• About
  • Dermatographia
  • Art
  • Holistic Living
  • Contact
  • Blog
    • Art
    • Dermatographia
    • News
    • Interviews

Skintome

The art and healing of dermatographia,
by Ariana Page Russell.

  • About
  • Dermatographia
  • Art
  • Holistic Living
  • Contact
  • Blog
    • Art
    • Dermatographia
    • News
    • Interviews
Art// Dermatographia// Interviews

Vanessa Reyes’s Dermatographic Clouds

May 3, 2014 • 0  

Through the hashtag #dermatographia, Vanessa and I met on Instagram. She makes really cool drawings on her skin, so I asked to feature her on Skin Tome.

Vanessa is a young artist using her skin as inspiration. Her current project is combining and comparing the textures of dermatographia with clouds. This is interesting considering how far away the clouds are from us, yet they’re so familiar at the same time. And skin is so close to us, but when it has a foreign texture (like the welts that form from dermatographia), it can make it seem unfamiliar and distant, away from our experience. Sharing her unique experience in her skin makes it seem less foreign and more familiar, like something as ubiquitous as the clouds.

It is my hope that with the help of all my fellow dermatographics, we spread the word about our skin so everyone will know what dermatographia is. We’ll no longer hear, “What is that?!? What’s wrong with you?!?,” because people will say, “Oh cool, you have dermatographia! I know what that is.”

Vanessa01

This is just the beginning of her project, and I can’t wait to see how it unfolds! Here’s what Vanessa has to say about her experience in dermatographic skin, and more about the cloud series:

At first I was embarrassed because people would always point out the “imperfections” of my skin, but after living with dermatographia for years I got used to the comments and questions and I didn’t even notice it on my skin half of the time. I was taking antihistamines when I was younger, but later on I stopped because I didn’t feel it was necessary. I don’t take anything or use anything for my skin for the dermatographia currently I just try to eat healthy and exercise daily it seems to reduce the symptoms of the conditions to a point where it does not physically irritate me. I always found this condition to be an uplifter for me. It’s pretty much the only health “issue” I really have and I don’t feel that it is a big deal. I am grateful that this is the most I have to worry about.

Overall my experience with dermatographia has not phased me much, but when I discovered Ariana’s photography of her skin through tumblr I was truly amazed that someone loved their skin for the way that it was. Often in the fashion and commercial industry textures, such as the ones associated with dermatographia, are not seen as the ideal image of beauty. This idea of dermatographia as a beautiful texture quality of our skin is wonderful. This genuine perspective of beauty is groundbreaking to me. Ariana’s photography has inspired me to combine images of texture that people love, clouds, and texture that people are not usually open to, dermatographia. So far I am still working with this project and I plan on continuing to explore the textures of my skin. 🙂

Well my family and friends don’t think much I it and when I first met my boyfriend he thought it was interesting. I think I get more comments from strangers actually. They often think of it as a rash and usually suggest I go to the doctor. Haha.

Vanessa04

Thanks Vanessa! It’s been great getting to know you! Images courtesy of Vanessa Reyes

#clouds, #creativity, #dermagraphia, #dermatographia, #interview, #skin drawing, #skin writing, #texture, #vanessa reyes
• Introducing Rich, Skin Writer Previous
Keratosis Pilaris aka Chicken Skin: Brent's Story • Next

About Ariana

Hi, I'm Ariana (pronounced Air-e-anna, like banana ;)!
I'm an artist and the founder of Skintome. I have dermatographia (aka skin writing), a condition that hyper-sensitizes the skin to touch, stress, diet, and chemicals. I've been making art inspired by my dermatographia for 14 years. And in doing so, have spread the word about the condition, how to treat it naturally, and how to see the beauty in it.

Subscribe to Skintome and get a free chapter of Ariana’s book

Popular Posts

  • What To Do With the Itch: 6 Tips to Manage Dermatographia
    November 17, 2013 306 152572
  • Personal Adornment: Can People With Dermatographia Get Tattoos?
    March 26, 2014 113 86701
  • A Surprising Link Between Dermatographia and Antibiotics
    July 21, 2014 170 75277

No comments

— Be the first to comment! —

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

About Ariana

Hi, I'm Ariana (pronounced Air-e-anna, like banana ;)!
I'm an artist and the founder of Skintome. I have dermatographia (aka skin writing), a condition that hyper-sensitizes the skin to touch, stress, diet, and chemicals. I've been making art inspired by my dermatographia for 14 years. And in doing so, have spread the word about the condition, how to treat it naturally, and how to see the beauty in it.

Subscribe to Skintome and get a free chapter of Ariana’s book

Popular Posts

  • What To Do With the Itch: 6 Tips to Manage Dermatographia
    November 17, 2013 306 152572
  • Personal Adornment: Can People With Dermatographia Get Tattoos?
    March 26, 2014 113 86701
  • A Surprising Link Between Dermatographia and Antibiotics
    July 21, 2014 170 75277

Featured Posts

Dermatographia

How I *Almost* Cured My Dermatographia, The All Natural Way

Dermatographia// Featured

What To Do With the Itch: 6 Tips to Manage Dermatographia

Dermatographia// Featured

How Doing An Elimination Diet Can Help Heal Your Dermatographia

Art// Dermatographia// Featured

My TEDx Talk at UNC ‘How I Turned my Skin into Art’

Dermatographia// Featured

Personal Adornment: Can People With Dermatographia Get Tattoos?

Dermatographia

Hashimoto’s Hypothyroidism and Dermatographia

As Seen In

© 2023 Skintome. All rights reserved.
Subscribe to Skintome and get a free chapter of Ariana's forthcoming book How to Heal Your Dermatographia Naturally
Your information will *never* be shared or sold to a 3rd party.
 

Loading Comments...