Monday, June 8, 2015

The Digital Dozen does Fandom - Day 1: Outlander


Hello, hello! I hope everyone's week is off to a good start! I'm finally getting back into posting with my favorite ladies of the Digital Dozen and this week we're taking on Fandom!

I didn't know until this week that fandom is actually a portmanteau of Fanatic and Kingom and is basically what it seems - a bunch of people who are super fans of a particular topic/subject. Some common fandoms are Potterheads (Harry Potter fans), Whovians (Doctor Who fans), and even Gleeks (Glee fans). While many fandoms are based on TV Shows or famous book series, you can find groups of mega fans for almost any popular TV Show/Book/Movie/Music/Artist...anything!
outlander nail art
outlander nail art
For today, I've decided to show my love of the book series, Outlander, by Diana Gabaldon. This series was what originally hooked me on the genre of historical fiction and while the main character falls through portal in time, for the most part the series does a great job of maintaining the historical facts of the time. I am a huge fan of the series so it felt fitting to try a mani out inspired by it for this week.
outlander nail art
outlander nail art
Claire Randal is the heroine of our story (set in the late 1940s after World War II) and at the beginning of the book, she is rekindling her relationship with her husband, Frank Randal. The two of them spent years apart during the war (Claire was a nurse and Frank was in the service) and decided to take a second honeymoon to relearn one another in Iverness, Scotland.
outlander nail art
outlander nail art
While here, Claire visits the standing stones on the hill Craigh na Dun (think a smaller version of Stonehenge) where she faints...only to awake in 18th century Scotland! Here she meets young Jaime Fraser, with fiery red hair and a kilt to match. Claire saves Jaime when he is injured and the two form a bond. After awhile, circumstances require the two to marry (in order to keep Claire safe) and soon Claire finds herself madly in love with Jaime...while still having strong feelings for Frank as well.
outlander nail art
So! For this mani, I painted the standing stones that Claire falls through into the past. The sky in the background is supposed to signify the start of her relationship with Jaime and her new life in the past (the red and orange rising sun on her new life) and the end of her relationship with Frank and her past life (the blue and grey of the setting sun on her old life).

Whew! That's a lot of text isn't it?! Sorry for that! If you've read these books then hopefully you get the concept I was going for even if it's not executed that well! If you haven't read the series, hopefully you can at least make out the standing stones ;)

I used acrylic paints for this entire looks and added a top coat to keep it all sealed in.

I'd love to hear what you think! Have you read the series? Did you enjoy it? Let me know! :) Be sure to check out the other ladies' manis via the inlinkz below as well!