MERMAID IN A BOX

As you already know if you visit my blog on a regular basis, the Paper Whimsy Art Group is among my very favorites as they always seem to tempt me with unusual projects that challenge me to stretch myself as an artist, to learn and grow. This weekend I finished my latest of their projects on which I worked for days and days and days. The participants are each creating a Mermaid In A Box, and we are to create a story to explain her form and the elements we used in her shadowbox.

My Mermaid is named Pasha, and I imagine her as the infant daughter of the Greek God of the Seas, Posiodon. I started with a 5 x 7 shadowbox which caught my eye because the glass is at the back of the frame instead of the front which is the usual form of shadowboxes. This gave me the option of suspending my mermaid in front of her glass protected background so that she moves and looks like she is swimming through the waves. I used one of my favorite Paper Whimsy images of an adorable little girl for Pasha's upper body. Her tail I fashioned from clay onto which I stamped a spiral pattern and then colored with Pearl Ex Powder. Her wild hair is felt curliques, and tucked under her arm is her tiny mermaid doll (a charm). Gold seashells and starfish lie below her on the ocean floor as she swims toward her father who has his magical trident in hand.

I fell in love with her during the creative process and will be a little sad to send her to her new Paper Whimsy owner, when the partners are announced. Of course, that sadness will be completely offset by the joy of receiving from another Paper Whimsy participant their Mermaid in a Box. The artists in the group are truly an amazingly talented group, so I have no doubt I will love the one I will receive.