Around the world, people obtain tattoos for a variety of different reasons. The colorful ink designs affix a permanent pattern or image onto the skin. Some people visit tattoo artists in order to cover over scars or skin blemishes.
Recently in Curitiba, Brazil, a tattoo artist named Flavia Carvalho launched a creative project she called “La Pele da Flor” or “The Skin of the Flower”. She wants to help the victims of domestic abuse recover self-esteem by obtaining colorful, pretty tattoos to replace the marks and scars of domestic violence. She does not charge for her charitable service.
Instead, she carefully applies the tattoo chosen by recipients in a way that will conceal disfiguring body scars. Her services also extend to women who have undergone mastectomies, medical procedures involving the removal of breast tissue. (Many breast cancer patients undergo this surgery.)
Flavia Carvalho maintains a tattoo studio where she performs tattooing. People without scars sometimes seek tattoos as a form of body art. Ms. Carvalho believes that her project assisting domestic abuse survivors contributes constructively to the quality of their daily lives. She hopes they will gain happiness by seeing her colorful tattoos instead of scar tissue, often a painful reminder of violence.
In the past, she has applied tattoos to conceal a wide variety of scars. Her tattoo images often involve the use of bright flowers and intricate leaf patterns and designs. She asks the recipients in the Skin of the Flower program to select the tattoo designs they prefer, and then she carefully applies these images over scar locations. Her work brings her the satisfaction of assisting others in gaining enhanced self-esteem.
