Officially Mermaid Season

It's official, it's mermaid season.

I love mermaids. I like making them in all shapes, styles and hair colors. And I've learned that brunette mermaids sell better than other colors. I'd like to note that all my blonde mermaids are natural, except for the ones who are out in the sun a lot and have highlights, but that's natural too.

This is Ali the mermaid. She's currently in my Etsy shop, but I'm hoping that she'll find a new home soon.

I make her using a 1/16 th mandrel, so her neck can be small enough. Sometimes using a 3/32 mandrel doesn't give enough room for curvy body definition. It's all in the proportions, isn't it?

And most of my mermaids have a wreath of some sort around their heads, instead of just a single flower. I can't help it. I was around in the 60's (dang, I'm old), and I've always loved the look.

Ali and the other Studio Marcy mermaids live in a category in my Etsy shop called, "Fish/Shells/Beach". They co-habitate with starfish, anenome, sea glass and everything related to "all things beach-y". If anyone can think of a better category name that is under 23 characters, I'd welcome your ideas. Please post them in the comments.

Meanwhile, it's mermaid season. People are thinking about summer vacations, swimming and those wonderful days at the beach. Hope you have your vacation lined up. I'll be going to Miami in July for the International Society of Glass Beadmakers' International Conference, where I'll be teaching whimsical sculptural glass. (sounds rather "toasty", but I know there's plenty of air conditioning). I'm hoping that some of my readers have signed up for that class, as it's not only a really good one, but we have lots of fun too. I'll write a little more about it some other time.