Ariana Page Russell isn’t the first artist to use her own flesh as a canvas, but she’s probably the first to do it without having to swallow a bottle of painkillers first. Russell has an autoimmune ...

Medically reviewed by Jurairat J. Molina, MD Key Takeaways Dermatographism is when scratching or pressing the skin causes ...

The cause of dermographic urticaria is unknown, but appears to be related to a mast cell abnormality and is probably autoimmune in nature. Due to a recent illness, I developed dermographism.

Urticaria that results from the pressure of using a dull object to stroke the skin is called “dermatographism,” which literally means the ability to write on the skin. Also referred to as ...

Ariana Page Russell turns her so-called "skin writing" disease into high art.