Once Upon A Fandom
  • Home
  • News
  • Interviews
  • Conventions
  • Recaps
  • Roundtables
  • Origins
  • OUAT Merchandise
  • Forum
  • OUAF Podcast
  • Once Upon A Time In Wonderland
  • Operation Storybrooke
  • Other Shows and Movies
  • Meet The OUAF Team

Once Upon a Tattoo- What Oncers' Body Art Means To Them

20/12/2015

11 Comments

 

Once Upon a Tattoo-What Oncers' Body Art Means to Them
By Amy Hood- @AmyLia403 & Ashley Benson-@MitigatedText

     The practice of tattooing meaningful and beautiful art on one's body is an ancient one. As with modern tattoos, the permanent marking on the body is most often a symbol, a talisman, or a reminder of something that touched the heart so profoundly it had to be expressed. A tattoo is a commitment, a permanent symbol and we were curious to discover what inspired some of the Once Upon a Time fans to show their love in such a way. A few of us on the Once Upon a Fan staff have ONCE tattoos of our own, so as we  share our stories and the meaning of our art here together, we have seen a common theme. It is not about actors, or ships. It is about love, hope, and an overwhelming gratitude for the show that happens to be the binding glue for this Once Upon a Family that so many of us have found. We will share our body art, then show you some amazing pieces that were sent to us. 
Picture
 Amy- This piece is mine and it is a work in progress. I searched through tons of local artists before I found one with a similar love of Disney and a beautiful style that matched what I wanted. I talked with her a great deal before deciding. By the time I made the decision, I knew she was the perfect person. Keylan Ballentine (@keylan101 on twitter) worked with me every step of the way with design ideas, placement, and colors. I needed something that I could build on. I didn't want just a tag that had the show's name, I needed something personal. Something that spoke to me about the most important things, the people I have met and the friends in this fan community who have become my Once Upon A Family.
​
     Of course there HAD to be an apple (Shout out to the #EvilRegals) and a clock that read 8:15. The book was very important to me too. Long after this show ends, this will be a reminder of the amazing people and magic souls who came into my life because of this show. To me, this represents a time capsule to a part of my life when I got to be blessed by knowing so many creative people. As time allows, this tattoo will eventually get a Mad Hatter's hat, Swan wings, a dagger, a spinning wheel, the rose & bell jar, Cheshire's tail, and the names of my children written in the book, as they have gone on this wonderful, crazy  journey with me.
Picture

​Ashley- I got this tattoo after the Third Season Finale, right as I was getting really heavy in to conventions. I wanted it since I went to Comic Con in 2013, which was my first major taste of being so involved in a fan community. But I wanted to be sure. Was this a thing I loved, a thing I wanted to carry with me forever? Was it dumb to get a tattoo of a TV show? Ultimately I realized that this tattoo, for me, is a tribute not only to the story of Once Upon A Time, but the irreplaceable experiences and friendships that have come my way thanks to this show.
​      I truly love the frozen-in-time retro-y feel of Storybrooke and the postcard Neal received in "Broken" is one of my favorite props. To me, the most important element of Once Upon A Time is the town of Storybrooke. It represents the blending of the two worlds we've come to love, as well as the community and family that grew from all of these fairy tale adventures.
     Now some amazing pieces shared with us from Oncers around the world....
​​
Picture

​This is such a creative way to hold on to a memory. Oncer @HookFoundMe had Colin actually draw this little boat, since he is everyone's favorite captain, and she then had it tattooed on her leg. She loves travel, and had wanted something for a long time that would show this. She found a clever way to combine two things she loves!
Picture
These matching tattoos belong to Oncers @ItsAimeeDee and @Awkfangirlurl who met and became life long friends because of the show and their love of Swan Queen. For these two, the tattoos were beautiful, and more about the friendships they had been able to make because of the show, and how they had both been touched by both. They got these tattoos together at a convention in Toronto. 
Picture

​This beautiful piece belongs to Oncer @Luddyisdaking. She grew up loving pirates and princesses. The story of Emma and Killian, for her, was kind of a personification of that love story, and she thought this lovely symbol over the water would be a perfect representation of how the story and the show has been a fairytale for her.
Picture
 
For Oncer @KCEvilRegalNJRep, Once began as an escape from a difficult home life and situation. She said, "It has provided her an ultimate escape from a harsh reality sometimes. It puts magic into a reality that needs it." She wanted to add several pieces to her body art that would always remind her of the magic and hope she had found in Once when things were hardest for her. 
Undeniably, @Peter_Blake has made a work of art out of his arm. There are so many beautiful ONCE pieces that every time you look, you see something new! Peter said that after being diagnosed with an illness he said to himself that he was going to do something he loved, live life and not hold back any more. This has been a labor of love for him and he tells us that he may start the second arm soon! 
 
These beautiful pieces show a common theme that we came across while researching this article: Lana Parrilla's feathers. Lana once said in an interview that she felt that seeing a feather let her know to take a breath, because she was exactly where she needed to be. This message resonated with many Oncers who felt a strong connection to that message. These lovely reminders to hold on, it gets better, belong to Oncers  @caro_vienna, @cissou_A, @Queen_AmyXo1, @regalcommander, and @swedishfeather.
     
     We are so grateful to all the Oncers who shared their art, their stories and their inspiration with us. Long after the show has ended, we will have this wonderful community from all over the world who were brought together by a message of hope, bravery and adventure.
11 Comments
@Queen_AmyXo
20/12/2015 09:15:35

Wonderful article!! Thank you for including my tattoos.. Everyone's looks amazing ❤️

Reply
Anneliese
20/12/2015 09:45:47

What a great article! I thought that I'm the only one, and "nuts-one" to make a tattoo, because love OUAT, especially RUMBELLE so much, although I'm old ;-)
I needed too very long to create my perfect tattoo, searched in the serie, every episode, to find what I needed:
Dagger, Rose, Gold's ring, Belle's Booke, Chipped Cup
and now I'm so happy to have it, is now my dearest I've got, and I've many others tattoos too, which tell from my life.
Love to see all these beautiful Tattoos here on this great side.
Wish you all the best, Merry Christmas and all the best for 2016 to all ONCER's

Reply
Anneliese
20/12/2015 09:52:45

oh dear, how could I forget one of the most important parts in my tattoo :-(
of corse the spindle from Rumple I made too
also: Dagger, Rose, Gold's ring, Belle's book, Chipped Cup, Spindle
only what I wasn't sure about: dagger changed now... should I change too the color?
but then my husband and twinsister said to me: no, let it..so it's good.. you can always make a new tattoo in a year ;-)

Reply
Krysta Haney
20/12/2015 13:44:11

I have Once tattoos too. I also have a feather tattoo and mine is on my right bicep. I learned of what Lana's explanation was behind her's and I found it during a really difficult time in my life where I too was trying to find myself after feeling lost and not really sure what to do with my life anymore. This was during season 2. I also have Emma's tattoo on my left bicep. For me it has been a reminder to stay true to myself most importantly. Between the two they offer me a great balance, sort of like a yin and yang. Although I have not made drastic life decisions I am neither an exceptionally good person, nor am I an evil one. Most people are a balance of the two in one way or the other.

Reply
Anneliese
20/12/2015 20:19:28

wonderful!!! take care :-) and enjoy :-)

Reply
Rebecca
20/12/2015 15:32:14

I have nine total and six have to do with OUAT. It'd my life and all that keeps me going. So glad I'm not the only one

Reply
Anneliese
20/12/2015 20:18:09

how lovely is that to read :-)
I've more then 9 Tattoos, but the first with OUAT
and you've right (although I'm an "older one") OUAT is the best serie I've ever seen, especially Rumbelle, don't know why
and first, when I decided to create my "Rumbelle-Tattoo", I thought that I'm completly nuts...but my husband and my twinsister said to me that isn't crazy...so I believe them LOL

Reply
Amy Hood
21/12/2015 08:27:36

I'm SO happy to see how many of you have wonderful tattoos. And nope, not at all crazy! If it makes you happy and isn't hurting anyone, I say do it! Thanks for commenting!

Amy Hood
21/12/2015 08:29:27

I'm really happy seeing the response to this article. I'd love to do a second Tattoo body art piece since so many have shared their images since this was published. Thank you for reading the piece, and for sharing your stories!!!!

Reply
Anneliese
21/12/2015 08:44:56

this is great, do it. And you've right: you don't hurt anyone. You give yourself a good feeling and you can smile about and only this counts in our hard world.
All my tattoos tell a story from my life, like a diary, some are very sad (original signature from my beloved deceased Mom, and names from my 3 little dogs I had to let go the same day) or some makes me happy, especially now the RUMBELLE-Tattoo... and OUAT let me forget every week around 1 hour a little what doesn't work around here.
Again: so great to know that I'm not "nuts" to have now a RUMBELLE/OUAT-Tattoo.
Wish you all the best for your future. And once more: Merry XMas and a good start for 2016 :-)

Reply
Hanna
8/1/2016 10:39:17

this is so great, I would do one 4 sure!

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Categories

    All
    Analysis
    Behind-the-scenes
    Casting Calls
    Conventions
    Cosplay
    Costuming
    D23-expo
    Deleted-scenes
    Dragon-con
    Events
    Fan Interviews
    Fan Theories
    Merchandise
    Operation-storybrooke
    Operation-storybrooke
    OUAF Awards
    OUAT In Wonderland
    Press Events
    Press Release
    Promo Stills
    Reviews
    SDCC
    Season 1
    Season 2
    Season 3
    Season 4
    Season 5
    Season 6
    Sneak Peeks
    Specials
    Spoilers
    TV Appearances

    Archives

    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    November 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    November 2011

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • Home
  • News
  • Interviews
  • Conventions
  • Recaps
  • Roundtables
  • Origins
  • OUAT Merchandise
  • Forum
  • OUAF Podcast
  • Once Upon A Time In Wonderland
  • Operation Storybrooke
  • Other Shows and Movies
  • Meet The OUAF Team