thing-a-day 2010 - The yearly creative sprint, 4th edition
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February 8, 2010
 

Thing #8: Hello World

Hello World

I have a condition called dermographism (Dermatographic urticaria) and needed something quick for Thing a Day.
Basically I can create welts on my skin by lightly scratching myself with a fingernail, pen, clothing straps, etc. I'm not allergic to my nails or anything, I get a contact histamine reaction.
Anyways, this is not nearly as cool as the stuff some other people do:
http://www.arianapagerussell.com/work/skin-two/

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Posted by phaedra 

Comments (5)

Feb 08, 2010
cindy h. said...
wow, that is really interesting, and the examples that you showed are really cool too... how long does it last? does it hurt?
Feb 08, 2010
phaedra said...
It's been abt an hour, and there're just light, hard-to-see welts left. It doesn't hurt for me, but I think they can be itchy for some people.  Sometimes I notice them & other times I have no idea til someone asks what's wrong with my face/neck/other exposed skin. It actually doesn't take much pressure to trigger, so I hafta be careful not to scratch before picture time!

via phonedra

Feb 09, 2010
Stella said...
If I had this condition I would never leave myself alone! I might even keep an entire blog composed solely of images lightly scratched into my skin. How long does the reaction last?
Feb 09, 2010
clamoring said...
Beautiful! I don't have the condition but my skin reddens very easily. I did something similar with a violet wand.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/clamoring/4202574198/in/set-72157602217020129/

Feb 09, 2010
phaedra said...
@Stella - the welts fade w/in about an hour and take ~ 5 min to rise. they go from red scratch, to red welt, to white welt, then fade... Its not that big a deal, but i tend to rub myself on the face or neck sometimes & just have a giant red mark i don't know about until i look in a bathroom mirror. its also kinda a pain when trying on clothes cos i'll get all marked up from the straps & its distracting - weight/other issues aside, i could never be a model ; )

@clamoring - i also really like how red & blue look on lighter skin..been thinking of using red in whatever the next tattoo is.

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