Body ModificationElitsa Kamenova Ivkova

How did you start the process of fighting for legislation changes? I might imagine that a visibly modified person may have a tough initial ice breaking period when it comes to state lawmakers? We actually got lucky, they came to us. The Arkansas Department of Health held a private meeting with a small group of artists from around the state to ask for help with updating the legislation regarding body art. Most of that group fell away when there was work to do, and the two of us that were left moved forward. As we began to talk with Steve Joyner about how to proceed, a group led by Joe Phillips formed called the Arkansas Body Modification Association. Dustin Jackson and I joined, and worked with their group to push forward with the legislative changes we felt were necessary to keep body art safe in our state. A lot of people really underestimate what having an organised group does for you when you are working with state agencies and representatives. Having a collective voice that can represent the industry, rather than 20 voices all pulling in different directions, gets attention and gets your issues taken seriously.When it came to working with the state representatives and how we look, we actually discussed it to make sure we were all on the same page before meetings. I feel like it is unrealistic to expect to be treated like a professional in any field if you cant present yourself as such. Yes, I kept all of my piercings in and some of my tattoos were visible, but I also knew that as an adult it is about compromise. My orange and yellow hair was dyed brown and trimmed, I bought a few suits, slapped on my heels, and went in looking and speaking like a professional. There wasnt a single meeting that we came in looking like we werent there for business.As much as it would be nice to believe you should get treated fairly no matter what, it just isnt the way it works. You have a matter of minutes (literally 2 minutes one of the meetings) to not only present yourself, but to convince a room full of people that you know what you are talking about and that they want to listen to you. As much as it might not be fair, how you look is a huge part of that.

By redefining body art in Arkansas legislation you actually were successful in keeping scarification work legal and regulated. Do you feel like this victory was watered down by the plethora of bad publicity?Adding scarification to the definition of body art was a huge victory, and I dont feel like people misreading what happened tainted that. The bill was amended last minute, and so on paper people saw that it passed, but didnt realise that changes had been made.It is a very scary door to open, and we are still trying to write the rules and regulations that will license and govern scarification artists in my state. It is two sided. It brings light onto scarification which can potentially make other states consider regulation (possibly in a negative way), but it could also set an example for other states to follow which keeps artists like myself safe. I can continue to openly work in a studio without fear of it becoming illegal or the studio suffering because of my work in a grey area. Our state has taken a stance and decided that scarification is a form of body art, and we have a right to do it. I am proud of that regardless of incorrect internet buzz. Did your interest in body piercing stem from any medical passions? Yes! My father is a doctor, and my favorite dinnertime conversations were always about whatever interesting cases he'd seen in his practice.I poured over all of his medical books as a child and was quite the amateur surgeon. As a young child I did "autopsies" on dead fish using medical instruments I got from my father. I also operated on tomatoes, which may be why I can't eat them to this day.I think if I hadn't managed to create a career as a piercer, I would have gone into some aspect of the medical field.INTERVIEW

Enter SandmanMetallicaMetallicaKirk Hammett, Lars Ulrich & James HetfieldMetallica1991-01-01T08:00:00Zesen.mutlu@hotmail.com2015-04-13 15:21:47MetallicaUniversal:isrc:GBF089190013Enter SandmanMetallicaMetallicaKirk Hammett, Lars Ulrich & James HetfieldMetallica1991-01-01T08:00:00Zesen.mutlu@hotmail.com2015-04-13 15:21:47MetallicaUniversal:isrc:GBF089190013