's part of being human." Especially living in the information age, "the body is biologically inadequate."
For Stelarc, "Electronic space becomes a medium of action rather than information".

CTHEORY: When did you first decide to hang yourself between two different worlds - to place your body between two levels of existence...
Stelarc: Well you have to remember the suspension events weren't the initial, sort of primitive and physically difficult events and the technology ones were the more recent, more sophisticated ones. In fact, the third hand project begins a year after the first suspension event. These things were happening simultaneously. On the one hand you were discovering the psychological and physical limitations of the body. On the other you were developing strategies for extending and enhancing it through technology. I've always used technology in my performances. The very first things I made in art school were helmets and goggles that altered your binocular perception which stylistically has this connection with virtual reality head-mounted displays and compartments which were whole body pods that you sort of plugged you whole body into, and that was assaulted by electronic sounds and lights.
CTHEORY: When people see your suspension events, they immediately think of Hindu, American Indian, or other rituals. Which of these practices did you come into contact with first?
Stelarc: It was the Hindu Indian ones that I knew about, but one has to put this into the context that for 5 years I was doing suspension events with ropes and harnesses, with a lot of technology. Laser eyes were first used when the body was suspended, oh, '70, '71 that sort of time scale, but one of the sort of visual disadvantages of all this paraphernalia was that there was all this visual clutter: all the ropes and harnesses were seen more to support the body than to suspend it, so when I first came across the notion of piercing the skin, I thought, if you could suspend the body using techniques like these, then you would have a minimum of support, you'd have just the insertion and single cable. Mind you, I never hid, there was no desire to make the suspension a kind of image of levitation. For me the cables were lines of tension which were part of the visual design of the suspended body, and the stretched skin was a kind of gravitational landscape. This is what it took for a body to be suspended in a 1-G gravitational field. The other context is the primal desire for floating and flying. A lot of primal rituals have to do with suspending the body, but in the 20th century we have the reality of astronauts floating in zero-G. So the suspension event is between those sort of primal yearnings, and the contemporary reality. Of course, suspension means between two states, so I think there is an interesting linguistic meaning that fits in with the idea of suspending the body. For me there was no religious context, no shamanistic yearnings, no yogic conditioning that had to do with these performances. In fact, they occurred in the same kind of stream of consciousness. In mean, I don't take any anaesthetics, I don't chant or get into altered states. I think metaphysically, in the past, we've considered the skin as surface, as interface. The skin has been a boundary for the soul, for the self, and simultaneously, a beginning to the world. Once technology stretches and pierces the skin, the skin as a barrier is erased.
CTHEORY: Do you follow a very strict discipline to train your body for your performances?
Stelarc: In fact, there's never really been any discipline and when I start feeling the performances have become, in a sense predictable, because the techniques assume more importance than the creative impulses, then I stop doing them. I stopped doing the suspension events 4 years ago because having done 27 of them in various locations and different situations there seemed to be no more raison d'etre to continue doing them. The interest was really coupling the expression of an idea with the direct experience of it. That applies to all of these performances whether the suspension events, the stomach sculpture, the third hand performances, or the virtual arm event. These are all situations where the body is plugged into for direct experience. So it's not interesting for me to talk academically or theoretically about ideas of interface, the important thing for me is to plug in, extend the body with cyber-systems and see what it can actually do.
CTHEORY: So you've always been interested in enhancing the body?
Stelarc: Oh, absolutely. And the connection with VR systems is a very fundamental one with me because, as I said, the very first things I made at art school were these helmets which split your binocular vision and compartments which were sensory environments, multi-modal structures for experience with the body. So that was a primary concern, and really the suspensions are often taken out of context whereas they are part of a series of sensory deprivation and physically difficult events which include: making the 3 films of the inside of the body, where I had to film 3 meters of internal space, for example. All these actions occurred simultaneously. The agenda wasn't a stylistic one with a particular technology, it was a general one. A sort of probing and determining the parameters of physical and psychological interface.
CTHEORY: You always work with your body. Your body is your form of representation, your medium. How do you feel being both an artist and an artwork?
Stelarc: It's interesting you've pointed that out, I've never felt that I am the artwork. In fact the reason why my performances are focused on this particular body is that it is difficult for me to convince other bodies to undergo rather awkward, difficult and sometimes painful experiences. This body is just merely the convenient access to a body for particular events and actions. So I've really never been obsessed by the fact that somehow I am the artwork because I don't critique it in that way.
For me the body is an impersonal, evolutionary, objective structure. Having spent two thousand years prodding and poking the human psyche without any real discernible changes in our historical and human outlook, we perhaps need to take a more fundamental physiological and structural approach, and consider the fact that it's only through radically redesigning the body that we will end up having significantly different thoughts and philosophies. I think our philosophies are fundamentally bounded by our physiology; our peculiar kind of aesthetic orientation in the world; our peculiar five sensory modes of processing the world; and our particular kinds of technology that enhance these perceptions. I think a truly alien intelligence will occur from an alien body or from a machine structure. I don't think human beings will come up with fundamentally new philosophies. An alien species may not have the same notions about the universe at all. The desire for unity may well be the result of our rather fragmentary sensory system where we observe the world sensually in packets of discrete and different sensory modes. So our urge to merge, our urge to unify, that religious, spiritual, coming together might very well be due to an inadequacy or an incompleteness in our physiology.
CTHEORY: If such a philosophy is devised, it would not be a human philosophy. How would it be applicable to the human race?
Stelarc: Well of course one shouldn't consider the body or the human species as possessing a kind of absolute nature. The desire to locate the self simply within a particular biological body is no longer meaningful. What it means to be human is being constantly redefined. For me, this is not a dilemma at all.
CTHEORY: So a human is not this entity sitting here with these two arms and two legs, but something more beside?
Stelarc: Yes, of course, if you are sitting there with a heart pacemaker and an artificial hip and something to augment your liver and kidney functions, would I consider you less human? To be quite honest, most of your body might be made of mechanical, silicon, or chip parts and you behave in a socially acceptable way, you respond to me in a human-like fashion, to me that would make you a kind of human subject.
CTHEORY: You keep speaking about redesigning the human body. Who decides and how should it be redesigned ?
Stelarc: (Laughs) There is often misunderstanding about these notions, partly because they are critiqued with a kind of rear-vision mirror mentality of a fascist, dictatorial, Orwellian-big-brother scenario.
I don't have a utopian perfect body I'm designing a blueprint for, rather I'm speculating on ways that individuals are not forced to, but may want to, redesign their bodies - given that the body has become profoundly obsolete in the intense information environment it has created. It's had this mad, Aristotelian urge to accumulate more and more information. An individual now cannot hope to absorb and creatively process all this information. Humans have created technologies and machines which are much more precise and powerful than the body.
How can the body function within this landscape of machines? Technology has speeded up the body. The body now attains planetary-escape velocity, has to function in zero-G and in greater time-space continuums. For me this demonstrates the biological inadequacy of the body. Given that these things have occurred, perhaps an ergonomic approach is no longer meaningful. In other words, we can't continue designing technology for the body because that technology begins to usurp and outperform the body. Perhaps it's now time to design the body to match it's machines. We somehow have to turbo-drive the body-implant and augment the brain. We have to provide ways of connecting it to the cyber-network. At the moment this is not easily done, and it's done indirectly via keyboards and other devices. There's no way of directly jacking in. Mind you, I'm not talking here in terms of sci-fi speculation. For me, these possibilities are already apparent. What do we do when confronted with the situation where we discover the body is obsolete? We have to start thinking of strategies for redesigning the body.
CTHEORY: This recombinant body implies a widening of our sensibilities, of our perception. But our senses are linked to our brains, everything "happens" in our brain. So it's not enough to have, for example, X-ray vision. We need to change our synapses, the connections in our brains as well.
Stelarc: We shouldn't start making distinctions between the brain and the body. This particular biological entity with it's proprioceptive networks and spinal cord and muscles, it's the total kinesthetic orientation in the world, it's the body's mobility which contributes towards curiosity. The desire to isolate the brain is the result of a Cartesian dualism. It's not really productive any more to think in that sense. We have to think of the body plugged into a new technological terrain.
CTHEORY: We can see things that were previously invisible. We can go to the very little through nano-technology, see into infra-red and ultra violet spectrums, but this is not a direct perception. We get this through artificial systems...
Stelarc: Yes, and what will be interesting is when we can miniaturize these technologies and implant them into the body so that the body as total system becomes subjectively aware again. New technologies tend to generate new perceptions and paradigms of the world, and in turn, allow us to take further steps. If we consider technologies as intermediaries to the world, then, of course, we never have direct experiences. At the moment, we operate within a very thin electro-magnetic spectrum, and I would imagine that as we increasing operate in wider spheres of reality, then yes our perceptions and philosophies alter or adjust.
Technology has always been coupled with the evolutionary development of the body. Technology is what defines being human. It's not an antagonistic alien sort of object, it's part of our human nature. It constructs our human nature. We shouldn't have a Frankensteinian fear of incorporating technology into the body, and we shouldn't consider our relationship to technology in a Faustian way - that we're somehow selling our soul because we're using these forbidden energies. My attitude is that technology is, and always has been, an appendage of the body.
CTHEORY: Stelarc, your latest work centers around a sculpture you built for your stomach. What was the impetus for creating a sculpture to display inside your body?
Stelarc: I've moved beyond the skin as a barrier. Skin no longer signifies closure. I wanted to rupture the surface of the body, penetrate the skin. With the stomach sculpture, I position an artwork inside the body. The body becomes hollow with no meaningful distinction between public, private and physiological spaces. The hollow body becomes a host, not for a self or a soul, but simply for a sculpture.
CTHEORY: Funding any artwork is difficult, especially getting money for high tech equipment. Did you have trouble finding funding for the sculpture?
Stelarc: Actually no. One of the museums in Australia was preparing a show and asking for sculptures which explored alternative display spaces. I told them I had an alternative way and place to display a sculpture.
CTHEORY: Can you describe the stomach sculpture?
Stelarc: It's built of implant quality metals such as titanium, steel, silver, and gold. It is constructed as a domed capsule shell about the size of a fist. The shell contains a worm-screw and link mechanism and has a flexidrive cable connected to a servo motor controlled by a logic circuit. The capsule extends and retracts opening and closing in three sections. An embedded instrument array, light and piezo buzzer make the sculpture self-illuminating and sound-emitting.
CTHEORY: How did you insert it?
Stelarc: Very slowly. The stomach sculpture is actually the most dangerous performance I've done. We had to be within 5 minutes of a hospital in case we ruptured any internal organs. To insert the sculpture, the stomach was first emptied by withholding food for about 8 hours. Then the closed capsule, with beeping sound and flashing light activated, was swallowed and guided down tethered to it's flexidrive cable attached to the control box outside the body. Once inserted into the stomach, we used an endoscope to inflate the stomach and suck out the excess body fluids. The sculpture was then arrayed with switches on the control box. We documented the whole performance using video endoscopy equipment. Even with a stomach pump, we still had a problem with excess saliva. We had to hastily remove all the probes on several occasions.
CTHEORY: Now you've penetrated the body. You've hollowed it out, extended it, expanded it, hung it out a window, mapped out several miles of its interior. What is the next step?
Stelarc: It is time to recolonise the body with microminaturised robots to augment out bacterial population, to assist our immunological system, and to monitor the capillary and internal tracts of the body. We need to build an internal surveillance system for the body. We have to develop microbots whose behavior is not pre-programmed, but activated by temperature, blood chemistry, the softness or hardness of tissue and the presence of obstacles in tracts. These robots can then work autonomously on the body. The biocompatibility of technology is not due to its substance, but to its scale. Speck-sized robots are easily swallowed and may not even be sensed. At a nanotech level, machines will navigate and inhabit cellular spaces and manipulate molecular structures to extend the body from within.

His website can be found at....

http://stelarc.org/_.swf

the arthouse inc: origin of tattooing

2011-06-16T14:13:00.002-07:00

the arthouse inc: origin of tattooing: "Origin of Tattooing Believe it or not, some scientists say that certain marks on the skin of the Iceman, a mummified human body dating from..."

the arthouse inc: scarification

2011-06-16T14:13:00.001-07:00

the arthouse inc: scarification: "Scarification is the creative and artistic application of scars in a controlled manner to achieve an aesthetically or spiritually pleasing..."

the arthouse inc: 18 piece dermal anchor project

2011-06-16T14:13:00.000-07:00

the arthouse inc: 18 piece dermal anchor project: "i have been working on an 18 piece dermal anchor project since oct 2010. today i put in the last 2 anchors. Sondra took some awesome pict..."

the arthouse inc: Body Suspension

2011-06-16T14:12:00.000-07:00

the arthouse inc: Body Suspension: "Vertical Chest suspension ('O-Kee-Pa') This suspension takes place hooked from the front of the body and hung vertically. Many people refe..."

all kinds of different ear piercings

2011-06-01T12:34:00.000-07:00

Anti Tragus - An anti-tragus piercing is an ear piercing done through the ridge of cartilage immediately above the earlobe (and "across from" the tragus). To many people's surprise, it is also one of the most painful piercings!

Daith -
This ear piercing passes through the ear's innermost cartilage fold. In most areas this piercing is pronounced "day-th" although the proper pronounciation is "doth" (rhymes with "moth")
A client of Erik Dakota that is said to have been studying Hebrew in college first named this piercing ("daath" meaning "knowledge"). Her reasoning was that the piercer must have been very "smart" to figure out how to do the piercing. The actual root word of the piercing is the "da'at", a part of the Kabbalistic tree of life traditionally representing the union of wisdom and understanding. In more modern times daath has come to represent the void or the abyss ("the sacred nothing"), or the hole left behind when Malkuth fell out of the Garden of Eden

Ear Lobe -
Earlobe piercing and earlobe stretching is perhaps history's most common piercing. The typical placement for an earlobe piercing is directly in the center of the lobe and can vary from one earring to multiple earrings. Earlobe piercings other than directly "across" the lobe include lengthwise transverse lobe piercings as well as vertical lobe piercings.

Forward Helix -
A piercing on the inside of the upper rim of ear cartilage, close to the head.

Helix -
The helix piercing is any piercing through the rim of the cartilage (thus making it susceptible to complications such as Ear Collapse if care is not taken to use proper tools and procedures; for example, Piercing guns have been shown to be capable of causing cartilage to shatter).

Industrial -
An industrial piercing is two or more piercings connected by a single barbell. In normal usage it refers to an ear piercing whereby two helix piercings are connected by a single straight (or curved) barbell. While most industrials are a straight bar connecting two helix piercings, they are also often done vertically (sometimes more than one, becoming an ear cage) or through piercings other than the helix, such as rook to helix piercing or inner or outer conch piercings.

Inner Conch -
The inner conch piercing is a piercing through the innermost shell of the ear, next to the ear canal itself. Piercings through the outer shell are called Outer Conch Piercings. Historically it was performed by the Mangebetu of Zaire and the Gorakhnathis.
While this piercing is often done as a standard piercing, a great many people choose to Dermal Punch this piercing immediately to a larger gauge. It should be noted that making significant changes to the structure of the conch can cause minor loss of hearing. Large gauge inner conch piercings and other piercings that noticeably alter the structure of the ear will make slight differences in the ability of your ear to channel sound (like a funnel) into the inner ear. The degree of this change should be extremely minor in normal circumstances and most people arent even aware of it
Most people pronounce this piercing with a soft "ch" (ie. as in "cherry"), although the "official" (and less common) pronunciation is "konk" with a hard "k" at the end

Lobe Orbital -
A lobe orbital is best described as two earlobe piercings fitted with a single piece of curved jewelry (captive bead rings, circular barbells, etc).

Orbital -
Similar to an industrial piercing, an orbital piercing is two piercings connected by a single ring.

Outer Conch -
An outer conch piercing is a piercing through the outer shell of the ear. It is actually a somewhat unusual placement when it comes to "normal" sized piercing because most people tend to pierce along the edge of the ear (helix piercing) which one could argue are not really outer conch piercings, or do inner conch piercing instead.

Ragnar -
The Ragnar piercing is a local term for a "deep snug" piercing; sort of half way between a snug piercing and a transverse lobe piercing. As you can see from the picture, the jewelry enters the body inside the ear roughly where a snug would start, and then exits on the edge of the lobe/helix.

Rook -
The rook piercing is an ear piercing through the fold of cartilage between the inner and outer conch (the anti-helix). Care must be taken with it during healing, as it is easy to contaminate (and damage) from things like telephones touching it.

Snug-
This cartilage piercing passes through the vertical ridge that "outlines" but does not edge the ear. Technically speaking, this is an "anti-helix piercing," although snug seems to be the term in most common circulation.

Tragus -
Piercings through the tragus, the little nub in front of the ear canal, are a common form of ear piercing. This piercing is not known to have a historical basis.
This piercing can be done with a captive bead ring, barbells or even a labret stud. This piercing should have no effect on hearing, nor is it linked to facial paralysis or any other urban legends.

Transverse Lobe -
A transverse lobe is an earlobe piercing turned 90 degrees such that the length of the piercing is parallel to the sagittal plane of the earlobe. Most often, it runs as close to horizontally as the ear will permit

Vertical Lobe -
A vertical lobe piercing is just that; a piercing, usually using a straight barbell, travelling from the top of the lobe (ie. the anti-tragus) down and exiting at the bottom of the lobe. It is essentially a transverse lobe piercing turned 90°.

Vertical Tragus -
Using a curved barbell (or other jewelry), the tragus may be pierced vertically. Many piercings that appear to be a vertical tragus piercing are actually surface piercings located immediately in front of the tragus. These can be done with a curved barbell as well, but are prone to rejection. The chance of rejection can be reduced by using surface bars, as well as having the piercing done by an experienced piercer. Even under optimal conditions though, they can still reject.

MODIFY! (the movie)

2011-04-30T13:29:00.000-07:00

All of us know we should not pre-judge others, not to judge a book by its cover.
Does this feeling of acceptance apply to people who modify their body beyond what
is normal? Extreme is relative to perception. It is human nature to fear what we do
not understand. What is ‘normal’?

Everyone modifies their body in one form or another to help show on the outside
how they feel on the inside.

Using intirely original music, including over forty never before heard songs from
more than twenty new artists, this original groundbreaking documentary hits the
screen rockin’ right from the start.

For the first time ever, in their own words, the finest, more well spoken, talented,
surgeons, piercers, tattooists, cutters, body artists, and pioneers of body modification
in the United States, show and tell all in the Committed Films motion picture
‘MODIFY’.

You will meet more than thirty of the most amazing modified people that have ever
lived, and the body artists that have changed them forever. We have traveled the
country and have filmed more than fifty body modification procedures including
tanning, waxing, piercing, branding, scarification, genital beading, elective
amputations, bodybuilding, tattooing, tongue splitting, non-surgical implants, plastic
surgeries, trans-gender surgeries, and everything in between.

Why have they chosen to do this to their bodies?

We explore their thoughts on the difference between body modification and
mutilation, their feelings on discrimination, addiction, religion and the legal limits
regarding the right to choose what someone can or can not do to their own body.

CHECK IT OUT!

http://www.modifythemovie.com/index2.html

it is also now available on netflix.

the arthouse inc: the arthouse inc

2011-04-30T13:07:00.002-07:00

the arthouse inc: the arthouse inc: "welcome to the arthouse inc blog! we are a piercing and tattoo studio located in calgary, alberta, canada. we have been in business since ..."

the arthouse inc: the wonderful world of dermal anchors

2011-04-30T13:07:00.001-07:00

the arthouse inc: the wonderful world of dermal anchors: "A dermal anchor is a technique that is essentially a single-point pocketing . A small piece of jewellery designed to be inserted into the bo..."

the arthouse inc: wood plugs and tunnels

2011-04-30T13:07:00.000-07:00

the arthouse inc: wood plugs and tunnels: "here are a few links to beautifully made organic tunnels and plugs... Omerica Organic grenades by omerica organics Diablo Orangics ..."

the arthouse inc: origin of tattooing

2011-04-30T13:06:00.005-07:00

the arthouse inc: origin of tattooing: "Origin of Tattooing Believe it or not, some scientists say that certain marks on the skin of the Iceman, a mummified human body dating from..."

the arthouse inc: scarification

2011-04-30T13:06:00.004-07:00

the arthouse inc: scarification: "Scarification is the creative and artistic application of scars in a controlled manner to achieve an aesthetically or spiritually pleasing..."

the arthouse inc: AUTOCLAVE.

2011-04-30T13:06:00.003-07:00

the arthouse inc: AUTOCLAVE.: "An autoclave is an instrument used to sterilize equipment and supplies by subjecting them to high pressure saturated steam at 121 °C or mo..."

the arthouse inc: 18 piece dermal anchor project

2011-04-30T13:06:00.002-07:00

the arthouse inc: 18 piece dermal anchor project: "i have been working on an 18 piece dermal anchor project since oct 2010. today i put in the last 2 anchors. Sondra took some awesome pict..."