The Point: Journal of Body Piercing - Issue 84 - Autumn 2018 by The Point: Journal of Body Piercing

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the point

The Quarterly Journal of the Association of Professional Piercers

BOARD OF DIRECTORS Jef Saunders—President Kendra Jane B—Vice-President Luis Garcia—International Liaison Ryan Ouellette—Outreach Coordinator Steve Joyner—Legislation & Regulatory Affairs Cody Vaughn—Membership Liaison Brian Skellie—Medical Liaison OFFICERS Aaron Pollack—Secretary Paul King—Treasurer ADMINISTRATORS Caitlin McDiarmid—APP Administrator Marina Pecorino—Membership Administrator EDITORIAL STAFF Kendra Jane B—Managing Editor of Content & Archives Marina Pecorino—Managing Editor of Content & Statistics Jim Ward—Art Director & Contributing Editor ADVERTISING kendrajaneb@safepiercing.org Front Cover: Dae Jedic Photo by Shanna Hutchins ASSOCIATION OF PROFESSIONAL PIERCERS 1.888.888.1APP • safepiercing.org • info@safepiercing.org Donations to The Point are always appreciated. The Association of Professional Piercers is a California-based, international non-profit organization dedicated to the dissemination of vital health and safety information about body piercing to piercers, health care professionals, legislators, and the general public. Material submitted for publication is subject to editing. Submissions should be sent via email to editor@safepiercing.org. The Point is not responsible for claims made by our advertisers. However, we reserve the right to reject advertising that is unsuitable for our publication.

IN THIS ISSUE

FROM THE EDITORS

MEMBERSHIP INFOGRAPHICS EXPLAINED

THE OPENING POOL PARTY

THE AL D. SCHOLARS

VOLUNTEER THANK YOU

THE BODY PIERCING ARCHIVE EXHIBIT

THE BANQUET

VOLUNTEER APPRECIATION AWARD

CREATIVE INNOVATOR AWARD

TECHNICAL INNOVATOR AWARD

MEMORIES OF LAS VEGAS

PIERCING WITH STEVE JOYNER

CoRE—CONSTRUCTS OF RITUAL EVOLUTION

WE ARE CoRE

LOOKING BACK AT PERFORMANCE ART ISSUE 84

CONFERENCE, 2018

Photo by Matte Erickson

FROM THE EDITORS KENDRA JANE B MARINA PECORINO The Point Editors

• Kendra Jane B

In our last issue of The Point, I spoke to being mindful in your preparation for Conference. I said I was going into it knowing what I wanted to get out of it. I had hoped to find a renewed connection, a connection with the people of our industry. Instead what I found was a renewed connection with myself. This year was a wash of emotions, so here’s your warning; emotions ahead. I sat in my room and contemplated all that was Conference. I had arrived 10 days prior and, man, was I ready to go home. Conference is a special place filled with the most special people, but it also comes with sacrifices of sleep, water, sleep, raw fresh vegetables, oh and did I mention sleep? So this year on my last night I decided to do something a bit different. I took myself out on a date. That’s right a me party, party of one. For most of my life I did not feel like I could be my true self, and as such I never wanted to spend time with myself. Through my journey within this industry and the past eight Conferences, I am so very happy to say I am 100% happy with who I am, what I believe, and where I have drawn my boundaries. This wouldn’t have been possible without the people I have met because of Conference. So at the end of this year’s very hectic week I celebrated myself and all I have accomplished with dim sum, hand pulled noodles, and mochi. I finally know what my truth is and I hope that your journey through the piercing community and Conference allows you to find your truths. I hope you enjoy this look back through this year’s Conference.

• Marina Pecorino

Starting from the time my shoes touch the Vegas cement several days before the attendees arrive, the week of Conference is usually a blur for me. This year had the added complexities of new motherhood; extra calls home and using my breaks to pump breast milk made my already busy schedule even more packed. Much of my work happens after classes end and most attendees head to the bar. Unfortunately, my workload and late hours meant that I missed many of the extracurricular activities this year, including the Opening Pool Party at the Flamingo, most of the Banquet (which featured attendee karaoke and a special visit from Elvis), and all the Alternative To The Bar activities. Thankfully, I still found time to take a guided tour through the Body Piercing Archive Exhibit and make a few quick passes through the Expo. By the end of the week, as usual I was both exhausted and revitalized. Conference provides a chance to develop professionally and personally, and although classes are no longer my personal focus during the week, I always glean new knowledge from the overall experience. I was able to attend a few classes and they were wonderful, led by a range of speakers with diverse backgrounds and experiences. It seems that every year, our class offerings provide an ever-expanding range of topics, from technical, to analytical, to anthropological. Every year, it seems that the week has an unnatural momentum; starting out steady, but somehow quickening the closer we get to the end, until suddenly the week is over. This year, that progression seemed even more spectacular than usual. The final flurry of activ-

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ity comes during pack out, which the Volunteer team managed to accomplish in record time this year. That evening culminates with one last “family” dinner, after which we gather for speeches, allowing the Volunteers to speak from the heart about their experience. This is one of my favorite times during Conference, hearing how each individual will go home changed in some way with a renewed sense of themselves and their connection to the industry and our community. We all come together in the same city for the same event, but the week alters each person in their own unique way. After dinner and speeches this year, I made it back to my room just in time to see the Bellagio fountains

erupting. I stood at the window in welcomed silence, watching the colored water and lights dance amid the city of sin and excess. In that post-Conference quiet, I took a few moments to mentally prepare for reintegrating with normal life; it is amazing how different life can feel during Conference week. It will take many of us time to decompress, organize, and fully understand our experience, so if you had the opportunity to attend, I hope you take the time to reflect and share your thoughts. If you were not able to attend this year, consider joining us for our first year at Planet Hollywood for the 24th Annual Conference and Exposition May 1217, 2019.

New Members & Sponsors—July, 2017–July, 2018 Business & Business Members at Large Rafael Andrade Tabatha Andreason Ryan Archuleta Desi Arellano Brent Baker Sabrina Ballard Daniel Barake Cody Bauer Starr Belew Robyn Campbell Cory Carmean Nick Christiansen Jeffrey Clark Corey Cochrane Andrea Costantino Mercedes Courtoreille Ben Creehan Gregory Daniel Benjamin Davis Diego de Esteve Jenell Di Renee Dietzler Brandon Downs Sabrina Egan Joe Espin Molly Ezell Aaron Foster Holly Foutch Paul Fox Russ Foxx Nathalie Gauthier Corinne Graves Erik Grover James Haessly Suzanne Hallett Hannah Kimber

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Daniel Pereira Ari Pimsler Antonio Pisasale Sean Powell Kaden Rasmussen Della Scott Eloise Ridgewell Victoria Rose Randee Saenz Kelli Saez Nate Saint Pierre Claire Savard Sara Schneider Lucas Sheffield Pete Sheringham Shane Shields Dylan Smith Carrie Sorrels Kari Spector Cherry Sutherland Pineapple Tangaroa Kaitlyn Taylor Andrea Trester Sergi Tinaut Chad Vahila Bella van Nes Paulus van Nes Cour Vest Laura Estefania Vicat Zack Watson Jade Winston Lindsey Wright Eddie Zvolanek

Associate Members Jessika Agee KristaJae Amante Amanda Badger

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CONFERENCE, 2018

MEMBERSHIP INFOGRAPHICS EXPLAINED MARINA PECORINO

APP Membership Administrator

he following infographics were presented in the annual Members’ Meeting at Conference. There’s a lot of information here, so I’d like to take a moment to make sure the full breadth of our recent growth is understood. It’s important to note that our membership changes almost daily. Prior to Conference, the Membership Committee processed all applications received before April 1, 2018, and then went on hiatus until after Conference, so new memberships have a pre-Conference deadline.

However, the same does not apply for changes with existing Members. Keep in mind the nomadic nature of many piercers, moving to different studios, or relocating to different states and countries. These types of changes happen up to and even onsite at Conference. It seems only appropriate to start from the beginning, so let’s look at the APP Membership Inception to Current graph. The golden columns show the total number of active Members at the close of each corresponding year.

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This includes all membership types, and excludes our Corporate Sponsors. The blue line indicates the current active Members based on their join year. So, as an example, looking back ten years, 2008 ended with 254 total Members (a difference of 18 compared to the previous year), and only 16 of the Members accepted that year still maintained active membership at the time that these graphs were created. On the contrary, in 2017, the year ended with a total of 582 Members (a difference of 60 compared to the previous year), and 134 of those active Members (that’s 23%) joined last year! It’s pretty clear to see the incredible growth the APP has experienced over the last several years, with active Members more than doubling since 2012. This brings us to the Pre-Conference Growth graph. This illustrates the number of new Members between January 1 and Conference of each corresponding year. Keep in mind that Conference does not have a stationary date, so there is a bit of variation with the Membership Committee hiatus I mentioned earlier. Regardless, pre-Conference growth has almost tripled between 2014 and 2018. Moving to the next set of graphs, we look at our memberships and sponsorships by type. The first of this set is specific to individual Members and the membership type they fit into. Business Members—piercers with more than one year of professional experience, who meet both environmental and personal criteria—are by far our largest membership category, for obvious reasons. The second graph in this set includes all of

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the information from the previous, but also includes Additional Location memberships and our Corporate Sponsors. The Additional Location memberships are used for Business Members who consistently work in more than one approved studio location. The final two infographics show membership (Associate Corporate, Associate, Business, Business at Large, and Patron Members) by geographical location. The first shows all active Members in North America. California and Oregon have the highest number of APP Members, followed closely by Florida and Texas. The concentration of Members in these areas is somewhat predictable, based on the sheer size and density of populations in these states. The second map shows active Members worldwide. Despite being an international organiza-

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tion, APP membership is highest in the United States, but membership is growing elsewhere. Australia now has the third highest membership by country, most of which were added within the last three years. The recent popularization and growth of our industry, in combination with the outstanding work of the Membership Committee, and our transition to an online membership system are all partly responsible for the recent prosperity of the APP. That said, the majority of the credit goes to industry professionals as a whole and the increasing demand for excellence. As professionals hold themselves and their studios to higher standards, and look to the Association of Professional Piercers for support, Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m confident that the organization and industry will continue to thrive.

CONFERENCE, 2018

THE OPENING POOL PARTY Photos by Shanna Hutchins

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CONFERENCE, 2018

THE AL D. SCHOLARS Anji Amarjargal

Luis GonzálezFierro González (partner) and Txas Norris (Al D. Scholar), photo by Shanna Hutchins

I was fortunate enough to be chosen as one of the eight Al. D Scholars this year. Just accepting the fact that I was actually going to be attending Conference was beyond belief. For someone coming from a country where there’s no community for piercers, I would get to attend seminars, meet my idols, and make new friends who have the same passion for body piercing. It is the biggest thing that has happen in my career as a piercer. Needless to say, the fact that I’ve never been to Las Vegas made it even more exciting.

The biggest advantage of being a scholar— which I never would have realized beforehand —is that you will become part of a big family and the best group of people, the Volunteer group. I was so naive to think the APP was this huge organization and Conference just happens. In reality what makes Conference happen is the amazing people in the Volunteer group. Just thinking I was there to help make this big event take place makes me very happy. Also my heart wouldn’t be able to sleep at night if I went without mentioning my appreciation for Caitlin, who is the hardest working bee there is. Being the head of the Volunteers, she did an outstanding job on managing us from the very beginning and making sure we stayed sane through the busy week of working and learning. The week was an emotional rollercoaster as the things I used to pray for were actually happening. When you’re from somewhere as remote as Mongolia, Las Vegas and the APP seem like a million miles away, something unattainable, yet there I was in Las Vegas at the APP Conference meeting Elayne Angel, Jim Ward, and many other amazing industry professionals from all over the globe. Caitlin made sure we, the Scholars, got to attend classes in addition to our work; they truly care about people who want to learn, improve, and sharpen their skill-sets related to body piercing. A huge thank you goes out to Badur Ramji from PunkMedics, who helped the Al.D Scholars make our dreams come true with his donations. This week is going to be my highlight each year going forward. After everything I have witnessed there is no way I want to miss out on it again. Classes were well organized and were exceptionally interesting. The effort speakers put into teaching was very inspirational, for no reason other than sharing knowledge and helping us broaden our horizons, it was so heartwarming. What I have gained after the week is gratitude, knowledge, and more love for the art of body piercing. For anyone out there who has never been to Conference, I would highly recommend going! They say it’s life-chang-

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ing, but you never truly understand how until you experience it yourself. I would call it The week of self polishing.

Al D. Jon Saltzer had no idea what he signed up for when he became a volunteer. Photo by Al D. Scholar Zakk Boyer.

Becky Crossan

Before getting on the plane, and even during the journey, coming to Vegas for Conference had an unreal quality to it, as though it wasn’t something I was really brave enough to do. I’d thought about applying for years previously, but had always found a reason to miss the deadline and put it off for another year. This year I was fortunate enough to have the support and encouragement of some friends who are previous Scholars and I finally set myself the challenge of sending the application in. Until I actually arrived though, and started to meet people in person who I had previously only interacted with online, the whole thing felt dream-like. It’s difficult to put into words what this experience has meant to me. It has been transformative, not just in how I approach things as a piercer as I return home to my studio, but also in how I perceive myself. There’s been so much to learn and so much work to do, but what has really made Conference truly special has been the people. I’ve met some amazing and inspiring people throughout this week and I feel very fortunate and honoured to call them my friends. It sounds cliché, but I tend to think that people in our community often feel like outsiders and like they don’t really quite fit in. For me, attending Conference felt like a homecoming and a sense of belonging to a community of people who understand. As I reflect on this experience I want to say thank you to everyone who made it possible and everyone who made it so wonderful. This whole experience has shaped my confidence, happiness, and sense of self worth in more ways than you could ever know.

Daniel Wright

In today’s booming world of piercings, it’s easy to get bogged down looking at Instagram

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and Facebook only to see piercers from all over the globe going to big conferences, expanding their knowledge, networking and picking up the best jewellery money can offer. You, meanwhile, are left checking your bank balance and quietly accepting that you will never be one of those people… the Al. D Scholarship can change this. As a recipient of this scholarship, I was given an opportunity that most people can only dream of and that was to leave my little English city and attend the most well known and respected conference in the piercing world: The Association of Professional Piercers Conference in Las Vegas, USA. Upon arriving I was thrown straight into the mix, sharing a room with someone I had never met and put into a large group of other volunteers. My feelings quickly changed from apprehension to sheer excitement as it became evident that these were the friendliest, most dedicated members

“ ”

So this goes out to anybody considering applying. Even if you don’t think you stand a chance or even if, for some crazy reason, you think you don’t deserve it, APPLY! of the piercing community. They give up their own time each year to set up and run Conference and have formed a family which they accepted me into with open arms. Over the course of the five days I was running around, checking badges here, working the door there, all the while being given the opportunity to sit in seminars and classes with some of the most knowledgeable professionals around today. I can’t say it went down without a hitch; on the first time working on the door of a class with a fellow Scholar, the network went down on the scanning devices. Although I felt as if the world was going to swallow me up, as over a hundred pairs of eyes gazed at me patiently waiting to enter the classroom, all of the Volunteers in the area banded together, jogging off to the office, telling those in line that there has been a delay and mentally supporting the two newcomers. Within minutes the problem was sorted, finished off with a pat on the back and the reassurance that it is all okay. Early mornings turned into late nights and the day were filled with friendly demands from others such as “Drink more water!” and “You look hungry, go and eat!” The support was invaluable along with the experience, and within the blink of an eye it was all over. Going from a nervous piercer, alone in a massive city not even in my own country, still trying to come to terms with the fact I (over other people) had been gifted this amazing opportunity, to being completely inducted into my new family. I left with my head held high, brain brimming with all of the knowledge I had gained, and a tear for the new friends I would have to leave. So this goes out to anybody considering applying. Even if you don’t think you stand a chance or even if, for some crazy reason, you think you don’t deserve it, APPLY! There is value in everyone and this whole experience is something I wouldn’t trade for the world. It will completely change your outlook on your professional life as well as your personal one.

I applied to the scholarship with a day or 2 left before applications closed and didn’t for one second think I would get it, I put it to the back of my mind and figured that if I just forgot about it, I would escape disappointment. Yet here I am now, writing about my experience. I need to finish this with a massive shout out to Caitlin McDiarmid for being Mama Duck to all of us ducklings and the unshakable support and dedication she puts into Conference each year, also to Badur Ramji of PunkMedics for funding my Scholarship as the real life Willy Wonka. You made all my dreams come true and more. Without you, people like me would never have gotten the chance to travel out to Conference. Thank you for your continuous hard work in keeping Rick Frueh’s name alive. Forever Learning.

Debbie Moore

I remember the day that Caitlin told me I would be going to Las Vegas; there was a blizzard happening in Ireland. Everyone I knew was enjoying and playing in the snow, but I was so nervous awaiting Caitlin’s call that I could do nothing but sit and anxiously wait. The time came and when Caitlin called she simply said “so... you wanna come to Vegas?” I was so happy I cried and replied “yes of course, thank you!” while my Girlfriend danced around our kitchen screaming with excitement! That’s how much it meant to me and my loved ones. To be the second Irish piercer to attend the Conference and be an Al D. Scholar was such a huge honour! When the day finally came I must admit I had reservations stepping onto the plane as it was so daunting being in the company of so many piercers I admire and aspire to. But stepping into that first meeting with everyone clapping and welcoming us and when Caitlin gave me my badge it was such an amazing feeling! Something I’ve wanted for so long was actually happening!

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Were the work days long, and was it stressful at times? Yes. But through these stressful long days there was Mama Duck herself, Caitlin, the person that made this possible and the other Volunteers checking that we were ok, that we had food or water, and if we needed rest. We were and are a family! Getting to be a part of this family, taking classes, and meeting legends such as Elayne Angel and Jim Ward made it a life changing experience, one I hope to repeat again next year.

Jon Salzer

I had my Piercer awakening back in 2014 when I attended the Fakir Intensives and learned some very vital information about autoclaves and their effectiveness on luminous objects, why you want quality jewelry with internal threading and much more. I was given a piece of advice, “you need to make it out to Conference,” and decided that was my next goal. The next few years were spent moving shops to be able to work with quality jewelry and sterilization equipment, so I could ethically stand behind my work and not knowingly cause unnecessary harm to someone. I became an APP Member, then ran into a weird work environment which forced me to take a year sabbatical and figure out if we were going to leave my home town or stay and try to build a better piercing culture for ourselves and our customers. We chose to stay and build a new business with all of its hurdles, but we made it and had the studio meeting environmental standards within the first year. I also wanted to try and make it to Conference this year, seeing as I had missed three years since my time at the Intensives. I felt like I was missing out on my need for continuous learning. When I applied for the Al D. Scholarship I had no idea that I was going to get it. It was more like a shot in the dark and hope for the best. My partner the whole time kept saying “you got this babe” and I would respond “you never know, it’s anyone’s game.” I am grateful for the time that Caitlin, Cale, and Ryan all put into the selection process. These amazing people volunteer their time so fortunate piercers like me can have an opportunity to learn and grow as an individual. When Cale called to announce the winners I was stunned and started to freak out because I had admitted to them during interviews that even with the scholarship I didn’t know if we could afford to get me out to Las Vegas.

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We found the money to get a ticket (I should also mention that I work two days a week painting houses and three nights as a bouncer at a bar. I’ll sleep when I’m dead right?) so it was going to happen! I picked my classes and went through the volunteer training online. I freaked out a few times before coming, thinking that this was not happening or “how am I going to be received by these amazing people at Conference?” Then the day came and I reluctantly left my family. I’ve never spent more than four days away from my partner in ten years and that only happened once. I got on the plane and flew out to meet Gus Diamond and Ken Seyler at the airport to split a cab. My idea of what I was going to get out of this trip was to soak up as much knowledge as I possibly could in the week’s time I was there and to network. I wasn’t sure what networking meant, expected it to be something along that lines of meeting the man that sold me and everyone else their autoclave, Brian Skellie. I landed and met up with Caitlin to touch base and that’s when it began. I met the sweet Kendra Jane who basically offered me cookies as a greeting and Badur Ramji (the awesome man behind funding a good number of us Scholars to be there in the first place) and from there it just kept on going. I met up with Shorty and John Robberson, fellow Florida piercers, and we ended up taking a valuable tour of the hotel and surrounding area to get a lay of the land and a feel for Vegas. 2 o’clock in the morning rolls around and I’m like “oh man, I have to be at volunteer training so early tomorrow,” so my bad decisions of not wanting to miss out probably started that night (and it had been less than 6 hours.) In the training meetings I started to meet the enormous team of volunteers that help make Conference happen and started forming friendships and mentors that all truly turned into family by the end. They broke down the walls of that feeling of being the new kid at school and just acted like I’d been part of the class the whole time. Zach Fitzgerald (or loud Al D. Scholar from 2014) was always there to check I had my water and was staying hydrated. Alicia Lowe was always there in the sea of people at the bar having fun, but still looking out for us new people. It was nice to know that support was just a few stepaway with any of the Volunteers and that they had your back in a place so foreign and overwhelming. This comradery was not

Clockwise from the top, Àngel Armengol Docio, Daniel Wright, Nici Holmes (returning new volunteer), Alicia Lowe (returning new volunteer), Anji Amarjargal, Becky Crossan, Txas Norris, Debbie Moore, Zakk Boyer, Jon Salzer [all 2018 Al D. Scholars except Nici & Alicia]. Photo by Anji Amarjargal

only shared with the Volunteers though, it was anyone and everyone that had come to attend Conference. No one passes judgment and we all just get along. We are all there for the good of our industry and that truly is what I got from Conference. We are all awkward people and that’s cool, we are also an ever-growing family of piercers and that’s even cooler. Thank you to everyone that I met and had a chance to connect with, this opportunity felt like a dream, but the connections that I made and the new family that I have at the end of this trip makes me know that it wasn’t a dream at all. Thank you again Caitlin for everything!!! And thank you to my partner for always believing in me and making this happen even though we couldn’t afford it. I can’t wait to introduce you to our new extended family next year.

Zakk Boyer

As I sit here in the airport surrounded by people with no names and just faces, I can’t help but think back to my amazing week. To those of you who are reading this, remember I am just a message away. You can call on me for any reason and I will do my best to help you. I can’t thank the following people enough

from the bottom of my heart. First and foremost Caitlin McDiarmid; you, ma’am, are the backbone of the APP. I am so proud to say that I was one of your Scholars, one of your ducklings, and now one of your volunteer children. You give the best hugs and have made me feel accepted from the start of the whole process. Badur Ramji, what can I say about this man? He gave me and others one of the best weeks of our lives. If it wasn’t for you I would not have had this opportunity. You, sir, are one of the biggest supporters of this industry and the APP. You give a ragtag bunch of outcasts an opportunity to grow and succeed. You have given me more fuel to continue my beloved piercing career. I will be forever grateful and in your debt. I will always remember you and what you have done for me and the other Al D. Scholars. Without these two people I would not be writing this today. They are both amazing from the tips of their toes to the tips of their noses and have two of the biggest hearts I have ever encountered. Moving on to my fellow volunteer family members. There are too many of you to name and thank for showing me so much support and so much love, excitement, encourage-

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ment, and for welcoming me into your family with open arms. I have never felt so welcomed and not like an outsider in my life, I love each and every one of you and I cannot wait to see and hug each of you at next year’s Conference. You guys and gals are some of the best people and I know that I will always have you in my corner and hope that you all realize that I am in yours as well. To my fellow Al D. Scholars of 2018 - WE DID IT! We did it and survived. If there was a test, I am sure we all would have passed. You guys are awesome. You’re special. You’re beautiful. And you are all my family. I am glad to have met all you guys and have you in my life. We came, we saw, and we conquered. I am proud to call all of you my friends. My experience as an Al D. was probably one of the single handed best experiences of my professional piercing career. It was a lot of hard work, but worth every second. We all had breakdowns, but brought each other back up. I can’t say enough how grateful I am to everyone involved with this experience. The whole week of Conference was such an amazing and surreal experience, from meeting some of the founding Members to the man himself, Jim Ward. This is not an experience

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that I have taken lightly. It has done so many things for me, from opening doors, to opening my eyes. It has helped me set new amazing goals for myself and my current studio. I had so many highlights, it is really hard to pick one of my favorite moments or people. The friends and family I have made through this experience are mind blowing. Now, being home and back to work, I am getting my feet back under me, and it is time to get to work. For those of you new and scared of going to Conference, please read these words and know that you can do it. Apply for the scholarship, ask to shadow, ask for help, get critiques, and always remember we are just as scared as you. When you do go to Conference it will change you in the best ways possible and if you see me there, don’t hesitate to come up to me and ask me anything or to introduce you to someone. This is what we all strive for and this is what it’s all about; learning, growing, and being forced out of our comfort zones. YOU CAN DO IT!! To all reading this I leave you with these words. You are awesome. You are beautiful. You are special. And you are important. Do not let anyone take away from what you strive to be, for you may be your own worst enemy, but we are your support and we are here for you.

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CONFERENCE, 2018

VOLUNTEER THANK YOU CAITLIN McDIARMID APP Administrator

Above, this year’s volunteers. Photo by Shanna Hutchins

2018 is over and the planning for 2019 is well underway, with only 10 months between conferences. I was extremely proud of this year’s crop of Al D. Scholars. Not only were they exceptional workers, but they really crammed in as much education as possible with their busy schedules. They made friends with each other and with the larger volunteer group. By the end of the week, they understood fully the gift of service and working with a team which had now become their family. Our Al D. Scholars this year were: Anji Amarjargal (San Francisco, CA/Mongolia); Àngel Armengol Docio (Barcelona, Spain); Zakk Boyer (Fayetteville, NC); Becky Crossan (Stockton-on-Tees, UK); Txas Norris (Oviedo, Spain); Debbie Moore (Cork Ireland); Jon Salzer (Atlantic Beach, FL), and Daniel Wright (Liverpool, UK). Thank you for your courageous work and your willingness to be open to what seems like a chaotic mess (the volunteer experience), but has its own rhythm and makes beautiful music if you let it. I want to thank LeRoi and Tether for contributing to the Al D. Scholarship fund; and PunkMedics for sponsoring five full “Forever Learning” Scholarships in Rick Frueh’s name; and NeoMetal for sponsoring one “Live Long and Prosper” Scholarship in Mark Siekierski’s name. Once again Piercers contributed to the No Excuses fund and sent Maggie Kellett and Victoria Rothman to Conference.

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This year we invited back a few of the scholars from previous years who had received outstanding reviews: Jess Farrar Erica Martin Cas Willems Nicole Holmes Saku Penttilä Alicia Lowe Michelle Rose We had volunteers, who have been with us for a bit, return to continue in service: Dae Jedic Charlie LeBeau Jason Heeney José Carlos Calvo James Biggers Nathan Lee Grosvenor The following love volunteers completed training, enabling them to become official volunteers this year: Megan Naito Lani Soleil Vivi Madero Jesse Enz Our AV crew was: Brian Moeller Allen Falkner

Aiden Johnson Paul Rainer

Shana Gyure Michelle Rose

The AV shifts might be short but these folks handle one of the most pressure filled roles of Conference and we thank them for their hard work. Julie Taylor had some additional challenges with the new location of our Registration. She met them head on, and along with the Volunteer Underground and other volunteers, was successful at getting both new and returning attendees down to the Event Center on our busy first days. The Super Volunteers are our most experienced volunteers - and it shows. I am continuously impressed how fast they breakdown the 10 plus pallets and get everything sorted and organized for Conference. I’m continuously so happy that I don’t have to micromanage my team – that they have grown into brilliant mentors in their own right. Our Classroom Supers: Seven Wolfe Ryan Clark

Mike Mc Marita Wikström

Zach Fitzgerald

Our Booth Supers: Casey Hosch Danny Greenwood Mark Montgomery Ken Seyler

Dianna Brown Andru Rogge John Robberson Andre Berg

Jezebel Voulé Jacob Spjut Kenny Hughes Luz de Luna Duran

Our Registration Supers: Kendra Jane B Theo Sheffler Anna York Badur Ramji

Below, Jesse Enz, Seven Wolfe, and Danny Greenwood. Photo by Shanna Hutchins

Stephanie Hill Ismael Vargas Guerrero Logan Wright (trainee)

Shorty is both a general volunteer and is the exclusive assist on the app. This year was the first that we didn’t have a paper program and Shorty’s an integral part of the success of the app.

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“Mama Duck” Caitlin McDiarmid instructs her crew of volunteers. Photo by Stephanie Hill.

I need to thank my Conference Managers: Will Spencer & Gus Diamond they were exceptional and took on even more work – as we all missed having Sarah Wooten as part of the mix. Thank you Rob Gold for managing the Volunteer Underground this year – it’s a lovely thing to see how many different ways people can be of service. Ed Chavarria and Luis Garcia – you continue to serve this organization in many ways and I consider you my friends and mentors. Special thanks to Darrin Walters for not only bringing and paying for Ronald’s Donuts every morning… but taking me to the doctor to check my peepers. Cale Belford is the Mentor to the Mentors – the leader of the group and the Mentor Program – and continues to do an amazing job. I heard more positive comments about the Mentors this year than ever before – thank you for making Conference a more welcoming and supportive event. A special thank you to Cale Belford for giving her all to the program. This years’ Mentors were: Aaron Solomon Adam Richins Aiden Johnson Anna Beall William Barron Becky Dill Blake Williams Boge Gonzales Cale Belford Christy Lillard Cozmo Whitest Desi Arellano Devyn Porter Fernando Chavez Gregory Charles

Hall Boyer Jeremiah Currier John Robberson Johnny Velez Josh Parkhurst Julie Taylor Kelly Carvara Kris Heming Krystal Klos Lena Cemal Mark Montgomery Matte Erickson Mike Mc Nathaniel Tinker Pablo Perelmuter

Pat Pierce Perry Doig Rich Hartwick Rob Gold Rob Hill Ryan Clark Shawn Porter Shelby Richins Jay “Stray” Johnson Tanner Bennett Tobias Vallone Vanessa Jo Whitney Thompson

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To John Johnson, I am not sure how the Conference Committee will do without you, but I am happy to have you back in the trenches. You did all the crappy off-site stuff this year – thank you, thank you, thank you. To Jezebel Voulé, thanks for doing all the extras – your help keeps me sane and your friendship means more than you know. Everyday I thank my blessings and two of those are Kendra Jane B. and Marina Pecorino. Without their work for the APP I would be drowning and unhappy and so incredibly tired. This year I came into Conference well rested and with an ease I haven’t experienced in a long time and it was largely because of these two lovely women. Next year we move to a new hotel and I was thinking about how most of the volunteers have never known anything other than Bally’s. This pondering led me to look at a short list of volunteers who have volunteered for ten years or more for the APP. I was happy to honor the following people at the Banquet Dinner: John Johnson Gus Diamond Bethrah Szumski Tiana McGuire Seven Wolfe Paul King Jezebel Voulé Mark Montgomery Darrin Walters Anna York Ed Chavarria David Kelso Will Spencer Elayne Angel Sarah Wooten They have served the APP for 10 years or more as Volunteers, as Committee Members, and as Board Members. I honor you. I thank you. And the whole of the organization has benefited from your dedication and service. The 10 year volunteer pin presented to you at Conference is a token of our appreciation.

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Below left, Theo Sheffler and Anna York enjoying the annual Volunteer breakfast at Bouchon; below right, foreground table, clockwise from lower left, Danny Greenwood, Jesse Enz, Seven Wolfe, Casey “dilla” Hosch, and Theo Sheffler. Photo by Danny Greenwood

CONFERENCE, 2018

THE BODY PIERCING ARCHIVE EXHIBIT BY NICK JOHNSON Photo by Kendra Jane B

ntering the annual Body Piercing Archive exhibit at Conference is something I always look forward to. Each year seems to surpass the previous in quality and execution. It is not dissimilar to a well-curated museum hall. This year reached deep down and touched a very personal place in my heart with The Perforated Body: an Examination of Piercing in Performance. I came to body piercing through suspension and found my people, my tribe, my community. Seeing the many faces of my mentors and peers represented and getting to know more about those that inspired them stirred me with emotion and passion like never before. I took every opportunity I could to sit in on guided tours with each of the different docents to gain greater insight and perspective on the numerous artists and performers represented. Couple this with the class session on Piercing in Performance and it created a fully realized and dynamic conversation about a topic paralleling our industry that newer piercers may not have known about. To quote the opening panel of the exhibit, “For the professional body piercer, ‘Piercing’ is familiar, repetitive, and sometimes even mechanical. Yet piercing retains a mysterious complexity beyond the clinical eye… In performance, ‘piercing’ may engage an audience’s feelings of astonishment, wonderment, repulsion and/or fear. As well, perforating or penetrating the flesh can be utilized to non-verbally communicate aspects of power, autonomy, violence, and/or sexuality.” This last line I feel brings the act of piercing full circle when a client comes in to get pierced, perhaps they too are trying to communicate their own personal power, autonomy, or sexuality.

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The exhibit included Bob Flanagan’s exploration of pain and the body while living with cystic fibrosis, Genesis P-Orridge’s exploration of identity and the occult, and Stelarc’s journey to transcend the body, among many others. Each artist represented has a strong will and way to show the world something through their personal lens. Other highlights of the exhibit were Ron Athey and Divinity P. Fudge’s “Human Printing Press” from Four Scenes From a Harsh Life, hung much as it originally was above the heads of the audience. This small piece which sparked a congressional hearing on funding for the art in the United States was enlightening to hear about. The ability to see the costumes and props from CoRE up close allowed me to see the hardwork and dedication Steve Joyner has put into such an amazing performance group. The

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Jon John exhibit brought tears to my eyes, as I listened to Paul King talk about his relationship with such a beautiful life lost too soon. As a piercer and as a suspension practitioner, this year’s exhibit has given me quite a bit to ponder about where life will take my peers and myself. I sincerely hope that in ten or twenty years time I will have the opportunity to see more of my contemporaries or even myself alongside such legends. The Body Piercing Archive is such an amazing and important entity, without it a lot of our history could have been lost to time. It’s important to know where you come from so that you can better see your own road ahead of you. If you can, please support the BPA and our industry’s other historians such as Scared Debris. I look forward to next year’s exhibit and seeing more of our beautiful history.

Body Piercing Archive Exhibit docents and friends in the Jon John display. Clockwise from the left, Ron Athey, Dr Dominic Johnson, Steve Joyner, Paul King, Allen Falkner, Dr Julian Carter, and Darryl Carlton (stage name Divinity Fudge). Photo by Shanna Hutchins

THE BPA EXHIBIT ASSORTED PANELS

PHOTOS BY KENDRA JANE B EXHIBITION PANEL DESIGN BY BECKY DILL

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CONFERENCE, 2018

THE BANQUET BY KENDRA JANE B

Photos by Shanna Hutchins

anquet is always a bitter sweet evening for me. On one hand it is finally a chance to relax and enjoy the company of my friends and piercer family - usually I have been too busy to get more than a passing hug from them until this point in the week. On the other hand it means in a mere 24 hours everything is over; the boxes packed, the booths gone, everything seemingly vanishes in a blink of an eye until the next year. So let’s relive the golden highlights just one more time as we take a look back at this year’s banquet dinner. The few hours that we all spend gathered in one room each year changes lives, solidifies relationships, and acts as the culminating event of our Conference. Every year we take a moment in our evening to celebrate those who have joined our piercing family as well as to remember those that have passed on. This year that climax of our days together held special meaning for me. With the abundance of loss and grief for many of us, this year I chose to make a personal tribute to that loss by donating just over 26” of my hair. A special thank you to everyone that celebrated that with me. We use our Banquet Dinner to honor some of the deserving souls in our industry. This made it an extra special place to honor a new me. We also take time to celebrate all of the new Members since the last Conference, and to thank all of our volunteers for their hard work throughout the year. We celebrate and acknowledge those vendors that are leading our industry with both technical and creative innovations. I would also like to take a moment to thank our Sponsors once again that make our grand prize raffle draws at Banquet a highlight for the entire week. • Anatometal

Ryan Ouellette & Kendra Jane B

• Sleeping Goddess Jewelry • Industrial Strength Body Jewelry • Piercers.com • Auris Jewelry • Gold Heart Woodworks • NeoMetal, Inc • Alchemy Adornment • LeRoi Inc. • Glasswear Studios We would also like to thank our Banquet Sponsors; Alchemy Adornment, Industrial Strength Body Jewelry, LeRoi Inc., and Steri-Wash. All of that plus the chance to take some great pictures in the photo booth or belt out a tune at karaoke! This year’s party was one that will not be quickly forgotten. It truly was a golden night.

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Top to bottom, Mike Hernandez and Sky Renfro; Gus Diamond and Badur Ramji; Ryan Ouellette and Caitlin McDiarmid; Cody Vaughn and Jim Ward

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Top, left to right, Gus Diamond, Luis Garcia, and Billy Wood Jr.; above, Elvis; left, left to right, Badur Ramji, Shorty, Jason Heeney, and John Robberson.

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WINNERSâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; CIRCLE

Some of the top prize raffle winners: clockwise from the top, Mark Montgomery, Christina Blossey, Tommy Mocek, Derek Lowe, and Theo Williams

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CONFERENCE, 2018

VOLUNTEER APPRECIATION AWARD Theo Sheffler CAITLIN MCDIARMID APP Administrator

Top, Theo behind the Registration desk, photo by Autumn Swisher; bottom, Caitlin prepares to present the award. Photos by Shanna Hutchins.

he 2018 Josh A. Prentice Volunteer Award winner was Theo Sheffler. I love this man and my man loves him too. Theo is one of those volunteers that has been quietly serving our Conference and may not get noticed by many of the Attendees. He is one of the friendly faces behind the Registration Desk, but does so much more for our Conference. He makes me laugh more than anyone else at Conference and although I don’t see him but once a year, he’s always there for me to give me a hug, make me look at some stupid video, or have a deep conversation about life, love, and chickens. He gets rated as one of the friendliest and most helpful volunteers from year to year by attendees and volunteers alike. He’s humble and reminds everyone always to take things less seriously. Before Theo asks me for something the first words that come out of his mouth are “Is there anything you need?” In some ways, Theo epitomizes the word “service.”

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This year someone put Theo in charge at Registration, and while I have been teasing him about it, the fact is that he’s perfect to be the Registration Manager. He’s kind and polite, knows how to diffuse frustration with humor and has an amazing work ethic. He’s been volunteering since we were at the Tropicana and has not missed a single year. I was so happy to honor my friend and colleague, Theo Sheffler with this year’s volunteer appreciation award.

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CONFERENCE, 2018

CREATIVE INNOVATOR AWARD Onetribe’s “Topo” design MARINA PECORINO The Point Co-Editor

Jared Karnes: I started Onetribe at the end of 2002 after realizing there was an open niche for a retail store with a well organized, user-friendly website and jewelry more unique than what was available wholesale. I had been looking for personal jewelry and became frustrated with the selection of styles and materials, and how the industry seemed to be stuck in the 90’s concerning web best practices. After several years of production in Indonesia, I set up a personal workshop to prototype, use new materials, and troubleshoot issues my artisans were having. This allowed me to teach new techniques and solutions to keep our production running smoothly. I had been coordinating design and sourcing materials for years, but the new direction of putting my hands on materials and troubleshooting processes became a turning point for both myself and the business. I fell in love with the meditative act of making, and particularly with the process and history behind creating artwork from stone. At its peak, Onetribe had many employees, products, and projects both at home and abroad. As I became more invested in making jewelry with my own hands, it was challenging to manage all of those things, and I began to let them go. My philosophy going forward is one of embracing simplicity and play. I intend to cultivate joy in myself and others by using my work to honor the time people spend changing their bodies.

Kaitlin Raison from Scarab Body Arts. Photo by John Joyce

ared Karnes of Onetribe took home this year’s Creative Innovator Award for his “Topo” design ear weights. I had the pleasure of interviewing him about his customer-centric business model, love of metallurgy and gemology, and the design to manufacturing process. Marina Pecorino: Tell us a little about the history and philosophy of Onetribe.

MP: What was the inspiration behind the “Topo” design? What makes this design unique?

JK: Topo is inspired by mountains and rivers, and how we translate those environments into maps. I became obsessed with how to make a river valley with elevations and water that looked as if it was a three-dimensional section from a topographical map. It was also exciting to create something way outside of current body jewelry trends.

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A few details that make Topo unique are the rear set stone, a hallmark of mine over the last few years, and the stone shape itself. The stone is tallest at the center of the valley and lowest toward the edges as it disappears into the background. This gives depth and helps reinforce the visual feel of a river. I put a lot of thought into how the design would appear from multiple angles and it is particularly well suited for my recent experimentation with doublets, laminations of two or more stones to create a new aesthetic. That process worked remarkably well for creating a water effect. MP: Can you tell us about the development and manufacturing process for the “Topo” design? Approximately how many hours go into crafting one pair?

JK: Most of the work for a style like Topo happens before any metal is melted. The process of refining a design from drawing to paper model, handmade metal model, 3D printed model, mold, and then final metal master took months and it’s still not finished. I’m redesigning the setting due to some production issues and that’s why I only had a handful of pairs for Conference. Because the bulk of the work is done up front, an estimate can be misleading. With that said, depending on whether it’s the small or large size, the hardness or difficulty of the stone, and whether it is a solid stone or a doublet, the stone carving process takes between one and four hours for a pair. The setting takes on average an hour and a half, and clean up about the same. This works out to between four and seven hours of hands-on time for each pair, not counting the pre-production work.

budget to find and buy that one product is not a stable business model. That model is better suited to businesses who are buying wholesale or mass manufacturing. There is a big caveat here, and it’s that running a standing production queue for years on end is mentally and physically tiring because there is always something due. Each order is paid in advance, and thus the queue is also a huge business liability. It’s not a perfect system and I have some ideas for refining it. I would like to move to more of a balance between stock and custom work and involve customers in selecting what styles, materials, sizes, and price points are stocked and available for immediate purchase. MP: Your website says that you’re “perfectly content being nerds about beautiful woods and stones and coming up with new ways to

Jared Karnes with his award

MP: Many of the items available from Onetribe are made to order and customized for the wearer. Can you explain your rationale for this business model?

JK: There are two reasons for this. The first is that I like things to fit correctly and be special for the customer. If I can easily accommodate sizing or aesthetic specifications, then that customer has helped create their own jewelry. The second reason is that it’s a risk making stock using time-consuming processes and materials where every cut is unique. I can make ten pairs of plugs or weights this week, and two or ten may sell. It may be a month before any sell. It takes a predictable income to run a business and make sure that bills get paid on time. Relying on the unpredictable nature of one person with the right aesthetic, size requirements, and

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Topo in large size with Rutilated Quartz and Lapis doublets

make them wearable.” What is your favorite material to work with and why? What are some of the characteristics of the materials you choose?

JK: Choosing a single material has become difficult as I use stone in different ways beyond simple solid plugs. Recently I have been super into searching out specific colors in stone. I get excited about combinations of bright colors like Chrysoprase (think mineral-pool green) and Turkish Purple Jade. I also get weak in the knees for pastels, and I have been looking for rare colors like pale pink, peach, lavender, and cool grays in Botswana Agate. Nodular agates like Botswana are unique because they tend to occur in small pieces that look like eggs, and due to the exterior skin it’s not possible to tell what’s going on until it is cut. Searching for a specific color means cutting open many nodules to see what I’ve got to work with, and then narrowing down what’s useful now or inspiring for later. I cut down over 20 nodules to find the handful of small pastel pieces I used in a recent pair of my Moon hoops. I’ve started to think about stones as a palette and not just individual entities, and it’s opening up some exciting possibilities for future work. MP: At the 2016 APP Conference & Expo, you took home the Creative Innovator Award for your “Ghost in the Shell” design. Did that win influence your submission for this year at all?

JK: It did! Up to that point, I had been mostly focusing on technical work such as new setting methods and modernized historical jewelry. Ghost in the Shell was

one of the first designs to reflect my personal aesthetic. It is not ornate, but it has thoughtful attention to line quality and light play and huge personality when you pay attention. I actually did not plan to enter anything that year, but someone at Conference suggested I submit GitS while I was setting up my booth. Winning the Creative Innovator Award for that style was confirmation that my design aesthetic is valid and that I shouldn’t worry so much about what’s trending. I had no idea how Topo was going to be received this year but I decided if I am going to continue to try and do new things, I gotta go for it despite my insecurities. MP: As a well-known and established jewelry company, do you have any words of wisdom you’d like to share with up-and-coming artisan jewelers in our industry?

JK: I’ll never forget Keith Alexander telling me right at the beginning of my business that it wasn’t worth it, because the industry was too saturated. I took this statement to mean “do it better, or there’s no reason to do it at all.” He may not have meant it that way, but a few years later he congratulated me on building something special and that made me very happy. I used to have the opinion that saturation is killing the jewelry industry, then I realized that a more accurate assessment is that saturation only happens when there’s little to get excited about. So please, make things! Bring it, but bring originality and do it well so we can all get hyped on creativity and innovation, and push ourselves and each other onward and upward.

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CONFERENCE, 2018

TECHNICAL INNOVATOR AWARD Auris Jewlery KENDRA JANE B

The Point Co-Editor

uris Jewelry was a first time vendor on this year exposition floor and as a new Gold company from Russia, it was great to see that they had entered the Magdustrial for an innovators award. What is even better as first time attendees and entrant is winning the technical award for this year. Kendra Jane B: Can you introduce yourself and tell us what brought you to APP this year? Auris Jewelry: Auris Jewelry’s core is three people. Myself and Vlad-1 are the owners of St Scalpelburg Piercing Boutique, with the intention of creating a new piercing jewelry line for its customers, and Vlad-2, who is a jeweler and owns a goldsmith manufacturer. Together we want to make this world more shiny. Where to start if not APP, the world’s biggest and best. KJB: How long has Auris been a jewelry company?

AJ: We started looking for a jeweler to make our designs in 2014. We found Vlad-2 in 2015, so we can say we’ve done piercing since that time. But series models only started in 2016. KJB: What was it like breaking into the gold market in Russia? Tell us about your company.

AJ: Besides the Advanced Journal of Surgical Pathology (AJSP), there is nothing high end in Russia. Only cheap gold designs from the ‘90s which are externally threaded, wrongly sized, and not even nickel free. Since 2013 St Scalpelburg has offered Russian people jewelry from BVLA, but long wait times and higher price points were very difficult in our market. We decided to build our own brand which can fulfill our customers’ demands in about one month and it works. As you can see, not only for our shop customers, but for other shops all over the world!

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KJB: Why is it so important for piercers in your area to have access to high end jewelry?

AJ: Well, besides safety and quality, selling good jewelry is crucial for our industry. The more money we make, the more money we spend on advertising our professional industry ideas, and the bigger educational conferences we can hold, etc. KJB: What inspired you to create the Magdustrial?

AJ: Well, the idea belongs to Vlad-2, our jeweler. He says that when you are focused on a specific area, you try to project onto this field everything you encounter—whether those are rocks from a specific place or technological newcomings. One day Vlad got his hands on a pair of neodymium magnets, they were small enough to be feasible for applying to piercing and strong enough to keep tension. Some time after, he discussed the idea with Vlad-1 and me. We decided that it might be an interesting idea to upgrade our existing chaindustrial with magnets instead of separate chains. The idea was so fresh and fascinating, so we started working on the design. You’ve all seen what it became!

KJB: Tell us about the process of creating this piece?

AJ: It was pretty much the same as any other piece. Interactions, one by one, until we found a design suitable for magnets and it looked bright enough. KJB: What are your future plans for your company?

AJ: Ohoho, there are tons! We’ve got a number of ideas for new jewelry styles we want to introduce to the public. We want to cover all countries where people work with high end, so we are pretty much on the road all this year. Of course, we are quite a young company now, so we are establishing business processes first. But the biggest dream is to move all the manufacturing, employees, and facilities to a nice warm place like Thailand or Bali.

KJB: What is the piercing industry like in Russia compared to North America or European markets?

AJ: It is only just starting to grow. We have only 10–15 shops ordering high end titanium on a regular basis at the moment. The general public is still not ready to pay that much for a piercing; although we did a huge educational job by mass-advertising with St Scalpelburg the past five years and now people are starting to believe that they can sell high end jewelry and earn money from it. I would say it is pretty similar to South America at the moment, but we are growing fast.

AJ: You kidding? We would love to be there again! Next time we will be better prepared. KJB: What is one piece of advice you would have for aspiring jewelry makers?

AJ: I’ve got a little bit different type of answer for that. After APP and RuAPP we went to Brazilian GEP where we met RARO jewelry who had their debut at the Conference. Lukas, their designer, told us that our jewelry along with Charly Pastrana’s Sacred Symbols, has become an inspiration for them. I was so happy to know that we inspired those people to create a neat product! For me, inspiring people is one of the best things in the world. Therefore, if I wanted to give advice to people who want to make jewelry themselves... well, do what you want to wear for yourself and don’t copy. When it comes from your heart you can easily see the difference. That’s why I love what Charly from Sacred Symbols does. The rest just takes time. Hope to see you soon at Conferences all over the world and have you in the Auris Legion one day. Together we can wipe styleless jewelry from this world.

KJB: Can you tell us a bit about your involvement with the RuAPP and the conference you just had?

AJ: Of course! Auris Jewelry, along with Industrial Strength Russia, became corporate and administrative sponsors of the first and second RuAPP conference in Moscow. The first was held in January, second in August and this time we involved foreign speakers and attendees. Thanks a lot to APP who generously sponsored Brian Skellie and Cody Vaughn coming to RuAPP! The conference had 105 attendees which shows us that piercers in Russia are eager to learn and make Russian piercing all it can be! Regarding involvement, RuAPP, Auris Jewelry, St Scalpelburg and the Russian piercing industry in general are mixed into one because we (Vlad Bodmodov and I) are doing all these activities at the same time. KJB: Can we hope to see you next year?

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ISSUE 84

Reprinted from Inkspired Magazine issue 22, 2014, with permission of the publisher

PIERCING WITH STEVE JOYNER

Then my life took a turn and I joined the military for 8 years. I read the Modern Primitives book and re-discovered my interest in piercing at a studio called Rocket Rickâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s in Georgia in 1990 while I was still in the military.

CONFERENCE, 2018

CoRE—CONSTRUCTS OF RITUAL EVOLUTION Photo by Kendra Jane B

he following is a blog post on the International Suspension Alliance website entitled “We Are CoRE” dated 9/13/2010:

““I try to remove bricks off the wall of society. In my lifetime, I will probably remove one brick from that wall, and that’s the whole point of this.” –Steve Joyner Trying to write about Constructs of Ritual Evolution, or CoRE as you might know them, may be one of the most challenging subjects I have taken on. I think a lot of that comes from the fact that what they are doing on stage is more about what you personally take away from it than anything else. It’s emotion; it is about making you think. The beautiful pictures here can’t begin to do justice to watching the real thing and no amount of words could tell you what you would experience seeing it in person. I’m just here to tell you who they are and what they do. As for the rest… well, you would just have to see them yourself to figure that one out. With an anniversary right around the corner, CoRE is coming up on ten years of performing, educating, and evolving into what it is today. What they are may be the trickiest question to answer. Are they performance art or suspension, actors or educators? The simple answer is all of the above. For as much as they put into entertaining the crowds on stage, just as much is put into their work with the suspension community. With links on their website to educational resources and their classes that range from cross contamination and aftercare to suspension safety, saying that education is an important part of what they do would be a drastic understatement. They take time to attend suspension conventions worldwide, traveling everywhere from Dallas to Israel to share what they know and with the classes he has taught through the Association of Professional Piercers and Professional Piercing Information Systems, CoRE’s founder and director Steve Joyner is a familiar face among both the suspension and piercing communities. Even the live show is a chance for them to teach through their actions on stage. Steve worded it best when he said that whether or not you consider yourself an educator, every time you step on stage, the people in that audience are taking with them what you have done.

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CoRE founder Steve Joyner conducting a tour of the BPA exhibit at the APP Conference in 2018. Photo by Matte Erickson. As for what to expect from CoRE’s live show, it tells us stories that could be taken differently by each person in the audience. Like any good work of art, it is made to reach you on a very personal level. They have worked to bring us something far greater than just people hanging from hooks, what they do on stage is nothing short of breathtaking. Having a cast of performers that range from elegant belly dancers and contortionists to bold and daring fire-breathers and suspension artists, CoRE’s show encompasses a unique blend of rituals, suspensions, and stage performance. Their well coordinated use of light and sound to compliment the acts on stage adds yet another dimension as you watch the show. With a rehearsal schedule that could rival Cirque du Soleil’s, this certainly isn’t just a group fooling around on stage. Every act is carefully pre-

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pared, edited, and rehearsed with special attention to the safety and well being of all of those involved. I am so excited to see what the next ten years has in store for this remarkable group of people. I know we will continue to see many more shows coming up for CoRE in the future and if you have the chance to see them live be sure not to miss out on the opportunity to witness a spectacular performance by this one-of-a-kind theatrical group. You can keep up with upcoming dates, news, and educational events on their website We Are CoRE. Thank you so much to everyone in CoRE for what you have given to all of us, both inside the suspension community and out. A special thank you to Patricia and Steve for being such a huge help in writing this article. https://www.facebook.com/wearecore/

CONFERENCE, 2018

WE ARE CoRE BY KENNY HUGHES

Photos by Kendra Jane B

anuary 18, 2001 was the night where my performance art journey began and in many ways it’s what brought me to where I am today. My piercer at the time (and little did I know, soon to be mentor of a failed apprenticeship) asked me if I wanted to head to Houston to see some body suspensions. I’d already been doing research on the subject for many years via the internet and various publications, but never had the pleasure of witnessing a suspension in person. To say that 19 year old me was thrilled about going is a bit of an understatement. Entering the renowned #’s Night Club that night for the first time would leave me forever changed. It wasn’t long after entering that I began to recognize faces that I had been stalking on BME over the last several years. These people may as well have been celebrities to me at the time, and actually just like today, I was too much of a weirdo to introduce myself. Soon there was some guy in a lizard suit on stage playing with fire and walking on glass... but it was no suit. This was my first time seeing the Lizard Man in person. We didn’t chat that night, but later he would help me and other members of the troupe with fire manipulation. Then there were the Jager Tour visits; that’s another story though. With a bit of a lengthy wait between sets, which would become a bit of an unfortunate trademark, I was a witness to the birth of CoRE. This was also my introduction to performance art in person. The performers slowly came out and took their respective places. There were four separate suspension points for this mobile that represent the four elements: earth, water, air, and fire. I was enthralled by the tedious job of rigging the suspendees to their rigs. Nothing at all compared to the breathtaking rigging that can be seen today; it was nothing short of captivating. Soon we could hear the all too familiar gut-wrenching noise of the chain hoist over the music, but this only meant one thing - it was time to take flight.

The suspensions that night were vertical (Suicide), horizontal face-down (Superman), horizontal face-up (Coma), and knees. I found each one more exciting than the previous. The swinging, the stretching of the skin, and the blood, all mixed with the performance; the makeup, and the music all held my attention until the last person was cut down. I got so much more out of that night than I ever thought possible. I just expected to go see some guys hang from hooks, but unknown to me at the time, the performance aspect brought it all to another level. Until you witness it yourself (in person) for the first time, you will never comprehend the gamut of emotions that can run through you as you are a part of such an event. It can bring laughter and extreme happiness and then make you cry for no damn reason like you never have before. For the following decade of my life I had the extreme pleasure of making observers feel this way with some of the best people I’ll ever have in my life. A few months later, the same friend took me to Taurian to visit with the director of CoRE and, at the time, the Vice President of the APP, the

THE POINT

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CoRE productions blend the art of body modification with theatrical performance, presenting visceral components and mind-over-matter body feats. incomparable Steve Joyner. Steve had already had a big influence on me, and that only grew in the years after as I had the pleasure of working directly with him. This man has done more for the piercing industry than what seems possible for a single person and he will never be equalled. If there was some otherworldly super hero for piercers it would be him. Even though we may have our differences from time to time, it is an honor to call him a friend and colleague. This visit is also the first time I met the skinny, dreamy, dread-locked Byriah Dailey. Byriah was the owner of Taurian, the head engineer for CoRE, and would many years later become my mentor in body jewelry manufacturing and piercing. He is still to this day my favorite person on this planet and the best piercer I know. If I owed my career to any one person, it would be this man. After some discussions of future piercings and other things we grabbed some fliers for an upcoming CoRE show and were on our way. It was after that second show that I contacted Steve again and discussed what I had to do to become part of the troupe. I was quickly invited to come to their meetings and see how we all got along. It wasn’t long before I was doing my first suspensions both privately and for performances. Soon CoRE was travelling across the country and at times other continents to perform for the world. From small art galleries in Paris to performing in front of well over a hundred thousand people at music festivals and yes, there was that one night at the Playboy Mansion. One of my personal favorite shows was one where we were battling fire breathing robots. This also happened to be the occasion where a reporter asked Kali, everyone’s favorite S&M body piercer turned Christian revivalist, if he was crazy, to which he replied, “yes, and I have the papers to prove it.” All of this became the jump start to my piercing career. I’ve had people from the other

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side of the world contact me and tell me how I’ve helped them accomplish things in their lives that they never thought possible. It was always my intention and still is to this day to show the world how beautiful you can be. By pushing our own boundaries in life and art, we inspire others to explore their own. With enormous amounts of blood, Houston, Texas sweat, and tears this is what performance art is to me. We are CoRE.

Mannequins dressed in CoRE ritual costumes and paraphernalia on display at this year’s BPA exhibit. Photo by Matte Erickson

Essential reading…”* running the gauntlet

“

An Intimate History of the Modern Body Piercing Movement by Jim Ward

In this revealing autobiography, Jim Ward, considered by many to be the father of the modern piercing industry, tells the engaging and candid story of discovering his own fascination with body piercing, his founding of Gauntlet, the world’s first body piercing studio, and how he transformed a personal fetish and backroom, amateur pursuit into a respected profession and spearheaded a world-wide social phenomenon. Essential reading for everyone with an interest in body piercing; you, your shop staff, and your customers will treasure this book. for more information and to order a copy of Running the Gauntlet signed especially for you by the author, visit runningthegauntlet-book.com. Also available wholesale and retail at safepiercing.org/publications/ running-the-gauntlet.

• Deluxe, large-format hardcover • Over 180 pages • More than 250 photos, over half of them in color! w w w. r u n n i n g t h e g a u n t l e t- b o o k . c o m

“Essential reading for anyone who wants to understand how modern body piercing arrived at the place it currently occupies.” James Weber, Former President Association of Professional Piercers

LOOKING BACK AT PERFORMANCE ART rly # 49 Quarte tional

Interna g Fans Piercin

The following pages feature articles from issue 49 of Piercing Fans International Quarterly, 1992. Over 25 years have passed, but the art was as vital then as it is today. Used with the permission of Gauntlet Enterprises.

$12.95

Above, the cover of PFIQ issue 49 with Spike the Holocaust Girl photographed by Christine Kessler; right, back cover featuring Ron Athey in the â&#x20AC;&#x153;St. Sebastian Enlightened in a Zen Gardenâ&#x20AC;? scene of The Casting Out/A Crown of Thorns performance at L.A.C.E., Los Angeles, November 13, 1992. Photo by Dkon Lewis.

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Motivation and presentation may have changed, but the act of the artist using bodily fluids and perforated flesh as a vehicle of expression is nothing new. In the 70s, artist/groups such as Marina Abromovic and Coum Transmissions, later known as Throbbing Gristle, incorporated blood letting in their performances. In the 80s blood performances attracted greater attention. The artist Stelarc suspended himself from a crane over the streets of Copenhagen, held by giant hooks through his flesh. Portraying the human body as “obsolete,” he gained international notoriety. The collaboration team of Ron Athey and Rozz Williams, known as Premature Ejaculation, was filleting and nailing themselves—and a few road kill—for Los Angeles audiences. On the subject of nails, performance artist Bob Flannigan would hammer the head of his dick to a board and then pry the nail out. AIDS activist/writer/ performance artist David Wojnarowicz utilized similar techniques when he stitched his lips shut as a visual testimony to the concept “Silence = Death.” Through literature, music videos, high fashion, media sensationalism and governmental hysteria, the subculture of permanent and performance piercing has penetrated the mainstream. Don’t be surprised when Barbie starts sporting a “belly button ring.” Increased public attention, both negative and positive, has enabled cutting edge artists like Ron

Right: Image from David Wojnarowicz photo series Silence Through Economics. Below: In demonic drag Paul King torments Andrew Fucker during the San Francisco performance of Man’s Ruin. Athey to break from the underground circuit to “proper” performance theaters. Performing in established art environments with greater budgets, the artist can more accurately and elaborately bring their vision to stage. Performance piercing in the 90s originated

in the nightclub. At L. A.’s nightclub “Fuck!”, friends of the promoters included S/M practitioners, who started bringing their sex lives to the dance podium. Performers such as Elayne Binnie, Ron Athey and Crystal Cross were at the forefront. Fetishism and exhibitionism were the primary motivations. Initial responses ranged from shock and revulsion, to admiration and lust. Most of what you see in nightclubs these days has become narrowly focused on shock value. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good shock more than anyone. However, one cannot rely on sticking needles through flesh to be shocking forever. At some point the shock fades. With repeated exposure even a strong image will lose its power. Just think of TV violence. Unfortunately for most viewers, there’s little variation available. Play pierced lips and ball dances are becoming as passé as navel piercings. It’s difficult to pinpoint where content and progression began to evolve with the individual performer. The process seemed to evolve unconsciously through the repetition of recurring fetish themes. I was doing shows in nightclubs and as demonstrations for S/M organizations. I became detached; mechanical. The repetitive action of sticking needles through skin had become monotonous; perhaps I had just come to realize that action alone is empty. I began to incorporate my darker feelings into the pieces, creating a sort of psychodrama. Oftentimes I had preexisting relationships with my collaborators and assistants. When I allowed my feelings for the person to fuel the inspiration, the pieces developed depth. My work was now the expression and release of love, obsession, fear, insecurity and vanity. I used images of operating rooms, dungeons and dark basements. Bodily fluids, such as vomit, blood, piss, spit and tears are my favorite medium. The first work of mine that contained any real substance was “Fuck Art…This is Love.” My partner at the time, Bud Cockerham, was an artist who is HIV positive. I delved into my unconscious fear of watching someone I love being reduced, wasted, and destroyed. I focused my anger at the idea of making love becoming synonymous with cross contamination. Intimacy was death. My anguish materialized. The piece takes place in a plastic-encased operating room. The audience’s view is clouded and nightmarish. Masked , goggled and garbed head to toe in surgical scrubs, I catheterized him, infused his scrotum to monstrous proportions, sutured his lips shut, carved “HIV+” into his chest, and sprayed him and the enclosed room in his blood. In later performances this image was pushed and the ending changed. I introduced another character who is HIV-. Both drenched in their own blood, they make love through a polyurethane wall. “Puff-n-Snuff” is playtime in my darkest fantasies. The piece is a tribute to the bogeyman, killer clowns, Texas Chain Saw Massacre and of course, Dennis Cooper. It’s a snuff (murder) fantasy. The killer clown has two victims in a basement, mummified and tied to ladders. Hundreds of pictures of one of the victims are obsessively scattered all over the walls. One of the pictures is placed over a victim’s face. The clown straps on a dildo harness equipped with a 10” steel knife and proceeds to fuck one of the victims to death. A sterile piercing needle is attached into a battery powered drill which the clown presses

Mic Rawls in a Paul King performance Halloween night in New York. through the victims’ cheeks. The clown then uses a circular saw to rip through arms and gut the abdomens of the victims. The lights dim while the clown writhes in organs and masturbates with the intestines. Don’t worry; all mutilations, except the drilling, are stunts. My recent work has gotten lighter, even playful. In the piece “Man’s Ruin,” co-creator Brian Murphy and I brought to life the elements of the traditional tattoo flash of the pin-up girl sitting in a martini glass framed with playing cards and dice. The image pays respect to vice and the sorrow it brings. The piece is staged as a game show hosted by a Las Vegas devil boy and devil girl. Flashing lights, blaring trashy rock, outrageous costumes and props set a dream-like mood. We tempt the contestant with the vices of sex, money, drugs, liquor and vanity. Every time he reaches for his desire we “hook” him. The viewers are the game show’s audience. Their cheers and cries egg us on to hurt him more. One by one, fishhooks pierce his finger webs, cheeks, scrotum and legs which are then strung up to a frame in the image of giant dice. The game continues until he dies. The show ends with rock-n-roll drag-queen nurses body bagging and toe-tagging the loser. Owning my feelings and fantasies, confronting social taboos and phobias is my work’s passion. Catharsis became the mother of invention. The audience doesn’t always understand the artist’s motivation or the message; with art that isn’t always relevant. Whether awe-inspired or repulsed, rarely is one unmoved. v

Julie, right, secures a cheek spike through Tjet Clark.

o performance issue would be complete without including Julie Tolentino Wood. Julie is based in New York but was born in San Fran cisco in 1965. Now aged 30—turning 31 in October— she is truly bi-coastal. With a very full plate and a lot of integrity, Julie serves up plenty of goodies. She works with Ron Athey and David Rousseve, runs the Clit Club in New York, and is a student of many things, including acupuncture and yoga. Having Julie as part of the family is a pleasure, and I was excited when I was asked to interview her. With Ron and David, her family, and many friends in California, she keeps a nottoo-distant hand on the West coast. With the management of three companies (her own, David’s, and Ron’s), Julie is constantly planning a tour, event or performance. She tries to sustain balance in all her achievements, her body playing just about the biggest role in her life. Yoga, Chinese medicine, acupuncture, tattoos, piercings, and her latex glove fetish combine to help sustain this, her temple of creation. Movement has been a part of her life from the beginning, and perhaps because of it Julie has always been a performer. Tattoos and piercings were a natural progression, still just expressions of her body. Most of Julie’s tattoos are commemorative; one of my favorites is the word “loved” on the

Julie Tolentino Article by Taj Waggaman Photos by Peter Ross

PFIQ

Left: Julie during a recent performance at Chicagoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Lure bar. Above: Billy Diggs, left wearing a wax corset and D. M. Machuca, right, with eyebrow piercings, during a meditation moment. Right: Julie weaves thread through biceps piercings of Billy Diggs to create an altar of his extended hands.

Julie Tolentino

back of her neck. It’s so great because when you read it you feel loved too. Julie enjoys her piercings and the experiences that go with them. Crystal Cross from Primeval Body in LA pierced Julie’s vertical nipple piercing. Raelyn Gallina pierced her nostril. Brian Murphy of Gauntlet San Francisco pierced her triangle. One of Julie’s more rewarding piercing experiences occurred when she and Brian were in London to do a performance with Ron Athey and company. The piercing took place at Alex Binnie’s shop, Into You, where Brian was training another piercer. Ron, Crystal, Pig Pen, and Darryl came along as onlookers. Julie said she wanted something to make her feel like a princess, not a queen. She felt she knew all the queens. As it turned out the “princess” got a labret piercing with a tiny diamond. 1990, the year she turned 25, was very significant for Julie. This was the year she was introduced as part of Reality, David Rousseve’s New York company. She also started the Clit Club. Previously involved as an activist for gay rights and AIDS awareness, she worked with Act-Up and other organizations, championed womens’ rights, and worked to fight racism. She was also a primary caregiver—her first experience—for Ray Navaro, a dear friend suffering with AIDS. During this time Julie describes herself as seemingly tireless. Every aspect of her life was a full time commitment. It was not unusual for her to wake up, go to class, from class to rehearsal, run errands, maybe take a nap, go to the club, and put in a shift as a caregiver for Ray at four o’clock in the morning. The next day was a repeat. In November of 1990 Ray passed away. In his memory Julie had a flying dragon tattooed on her left shoulder.

1992 was the year Julie discovered yoga. She also met Ron Athey. For about a year they had spoken on the phone. They finally met at a tattoo convention. Both were a bit nervous about meeting the other. When Julie was introduced to Ron’s work, it became clear to her that this was something she wanted to be involved in. She also felt a sense of protectiveness towards Ron and this work. The rawness and realness of what he was expressing as well as the special chemistry between them encouraged her to become involved as choreographer, performer, co-director, and Ron’s manager. In addition to working with Ron, Julie has done many solo pieces and collaborations. When I met her two years ago she was doing a performance in San Francisco with Diviana Ingravallo called “Through Our Blood.” Since then Julie and I have performed a very light piece together at the Clit Club. Our friend Patty Powers was stripping and gave myself and two others lap dances. Julie pierced us on stage. I guess that’s what we get for being “bad girls” with our cigars. This past June at a club in New York called Pork, I was fortunate to see Julie and her lover/collaborator Tjet Clark do a show entitled “Five Elements” (fire, water, earth, air, metal). When I heard Julie was planning to incorporate acupuncture and body work into her already busy schedule, I asked if that meant she’d have to give something up. She replied, “Well, I’m not getting off the stage!” They just make sense to her and compliment everything else she does. Julie’s blood runs through everything she is a part of. If you have the opportunity, see one of her performances at the Clit Club in New York City where she appears every Friday night. v

Body Manipulation & Contemporary Conceptual ArT Body modification can be thought of as a physical manifestation of conceptual thought. As our culture becomes more conceptually focused, many people now deal with body manipulation, although for most it is unintentional. We eat regardless of whether or not we are hungry. We sleep according to arbitrary schedules. We dress with little thought to the surrounding environment. We allow the mind, rather than the body, to control our physical actions. Because this behavior is so prevalent in our culture, it is understandable that it is being represented in contemporary art. The act of piercing is about forcing my body to take a back seat to my thoughts and allowing my mind to decide what is going to be done in order to create work. The final product of my art generally takes the form of photographs which are displayed alone or included in an installation. The piercings are real, not photographic tricks. Viewers ask why I don’t retouch the photographs to make it “look like” the piercing depicted; I think it is vital that the manipulation is real. This is the point where the idea of performance and time enter my work. The action becomes a tangible, genuine form of conceptual thought. Moreover, the experience informs the work and the artist.

Recently, I did a series of work dealing with social stigmatization and penalization. I was researching legislation created to publicly identify sex offenders and reading articles written by policy-makers discussing the use of shaming as a plausible, economical form of punishment. Nathaniel Hawthorne’s book The Scarlet Letter and the incident a few years ago when the American teenager was caned in public for a vandalism offense in Singapore also seemed relevant to my investigation. It seemed that body manipulation was a natural way of dealing with these issues. In one piece, a red plastic tag was attached to my ear with a labret. In big letters, it read “Sodomist” and beneath it was “Unlawful to Remove, Sec 602 VA Penal Code.” I wore this in public for several days. It gave me a greater sense of the ideas I was dealing with and helped me open up to possibilities for new work. It also seemed that it was an important way for getting this kind of art work out of the galleries and art magazines and into the daily lives of a broader audience. In another piece, I had a piece of muslin sewn to my back on which was stenciled the word “fetishist.” Again, I wore it in public for several days. The clothes I wore for the piece

“I enjoy getting pierced. This shouldn’t have any bearing on my art, and I would hope I would have created this work even if I didn’t enjoy the process.” —Dave Tavacol

Contemporary Conceptual Art

Body Manipulation &

consisted of blue jeans and a blue chambray shirt with the back cut open. It forced people to wonder about their own views of stigmatization and shame first hand—not just theoretically. Was this person a sex offender? Who did this to him? Is this an art piece? Is this real? How would I feel if someone did this to my brother? I enjoy getting pierced. This shouldn’t have any bearing on my art, and I would hope I would have created this work even if I didn’t enjoy the process. It is a kind of pleasure that is both physical and psychological. It gives me a strong, physical sense of mind over body when I watch someone taking a needle and putting it through my body. However, because it causes me so much pleasure, I am careful about

deciding what projects to take on. I have to consider the roots of my need to do a particular project. Is there artistic merit in this endeavor? Am I using art as an excuse to do harm to myself? It can be a very fine line. To make sure I am on strong footing before undertaking a project, I allow several months to consider and develop the project before executing my plans. I also talk about the piece with other people before going forward. I make the final decision. However, I think it is a good idea to sound out projects thoroughly before hand, especially if they have a high element of physical, psychological, or even financial risk. I look forward to including more body modification in my work. One of the greatest challenges for artists using this approach in their work is to avoid being regarded as a side show freak. I want to take the audience beyond shock and have them move into the more subtle, personal, and aesthetic dimensions of the work. v PHOTO CREDITS: For Fetishist: Piercing by Chance of Gauntlet, Inc. Photography by Lynn Borowitz. © 1996 by Dave Tavacol. For Sodomist: Piercing by Jo of Body Manipulations. Photography by artist. © 1996 by Dave Tavacol.

Mr. Fab

Mr. Fab, (center) performing at the Pergola Cultural Center, is assisted by G. P. (left) and Beppe (right).

Mr. Fab & Co. G. P.

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