Maud the Mermaid

Or The Impact TV can have on Young Minds

About 5 months ago the family was watching the Disney move Splash. It had been ages since I had seen it, but figured it was one of those harmless films that would be ok for Miss 5 and Master 3 to sit through. All was well until the end of the film, where the ??secret service?? government agent type people (ok I wasn't really paying that much attention) are chasing Tom Hanks and Daryl Hannah (aka Allen Bauer and Madison). The kids started to get a little scared. We comforted them by saying "Its all going to be okay" and other such platitudes. Almost at the end, Tom and Daryl leap into the water, and the "bad guys" fire shots into the water. Again we made soothing noises, and indeed the film ended well. The kids were happy and we thought no more about it.

Until a week ago.

I was collecting Miss 5 from after school care. As we were leaving, another mum arrived, still dressed in her army fatigues. After Miss 5 politely established that  yes she was a soldier, Master 3 boldly walked up to her. Smiling he asked:
"Are you a soldier?"
"yes I am" she replied, bending over to his level, and returning his smile.
"Have you killed any mermaids?" he asked very seriously.
"No I havent killed any mermaids, or anyone for that matter" she kindly explains to him.

Satisfied he starts to walk away. In the meantime I AM MORTIFIED and hurridly try to explain that this comes from watching the movie Splash. She reassures me that it's ok, and that children get all sorts of funny ideas about soldiers from the tv (and I am left wondering what other strange questions she has been asked).

You just don't know what things are going to stay with your children.

Maud Lin Mermaid

The Adventures of Red Mole

This page was inspired by the lovely Goog over at Journey of a Mermaid.

Introducing....Cerulea

La Sirene dans le mer.

Cerulea loves to swim in the ocean where the jellies are. She is a little shy, but believes in possibilites.

I have included a little photomontage of the process.

Step one: paint background	Step 2: collage background
Step 3: cut out and glue on picture	Step 4: Add hair and texture
Step 5: Add background pics	Step 6: Painted background picture
Step 7: Added wax

Adding Beeswax without an Iron

I finally got around to adding the beeswax to my painting. I just wanted to share with you the technique I used, since I do not have access to the quilting (or any) iron.

I used a sheet of beeswax - designed for candle making. The reason was that it was a cheap way to have a play, at around Au$3.50 a sheet. I also thought that it would be really quick and easy to melt.

I wanted to emulate Suzi as much as I could, so I used a metal pallete knife and a heat gun (designed for use with embossing powders etc). Instead of melting the whole sheet, and applying with a paint brush, I tore off tiny pieces of wax and stuck them in various spots over the painting. Each piece was about 0.5cm in diameter. I then heated the wax until it melted, and smoothed it out with the pallete knife. Sometimes it was necessary to keep the heat on the knife as I spread out the wax. I also tilted the painting to allow the liquid was to travel further. Any areas that went cloudy were simply reheated.

I am delighted with the result - yay for Suzi. I really like how the different elements are unified like she said they would be. I did not put wax over her body or face, since I have not coloured her with Prismacolour pencils. I also left the largest jellyfish uncovered, so that the other two would appear further in the background.