Scars
can cut both ways: they can give us a sense of pride or they can retraumatize
by reminding us of the past. With that in mind, tattoo artist Flavia Carvalho
decided to start a project called ‘A Pele da FLor’ (translation: ‘The Skin of
the Flower’). Through this project she offers free services to women who have
scars from domestic abuse.
Flavia
Carvalho runs a studio in Curitiba, Brasil. She’s helped women who have been
stabbed by knives, shot with bullets and covers up mastectomies as well.
As she
explains:
“I
started the project quite recently, and I had no idea it would receive this
much media attention. It began very spontaneously. As I said, my services are a
hundred percent voluntary, and the only “cost” women need to invest is to
choose a design for their tattoos!”
She
tells her story of how it began:
“It all
started about two years ago, when I worked with a client who wanted to cover a
large scar on her abdomen”
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil4BqqHKi_0Cv_GqYQodymc8Wefwyud4L_GxtBQdAjA4nxDbJiThnkAwAdgCguKyQl2T6zcg8K_5SHUPwdI7VO90yLJGfQb7brdnHJG7C1Q3GLTCW0QzbklWy3rRuTMe05Sg4vC9qIPtg/s1600/11111111111111111.jpg)
“She
told me that she was at a nightclub, and when she turned down a man who
approached her, he stabbed her with an switchblade”
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_aYGPH3iYdt3G6bTQJ6A4rJNOnh0VaK88ttDO1jNNCWPfYLDUo2JzZKNlRZAaE3OnCxiILNqoFWPscAWStdEJsGvOlqbhXRzJ9RsA0X1bIF_UaskO3WXMaiIUyj45MrAnRDD4YwlybcE/s1600/2222222222.jpg)
“When
she saw the finished tattoo, she was extremely moved, and that deeply touched
me”
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZvDYDk_5ZanA1HM_dk9-9UwBX_7gklcGbObqtm8wU8CViYCYlzcdkX4w8I8c67l1246Bqzx8ITqR95SvFdzYRu2gC8AiU5rMby7qwTmgmLT8zs6GjOi_-t4BZZLoKFxBzvhYBwy5GpLE/s1600/33333333333.jpg)
“The
one that shocked me the most was the story of a 17 year-old girl who dated an
older man and, for months, suffered from the physically abusive relationship”
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDoVWtGmoLnMuoGIxzw2hmH1sTXjl0mBsl8hw67F5BFWRN-D9Nopn9y_3W16vGIYswPr6LuCWhz9LcO1MiUgi7jWIcc8-V4ueA_ueCcCsRdrJIKocFQC_T8lVYLxP_vJxbJKpo-SMwYPQ/s1600/444444444.jpg)
“When
he wanted to break up with her, he scheduled a meeting, and after they began to
fight, he stabbed her several times in her abdomen, and violently raped her”
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTuz3E59sB_a88cvoUTcgs2h3bzya3hxjRte0x8E3X5FAj-HJ2ikEZzMM2OLDd3QzIZr7JThnHEV4U2YlhBQr8f8XSJ31A1rEM9rmMXk2FbgGv4t1xmtcRUFn1QOp2k20kefLuE5YBulE/s1600/5555555555555.jpg)
This
tattoo covers up a scar left by a bullet:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEZsZDItWsXZBxYoNTFq-jImPxV2QtiWFA5GWPER-wupcaqWFdUJKJNlC5uTb9lvBriy0BeE_TLdcmeCIIm6SlKeW5gZl7czgqpg2Sl9vFLZ_lQOlLbKkPDprhm3Hdhoe5oVGqtmCBUCA/s1600/66666666666666.jpg)
This is
a tattoo she did for a woman who had undergone a mastectomy.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMFjUUYxYN1-muyr2ZOu0CdQHDczh3e1t7jWgeZKauEVIr7BA4cnGZVwlzoZQJbo8s8xTbq8pQVcdcrEYpNecVy792s1bQbEgjufhFG3pWCPkW0YlQX_W4Ec0Ag-Rc6wdxZN5mwHi30Ho/s1600/7777777777777777777.jpg)
This is a remarkably touching idea; bringing light to otherwise dark situations.
Via : www.davidwolfe.com