Merman in my Lap — Some Stories Squared

As J. was sitting in my lap with his long legs folded against my hip, I thought how the fold of his legs resembled a mermaid’s tail.

I’ve been thinking a lot about mermaids lately. We think of mermaids as sexy. Though really, we don’t even know if mermaids could have sex in the human understanding of things, let alone enjoy sex or even be interested. Do mermaids even want to be seen as sexy?

In a way, I see mermaids as infinitely vulnerable. The tail, this powerful tool under water, makes a mermaid completely helpless ashore. Is it the underwater power or the on-land helplessness that makes the mermaid attractive?

And mermen. I think a whole lot about those lately too.

To be honest, I wanted to share more about the thoughts and the process, but now I’m starting to feel this all looks like a crazy rant. I’m not sure I still find the whole thing of writing about my art and the things behind it a bit overwhelming, my inner perfectionist keeps beating me over the head with a stick with every word I type. So I think I’ll stop for now and come to terms with the fact that I’ve shared this much, in these words, and while it is not perfect (and I don’t even know if it’s interesting to anyone but me), it is what it is.

I’m off to think about more mermen for now.

P.S.: Another thing I was thinking about while working on this piece was all the different ways I love J., but that’s a whole other story, for another day. Also, J. actually posed for this one. Well, we did a mirror selfie. That’s the second time ever his posing for me, the first was in the role of pigeon for my Grumpy Queen stickers.