HEY - I MOVED OVER HERE....

http://susanthemermaid.blogspot.com

Come on over!

Shoes Optional

Dreams come true (or not) long before

they can be seen in time and space.

Choose your thoughts wisely!

Desdamona

What if today was your "last" day,

or this week was your "last" week,

and heaven had 10,000 angels waiting to serenade you, dancers waiting to dance with you, and reporters waiting to interview you?

Is there a grudge you'd still hold? Something you'd still regret? An unhappy memory that would matter more than forever and ever?

Doubt it.

W.I.P. - Jody

Normally I wouldn't post a partially completed Mermaid, but admittedly I've been slacking lately and my blog's been stagnant. I am known at the marina where I keep my boat as the girl on the sailboat who draws mermaids. I have quite a few of them hanging or laying around on my boat. To be honost, everywhere you look on my boat there are mermaids. Some of them take on characteristics of people I know. Recently people have been asking me to create personalized Mermaids. This one that I am working on is for my friend Jody. One night while thumbing through a notebook full of my mermaid drawings, Jody asked me to draw one for her. She said she wanted hers to have a mermaid tail, feathers and high heel shoes. Hmmmm, it took me a while to figure out how to make that all work.

P.S. Ron, I am already thinking of ideas for yours.

Pure White Light

May pure White Light surround me,

So that nothing but good can come to me,

And nothing but good can come from me,

For this I am thankful.

Scheherazade

A story teller extraordinaire – a weaver of tales....the gift for which directly relates to the good head she was able to keep upon her shoulders.

Thoughts Provoked

When it blows,

how noisy

the mountain wind!

but when it blows not,

where will it have gone?

Zen Waka

Choices

In my dream I saw two boats on the nearby shore

One boat was heading east and the other, to the west.

I was overcome with the choice that lay before me

and guidance was no where to be found.

In despair I left the shore and walked into the woods to clear my head.

As I pondered my dilemma, I came to a place where there were two paths before me.

I thoughtfully considered the possibilities of each direction

but alas indecision sent me back from where I came.
In the mentality of a spoiled child, I cursed life for its cruelty,

for if life were fair I would not have to choose only one direction.

At that thought, I found the insight that previously eluded me,

for it is the journey that shapes who we are and not the other way around.

With Eyes Wide Open

The first step for making your dreams come true is to wake up.

Sage Advice

Something I learned from a wise sailor:

Exposed breasts are very important on a mermaid. A topless woman was the only thing I've ever read from old sailing superstition that could cause perfect winds at sea. There were many rituals that could cause more wind, like whistling or scratching the back stay, but they could go too far and bring on a storm so were considered bad luck. But a exposed breast was always associated with perfect winds. That's why sailing ships had bare breasted figureheads.

Good to know!

Bottoms Up!

Happy Birthday America. You look m-a-r-v-l-e-o-u-s!

Soul Painting

Every Artist dips his brush into his own soul,

and paints his own nature into his pictures.

H. Beecher

Without Walls

The water is clear

right to the bottom

A fish goes lazily along

The sky is vast

Without horizon

A bird flies far far away

Hung-Chin

What Do You See?

What do you see when you look beyond the obvious? When you look up at the sky, do you merely see clouds? Or perhaps you find a dancing elephant in the puffs of white. When you look beyond the obvious, there is a whole world, limited only by the imagination, that is just waiting to be discovered. I am hopelessly afflicted with the ability (or is it a curse) to see beyond. Sometimes I try to capture my mind's eye through art.

While walking in Vero Beach, I stopped to admire the moss-hung oaks that graced the ceiling of a tree-lined street. As the moss swayed in the breeze, I imagined that they were mermaids hanging from the tree. Ahhh, at last I understand how mermaids are born. They grow on trees.

Wraped in a Cloak

With her body wrapped in a cloak of sea water


she passes through the fingers of one wave

and on to the next.


Suspended just below the surface

where her world of liquid meets another of air.


Two worlds separated by a mere thin layer of matter

yet miles apart in a measurement of consciousness.

Wasting Time

Presently I am sitting here on my boat in Vero Beach Florida looking for ways to waste time.

I've been practicing the art for three days now - not even half way into the time I've set aside. Frankly, I am not sure why "wasting time" has gotten such a bad wrap. I am liking it just fine.

Beautiful Colors

This morning I passed a shirtless man, adorned with several strands of Mardi-gras beads and riding his bicycle down the sidewalk. Then I saw a man in a suit, sitting on a bus stop bench reading the morning paper. Further along I saw a woman pushing a baby stroller with one hand, while holding a Starbucks' in the other. I saw two young lovers, their bodies entwined in an embrace of passion.

All these people are like the colorful little bits of glass in a kaleidoscope. Each piece of life’s kaleidoscope is unique on its own; however, the true beauty and spectacle can only be fully appreciated when they are viewed together.

Shimmering Scales

Cast away your shoes

Wet sand oozes between your toes

Wading in sea foam tickles your ankles

Mist and tropical breezes

Ocean's breath warms your cheeks

The sun races into the sea below the horizon

Time slips away

But good luck is in the salt air

This night for you a chance to see

A mermaid

Though just a glimpse of her shimmering scales

Art Immitating Life

I draw mermaids. It is what I do. I have drawn many, many, many differant versions and they all are unique. They all have their own personality. People have asked me where I get the ideas for all of them. Sometimes, they just come to me. Sometimes I see them in something else.

Yesterday we moved our boat down river to a new marina in Melbourne. En route I noticed thunder clouds building on the horizon. One the the cloud formations appeared to me to be a mermaid, laying in the sand on her side and resting her head on one hand. I filed that in my memory for future recreation. Sometimes when I look at photos of people, I imagine them as mermaids. The mermaid above is just such a recreation. The idea for her pose was courtesy of Jessica in the photo below. Jessica kind of looks like a mermaid anyway so that was not such a stretch of the mind to picture her with a tail.

Sugar Tongue

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6TyVhPZefCI

I've got the blackest boots, the whitest skin

Satisfy my sugar tongue again

Sing me lullabies, shoe-shine days

Gilded verses for your ethylene

And bring 'em to me free and clean

Drinking tea with milk and Ganjaweed

Pontificate on genocide or greed

With a spoonful of dissent

For the orchestra of need

Is just enough to please this colony

I've got the blackest boots, the whitest skin

Satisfy my sugar tongue again

Bring me lullabies and morphine-dreams

Belladonna with her atropine

And bring 'em to me free and clean

Stay the Course

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.

Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.

It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us.

We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous?

Actually, who are you not to be?

Nelson Mandela

Most of the shadows of this life are caused by our standing in our own sunshine.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Our greatest glory is not in never falling but in rising every time we fall.

Confucius

Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds.

Albert Einstein

Beat of the Feet

Round and round she goes,
The music enters in through her ears and exits out her toes.

Flying hair obscuring her sight,
But there’s no need to see with feet that have taken flight

Two steps forward and twirl around,
Then back one step, while her feet scarcely touch the ground

Round and round she goes,
Only when the music stops, so then shall her toes.

Seeing Without Eyes

When I close my eyes and think of my favorite things, I see a sailboat skipping along, draped in billowy canvas that pulls her across a stretch of twinkling turquoise water.

I can feel her hull gracefully bowing to each gentle wave that comes to greet her, stirring up a curl of white froth at the place where they intersect.

My ears hum with the monotonous sound of water rushing alongside the hull, broken only by the occasional rhythmic thump as she falls off the face of a wave and is caught by the sea below.

The salty sea mist kisses my cheeks and, with a deep breath, fills my lungs.

When I close my eyes again, she is anchored in a quiet, protected cove.

I see tall, cavernous shelves rising straight up out of the water, iced with bits of green vegetation that cascade over the black rock like the long, unruly tendrils of a mermaid's hair.

I can feel her tugging gently on her rode, while simultaneously rising and falling in the current as she playfully slaps each ripple with her stern.

I hear waves crashing on a distant shore and the song-birds practicing their falsettos under the cloak of the dense island foliage.

The moist air is still and the unmistakable smell of fertile earth fills my nostrils.

Most folks see only through their eyes.

A blind man uses his mind to see. Artists see through both their eyes and mind.

A writer sees things that can be seen by no other. Not only does he use both eyes and mind, but every other sense available, and then paints it with the colors of his own perception.

Through the Eyes of the Beholder

Rumor has it that many a sailor's mermaid sighting was in reality a Manatee. Most certainly these sailors must have been desparate for the scent of a woman because Manatees are not beautiful creatures. Sailors that were out-to-sea for just a little too long, I suspect. Close up, Manatees are prehistoric looking. They really are gentle giants though. Currently there are several of them visiting our marina. One momma and baby pair are particularly friendly and hang out around our dock begging for a sip of fresh water.

Somewhere Between a Rock and a Soft Place

What would I do if I could do anything I wanted to do?

Would I board a rocket-ship bound for the moon,

or just call in sick and sleep `til noon?

If I could change the way I look,

would I have a tail and hair of spun gold?

or don a slinky black dress and choose a shade of lipstick just a touch too bold?

What would have to occur for this to be my lucky day?

While I admit that thoughts of lottery winnings first fill my head;

Can I count myself fortunate enough that I made the left turn light just before it turned red?

If I could be anyone I wanted to be,

would I breathe life into the sleeping soul of Galileo?

Set off on a sailing ship in search of far away lands that I would beckon from the bow with a gruff "Land Ho."

If I were to confess to you that I would turn down the opportunity to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro, opting instead for a leisurely bike ride along the beach - would you advise me to extend my goals a little farther from my reach?

Would you consider it a waste of an opportunity if I were to take the middle road - and the person that I chose to be,

looked an awful lot like me?

Bluebird of Happiness

I had a visitor at my office window this morning -just prior to which I heard a clatter of chirping in the tree outside. I turned around at my desk to determine the cause and saw a flurry of winged activity in a nearby tree. Yesterday was a gray and stormy day. The wind howled all day and brought horizontal rain and lightening. Today bore absolutely no resemblance - the sun was shining bright and the sky was as blue as a cornflower without a cloud in sight. As I listened to the excited voices in the tree, it occurred to me that they choose a very nice day to practice their chorale skills.

Before I describe this morning's visitor, I should back up a bit. I have had feathered visitors to my office window before. Just last year a bright red cardinal flew up to my window and walked along the sill while peering in at me. I was convinced that it must have been some sort of sign, so immediately I googled the meaning of a red cardinal sighting and read that it was a sign of good luck. Well, after no particular good luck befell me, I must admit to the disappointment I felt.

This morning's visitor was a bluebird. He, like the cardinal, flew over and peered into my window and looked at me - and I back at him. After he had an eyeful, he flew back to the singing tree, and at that moment, I recognized that all the chattering birds were bluebirds. It was a whole tree full of bluebirds.

Now, I didn't need a Google search to tell me that the Bluebird symbolizes happiness. This time, I did receive the gift from the visiting bird - his visit did immediately make me happy. Thank you, bluebird.

Fancy Fish

While in Vero we saw a school of some crazy, big lipped fish. I have no idea what kind of fish they were or what they were doing. It seemed that they were breathing air as they skimmed the surface and flexed their big mouths. The photograph doesn't really capture the curious moment that inspired my fancy fish drawing.

Moss Mermaids

We got a slip in the Vero Beach Municipal Marina for a few days. Directly in full view of our slip was a magnificent old Oak tree. Its twisted branches gracefully supported long tendrils of Spanish Moss. We watched the moss sway in the breeze. The tendrils took on recognizable forms of dangling mermaids. They were holding onto the boughs by their arms, while their tails whimsically swayed in the wind.

Reflections of Me

I see my reflection and wonder “who is that staring back at me?” Her outline is familiar but do I really know her? When you look at me, what do you see? Do you see my exterior flaws, or do they fade into your peripheral as you look deeper?

Monsters of the Sea

Peering over the toe rail and into the bottomless depths of the sea below, I wonder what lives down there - What creatures call the seafloor home? I have seen glimpses of its occupants – a shark rising up and skimming the surface, a ray jumping through the air, the bobbing heads of sea turtles.

I have snorkeled since I was about 11 years old, and always wanted to learn to SCUBA, but for one reason or another, never have. At the Miami Boat Show two years ago I bought all the equipment. Neatly arranged on the top of my closet shelf sits a BC in its plastic bag, an octopus/regulator/dive computer contraption and other assorted dive paraphernalia. Looking up there at the stuff last week I thought, that is stupid for it to be sitting up there collecting dust, while I wait for the "perfect opportunity" to get certified. No more stalling, no more excuses. This spring my son and I are going to get certified. So, hopefully, it won't be long until I will no longer have to wonder about what lurks below.

Irish Blessing

May the road rise to meet you.

May the wind be always at your back.

May the sun shine warm upon your face.

May the rains fall soft upon your fields.

And until we meet again,

May God hold you in the hollow of His hand.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Down Under the Sea

Down under the sea,

Where the dolphins swim free,

And the sand and the sea grasses sway,

Where the starfish shine bright,

And the dog fish don't bite,

I ride my seahorse all day.

Down under the sea,

Where the whales sing and dive deep,

We chase and rope sharks, Until it gets dark,

Then the waves gently rock us to sleep.

Down under the sea,

My seahorse takes me,

On a journey through coral and caves.

We'll round up fish down there,

Rescue mermaids so fair,

And ride away on the crest of a wave!

The Gift of Hope

One day, a bright red bird flew over and landed on my window sill. As he peered in at me and I out at him, I thought “what does it mean?”

On my birthday a glorious full moon graced the sky. I could scarcely contain my anticipation - surely this was a sign of something great.

Reflecting back on those events, the red bird flew away, and the moon set as if it were any other night. These things that I had placed special meaning and significance upon disappeared into obscurity.

Where were the rewards promised to me? How foolish I felt for allowing myself to be led astray -- For holding out hope.

Looking deeper and past my disappointment it occurred to me that the gift I thought I wanted may not have been the gift I needed. Perhaps hope itself was the something great.

Again I felt foolish, but this time, for a different reason.

Springing Forward

Spring has sprung. The smell of fresh cut grass is in the air. Spring is a time of renewal and rebirth. A time for moving foward.

Thursday Susan-isms

Live gracefully and with a gentle soul. Tangible things are fleeting. The most profound legacy that one can leave is to be remembered fondly.

Culture your spirit so that it captivates those who cross your path. A pearl begins its life as a grain of sand – a tiny and insignificant irritation to its host. Through perseverance and continual refinement it gradually builds its luminosity and beauty.

Indulge in the ability to feel deeply, a trait that can only be gleaned by a full existence. A life insulated by bubble wrap will yield a flat soul. It is only through experiencing both the good and the bad, the ups and the downs, the yen and the yang, that one builds a character with the capacity to visit the entire sensory spectrum.

Jelly Fish

As a kid growing up in Southern California - one who was lucky enough to have been born to parents with a trawler - I got to see a lot of jellyfish. They reminded me of floating brains. On calm crossings to Catalina Island it was not uncommon to travel through large schools of them. I would lay on my belly, head resting on the bow toe rail, and search the water below for jellyfish. I would find myself mesmerized as hundreds of floating brains, large and small, disappeared under the bow. Most of them were whole and intact, with translucent globe and wavy tentacles that resembled mermaid hair. Others had been visciously chopped up into pieces and parts - by the props of boats I suppose. Their vibrantly colored veins in hues of blue, red and purple appeared electric in the sunlight. I watched them propel themselves along the surface of the vast ocean with their translucent jelly domes that flexed in and out in graceful ripples. I wondered if they knew where they were going - if they had a particular destination in mind. Perhaps they just floated to wherever the winds and currents took them.

Deep Greens and Blues are the colors I choose...

Won't you let me go down in my dreams?

All men dream but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity; but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dream with open eyes to make it possible.

T.E. Lawrence

Rx for Adventure

Every morning I get out of bed, shower, drive to work, work, come home, go to bed only to do it over again, and again, and again. I am in perpetual ground hog’s day. Every action I take is merely a reaction. My cruise control is set and I am in overdrive, along for the ride. Clinically, I think the diagnosis is “being in a rut.”

I am bored with being stuck in auto pilot, and the only remedy I know of to treat my condition is to have an adventure. I want to take the wheel, chart my course, and find my own way. Maybe take the boat to St. Augustine, or perhaps south to Peck Lake? The gray of winter is beginning to give way to the light of spring. The days are getting longer. I can smell an adventure around the corner. It's time to move towards the light in search of the cure.

Beautiful Words

Tell me beautiful words;
whisper them into my ear like a guarded secret.

Touch me softly,
as if I were a cherished and fragile work of art.

Dance close to me,
so close that our bodies find a rhythm that is neither yours nor mine alone.

Kiss me passionately;
I want to taste you on my lips.

Look deeply into my blue eyes,
until you see through to my bare soul.

Furmaids

These are my furry little boat friends, Coco She is convinced that she is a princess) and Toto (who thinks his name is "bad kitty!"). While it is true that cats don't like water, these cats love to be on the boat. They love to explore and hide in all the little hidey holes - we are always finding them insides the cupboards and lockers. They also enjoy hanging out in the cockpit and walking/stalking the decks at night.