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Stories in ink: Locals' tattoos are more than decoration


Their tattoos tell a story.

About 14 percent of Americans have a tattoo, including 40 percent of people between the ages of 26 and 40, according to the Pew Research Center.

For many, these works of art are more than skin-deep; they're part of their identity.

Check out what some people in the Hanover area had to say about their ink.

'Life's a gamble'

Name: Aaron Bortner

Tattoo: Playing cards, a candy skull, his daughter's name and other symbols from his life

"Life's a gamble. You never know what you're going to get. Sometimes it's bad," Bortner said of his poker-themed tattoos. The cards boast important dates to him, such as the day he was born and the day he met the mother of his first child.

He also has his 7-year-old daughter Mckailah's name on his arm next to a diamond.

"Mckailah is the diamond in my life," he said. "She's helped me out so much. That kid ... I couldn't do it without her."

The archer

Name: Ben Olewiler

Tattoo: Arrows

"I have hunted for the past thirteen years, mostly archery, and hunting provides food for my family. Archery is in my blood and it means more to me than a stick and a bow. It's a life philosophy that I live by. You see, an arrow alone can't move forward, but with a bow it can be a weapon that provides food, and has for the past 30 plus thousand years. The irony of the bow and arrow is that in order for the arrow to move forward, it must first be drawn backward. Sometimes in life we need to move backward, in order to progress," Olewiler said of the tattoo he designed himself.

The main arrow represents himself, the crossing arrow, his wife. The arrow with the crown represents his daughter and the one with the trident represents God. The broken arrow is "a universal symbol of peace." With "each crossing of the arrows it naturally creates a compass rose which signifies the direction in life we will all take," Olewiler said.

'This is what I want people to see'

Name: Jacquelyn Adams

Tattoo: Heart with wings

This tattoo was something Adams had been planning for over a decade.

"Everybody told me not to put it where I did," Adams said of her tattoo.

For years, she heeded the advice of others and decided against getting the tattoo, even though she always wanted it, Adams said.

"Now that I have my own business and I'm older," Adams said. "I don't really care what everyone thinks anymore."

The image of a heart with a lock symbolizes that your heart is something precious, Adams said. And each of Adams's tattoos has a star incorporated in it, she said, referring to the star that sits in the center of the tattoo.

"It feels right. It kind of feels like this is my skin that was supposed to be shown," Adams said. "When people see me, this is the me that I want them to see."

The tattoo and artwork are by Brian Linka at The Gallery.

New start

Name: Dana Sobus

Tattoo: Tree

Dana Sobus had a tattoo she wanted to get rid of.

Sobus had a Celtic band tattooed on her lower back to represent her wedding band from a past marriage. The band was as "unbalanced" as her marriage, she said, recalling the crooked tattoo.

One night when Sobus was out with a friend, she met local tattoo artist Eric Klunk. When they got to talking, her "ugly tattoo" came up, and Klunk said he could correct it for her.

She put it off at first, she said. But Klunk always kept in touch and reminded her that he would be there to help her get rid of her tattoo when she was ready.

"And then one day, when the dust settled, I took him up on his offer and paid him a visit," she said.

She finally has the tattoo she always wanted. She and Klunk have been dating ever since.

"The roots of the tree cover the old, ugly tattoo and represent my past life," she said, noting that the trunk bears her son's initials. "The limbs are reaching to a limitless sky representing my new journey."

Always with her

Name: Tracy Neudecker Jarrell

Tattoo: Cardinal on a holly branch

"Old wives' tales say when you see a red cardinal, it's the spirit of a loved one coming to visit you," Jarrell said of her tattoo.

Jarrell was very close to her father, she said. Living next door to her parents, she saw him every day before he died.

In order to keep a piece of her father with her at all times, she had a small amount of his ashes added to the ink in her tattoo.

Life, she said, is different without him around.

Jarrell said she will miss their days on their farm together, "sitting on the tailgate of his truck 'solving all the world's problems,' as he put it."

Shared fandom

Name: Angela Griffith

Tattoo: A Baltimore Oriole wearing a Ravens' jersey

"Oct. 17, 2013 was a day I will never forget. I lost my dad that day to cancer. When he passed away, I wanted to get a tattoo that would illustrate a common bond between my dad and I," Griffith wrote.

She and her father experienced the Ravens' winning Super Bowl together. They also attended his last Oriole's game as a pair. The number 31 on the bird's jersey represents her dad's birthday, July 31.

"This is my memorial to my dad, and every time I look at it, I realize my dad will always be with me," Griffith said.

The artwork is by Brett Reckless of Comfortably Numb in Littlestown.

More photos

For more photos and tattoo stories, check out the "Tattoos of Hanover" gallery at eveningsun.com.