I apologize if my quick reply offended you. I wanted to get your attention, and I did.
These allergins are accumulative. Just because you were able to rip the Poison Ivy vines out of the trees when you were a kid doesn't mean that you could do the same thing today. Many of us did the same thing for years, and we made things from all sorts of exotic woods like Cocobolo and the other Rosewoods, and we took Penicillin for years whenever we had a bad cold. Everything was good. Then we woke up one morning and discovered that our body had said, "Enough"; and we found ourselves allergic to a whole variety of things from bee stings, to Poison Ivy, to medications, to all of the wood we had collected in our shops.
Mine started with a violent reaction to Bolivian Rosewood. It has taken me 10 years to get to where I can now pick up a piece of Cocobolo without my eyes swelling shut from it. I an still allergic to penicillin, I run away from bees, and I'm not about to start pulling down the Ivy vines. All of that began with one piece of Rosewood that triggered a whole bunch of things.
I don't make pens from Cocobolo or any other wood that grows South of Texas because I don't want to take the risk of my having a reaction. Once was enough. I don't make pens from Walnut because I know that there are other people who are allergic to it, and I don't want them to have a reaction. But, I continue as a woodturner because there is a world full of beautiful wood that is safe.
Yes, Poison Ivy is a pretty wood, and you might be able to make a pen from it. But, I would still say that you better not let anyone else touch it, ever. There are too many other very pretty woods out there that are safe. Why run the risk with one that isn't?
If your goal is to scare people, then go ahead with the Poison Ivy, but make sure you sell it through that gallery so they will have the liability. However, if it is the appearance that you are after, then I suggest that you find some old Lilac. It looks the same as the Poison Ivy, it is just as rare, it has a appealing name to most folks; but it won't scare anybody and it is safe (as far as I know).
See. We ain't as bad as you thought.