Mermaids Calliope and Seraphina
"..And now pay attention to what I am about to tell you--heaven itself, indeed, will recall it to your recollection. First you will come to the Sirens who enchant all who come near them. If any one unwarily draws in too close and hears the singing of the Sirens, his wife and children will never welcome him home again, for they sit in a green field and warble him to death with the sweetness of their song. There is a great heap of dead men`s bones lying all around, with the flesh still rotting off them. Therefore pass these Sirens by, and stop your men`s ears with wax that none of them may hear; but if you like you can listen yourself, for you may get the men to bind you as you stand upright on a cross piece half way up the mast, and they must lash the rope`s ends to the mast itself, that you may have the pleasure of listening. If you beg and pray the men to unloose you, then they must bind you faster."
"..I have heard the mermaids singing, each to each.
I do not think that they will sing to me.
I have seen them riding seaward on the waves
Combing the white hair of the waves blown back
When the wind blows the water white and black.
We have lingered in the chambers of the sea
By sea-girls wreathed with seaweed red and brown
Till human voices wake us, and we drown."
"The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock"~T.S. Eliot
In the spirit of the Swashbuckler Soiree, I am giving away a piece of Treasure! In order to have a chance of winning this item, you must leave a comment. A simple "ahoy mate!" will do but if you look in the right hand column of this blog (under the Swashbuckler Soiree badge) you will see where I have listed the link to find your "mermaid name"..feel free to leave your new name here (even if you're a merman) :) I will randomly pick a winner on Tuesday at Noon and post their name here shortly after, so you have until then to leave a comment here! (If you have a hard time posting for some reason just email me and I'll include your post..address is at the top left, above my photo).
Oh..and what's the treasure you ask?
Seraphina is approx. 14" from head to tail and is made of polymer clay and acrylic paint. She has armature wire through her head and neck and tin foil inside her torso and fins for support. Her hair is covered in ultra fine black glitter and her upper crown is covered in tiny bits of shell. Her hand held sea horse mask is black with coral painted on the side.
Be sure to visit the other 60 plus participants of the Swashbuckler Soiree over at Donna's Blog!
All photos by Christine Alvarado,2008
Thanks to my husband Mark for helping out with the "photo shoot" (he also built and painted the glow-in-the-dark the pirate ship awhile ago) and thanks to Andres for loaning the ship and the moon to mama!