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Unconscious Mermaid

Materials used:

• painted plaster cast of my face;
• painted canvas backing;
• bleached snail shells, Hawaii;
• gray and green tree lichen, Montana;
• shells, Hawaii;
• cowry shell beaded belt, Botswana, Africa;
• two necklace strands of white and tan shell bits, Hawaii;
• sea glass from Hawaii, Bonaire, and the Bahamas

(wall mount)

This mask, obviously feminine, is one in the Sea Glass Series, and is a personal honoring of the WATER Element. Entitled “Unconscious Mermaid,” I mean that she is the water sprite or impish mermaid, which is found in our unconscious. Just below the surface of our oh-so-busy conscious minds, there is a thin veil that hides the oh-so-many thoughts we rarely take the time to ponder. We take so much for granted… like water, for example. In not too many years, I believe water may be our most precious and expensive commodity and we cannot afford to waste one valuable drop … or pollute one stream, lake, riverbed, or ocean current. We must pay attention to the drastic climate changes coming about globally that effect WATER.

This mermaid is the entity just inside our unconscious mind, nudging us to be thoughtful and responsible stewards of our limited water supplies, and to make the ecologically right choice to honor those water supplies, keep our oceans and water bodies clean, and help make available access to clean water supplies to those on this planet for whom is water is diminishing and drying up in drought ridden, climate changed countries. We, as part of humanity, having so much excess available, must conserve, honor, and offer solutions for WATER availability to our thirsty planet-mates.

In a way, this Mask Artistry piece is a political statement, a personal prayer that we all be consciously aware of this planet’s resources… and the importance of clean lakes, streams, glacier pools, oceans. May we all embrace the global responsibility we share to become accountable and answerable to the needs of all.

I love working with sea glass and shells. The blue, green and white color palette almost drips with ocean water as I gaze into this mermaid’s face. I particularly like the balanced design with the strung beads encircling the mask, all treasures from the ocean. “Unconscious Mermaid” seems to be a companion to another mask in the Sea Glass series, “Conscious Triton,” and is perhaps the feminine counterpart to the masculinity of that other mask.