Shrine of the Old Mermaids
Originally published on May 8, 2007
I went to Arizona last fall for a combo vacation/elopement/honeymoon. We traveled to Phoenix, Tuscon, and Sedona, but my favorite stop (besides getting married or hiking up Bell Rock) was the little Mexican import store Suenos, where I danced with glee at finding inexpensive Day of the Dead statues. I decided to buy some Loteria cards. The images and colors struck me as being potentially useful for future collages and such.
I showed the Loteria cards to my dear friend Ryni. Upon seeing the card of the mermaid, titled Sirena, she told me that her father used to call her that. So, I decide to create a shrine for her using that image as a central element. Ryni and I also have a strong bond to water, so a mermaid/water shrine seemed a natural fit.
Soon thereafter, I stumbled upon Kim Antieau’s web site through Joanna Powell Colbert’s Gaia Tarot Artist’s Journal and read all about the Church of the Old Mermaids. I was entranced, and immediately went to Ryni (who as of yet does not have a blog!), to tell her about the Old Mermaids — they were right up her alley. But she had beaten me to the punch, having learned about them and their sanctuaries through her own hyperlinked travels.
It seems a foregone conclusion that the shrine morph into a Old Mermaid Sanctuary. The interior of the box came together swiftly. When I saw the original of the image I used for the exterior, I immediately saw a mermaid rather than a girl on her tiptoes. But the first iteration of the exterior did not come together at all. There was something wrong with it.
Playing on the Internet at work one day, I came across a map with the words “Arroyo de Agua.” Yes!!! Use maps as the background!!! I looked for map sources that would fit with the split between the Old Sea and the New Desert.
This Old Mermaid Sanctuary now lives at my friend’s house. Every new moon, she reaches into the box and pulls out a curled scrap of paper. Each holds a suggestion from the Old Mermaids.
I love it when the labyrinth of life leads me to such beauty. Thank you, all you wonderful, talented people who inspire me.
[tags]artwork, digital collage, church of old mermaids, mermaid sanctuary, Kim Antieau[/tags]