Mermaid Products That Take Our Fancy 2 – Mermaids Dreaming

We're quite active on Facebook where we've connected with the enthusiastic and energetic "mer" community. We should probably add "creative" to our list of adjectives. 


Anyway, a few months ago we stumbled on Mermaids Dreaming, which is run by Aussie artist Vanessa Wischi. We were so completely captivated by her mermaid vision that we've been wanting to feature her handmade one-of-a-kind sleeping mermaid figurines on this blog for a long time. Finally, they're here.


Vanessa has several ranges, and she has kindly shared her photos with us so we in turn can share them with you. These pieces are truly gorgeous—delicate, dainty and absolutely enchanting. When we gaze at them, we just go silent with wonder and contemplation. It's as if they are endowed with a peaceful tranquil energy. We find them very moving. We truly believe Vanessa crafts them with great love and sensitivity, and this is an expression of her heart. Sigh.


So...


This is Amaya from the Merfae (mermaids with wings) range.

This is Caragh from the General Mermaid Collection.

This is Dawn from the Vintage Mermaid Collection.

This is L'oceane from the General Mermaid Collection.

This is Melendrea from the Mermaid Family Collection.

This is Mira from the Sea Cave Mermaid Collection (which comes with crystals).

This is Trisha from the Mermaid Family Collection.

This is Tangerine from the Sea Cave Mermaid Collection.

This is Beatrice from the John William Waterhouse Mermaid Collection (which are inspired by the famous English painter of the Pre-Raphaelite period. Each of these pieces are names after one of Waterhouse's models).

This is Zaryah from the Mermaid Family Collection.

And finally, this is Ash from the General Mermaid Collection.

Each one-of-a-kind sculpture is allocated a unique ID number that is printed on the back of her head. Each mermaid is also beautifully presented in a gift box with a Certificate of Authenticity.

There are several other collection not represented in this blog post so be sure to explore the Mermaids Dreaming website, or "Like" the Mermaids Dreaming Facebook page. 

Our prediction... as word gets out, these mermaid figurines will be coveted the world over. If you like one, you'll have to be quick to claim her.  If you hesitate, she may very well be gone.

International Mermaid Awards – Place Your Vote! [UPDATED 06/07/12]

We recently covered the exciting new mermaid event – Mer-Palooza – which is being held in Orlando, Florida USA. Well Mer-Palooza has just announced the INTERNATIONAL MERMAID AWARDS and INTERNATIONAL PIRATE AWARDS, which will be presented Saturday 11 August 2012 at the MerPalooza Pool Party!

Nominations for the Awards are now open via the online form. Nominations will be accepted from 20 June to 15 July 2012. If you know someone who deserves an Award that is not listed, you can submit special nominations and suggestions for Awards not currently listed!

Most Awards will be voted by you, the "Mer" public and fans. Some, however, will be decided by a panel of esteemed judges.

Here are the Award categories:



MERMAIDS


Please note that the following categories have changed on the voting page since the original media release from Mer-Palooza.


PERSONALITY AWARDS:

MERMAID OF tHE YEAR AWARD 
MERMAN OF THE YEAR AWARD
CHILD MERMAID OF THE YEAR 
BABY MERMAID OF THE YEAR

MEDIA AND CREATIVE AWARDS:

BEST MERMAID THEMED YOU TUBE VIDEO
BEST MERMAID WEB SITE (INDIVIDUAL OR MERMAID RELATED COMPANY)
BEST MERMAID ARTICLE (BLOG, JOURNALISTIC, COLUMN)
BEST MERMAID MAGAZINE
BEST MERMAID AUTHOR
BEST MERMAID MOVIE
BEST MERMAID TELEVISION SERIES
BEST MERMAID PHOTOGRAPHER
BEST MERMAID ARTIST
BEST MERMAID SINGER OR BAND

TAIL MAKING AWARDS:

BEST TAIL MAKER
BEST MERMAID TAIL DESIGN

MISCELLANEOUS MERMAID AWARDS:

MERMAID ENVIRONMENTALIST OF THE YEAR
BEST MERMAID THEMED PARK/ATTRACTION
BEST MERMAID THEMED EVENT



UPDATE: Looks like the Pirate Awards have disappeared from the voting page since the original media release from Mer-Palooza.


PIRATES

PERSONALITY AWARDS:

LADY PIRATE OF tHE YEAR AWARD PIRATE OF THE YEAR AWARD
CHILD PIRATE OF THE YEAR BABY PIRATE OF THE YEAR

MEDIA AND CREATIVE AWARDS:

BEST PIRATE THEMED YOU TUBE VIDEO
BEST PIRATE WEB SITE (INDIVIDUAL OR MERMAID RELATED COMPANY)
BEST PIRATE ARTICLE (BLOG, JOURNALISTIC, COLUMN)
BEST PIRATE MAGAZINE
BEST PIRATE AUTHOR
BEST PIRATE MOVIE
BEST PIRATE TELEVISION SERIES
BEST PIRATE PHOTOGRAPHER
BEST PIRATE ARTIST
BEST PIRATE SINGER OR BAND

COSTUMING AWARDS:

BEST COSTUME MAKER
BEST COSTUME DESIGN

MISCELLANEOUS PIRATE AWARDS:

PIRATE PHILANTHROPIST OF THE YEAR
BEST PIRATE THEMED PARK/ATTRACTION
BEST PIRATE THEMED EVENT


CLICK HERE to go to the online voting form.

Mermaid in Comics 1 – Milly the Merry Mermaid

This is the first part in a series where we'll be looking at what's out there in the comics world – outside of our own Elf~Fin comic book series – that features mermaids. This selection is probably little known but it is a point of nostalgia for me. 


"Milly the Merry Mermaid" were delightful short stories published in the the Princess Gift Book for Girls (1973) and the Princess Tina Annual (1971) by IPC Magazines, London, and distributed in Australia by Gordon & Gotch. There are many other books in the series but I only have those two. I found second hand copies of them while I was growing up and read them over and over again. I loved the gentle humour, some of the environmental themes, and Milly's undersea animal pals who could all talk. 


These stories really influenced me. I've chosen a one page story to showcase here, and a two pager where we see a large full body panel of Milly where her tail takes prevalence. It looks like there were two artists working on them, as the style is different for both. I have no idea who wrote or drew them, as there are no creator credits in the book—a real shame. Many writers and artists were anonymous in those days. I believe if they were published now, the creators would have had a great fan base. Anyway, we hope you like them. You can still find some of the Annuals on eBay or online. Here's one of the books from whence these stories are sourced. It says 1972 but my book says 1971. I wonder who'll be the first to grab it for their mermaid collection...

Call for Entries – Mermaids and Merwomen in Black Folklore

We thought we might bring you another angle on black mermaids...


The City Gallery at Waterfront Park in Charleston, South Caroline is seeking art quilts and art dolls inspired by the folklore and visual history of the black mermaid archetype. Some of the first tales of mermaids and merwomen were brought to the USA by slaves. Apparently black mermaids travelled with enslaved Africans to distant lands, comforting them in the holds of the slave ships that took them far away from their homeland. 


Artists are invited to share your visual interpretation of these myths by creating a Black Mermaid / Merwoman in an art doll or art quilt. The exhibition will be on view at the City Gallery at Waterfront Park in historic Charleston from 28 August to 28 October 2012. For more information, check out the City Gallery Waterfront Park website.

Mermaid Statues from Around the World

Just found a couple of posts on two blogs that contain a whole bunch of photos of mermaid statues from around the world, starting with this one in Turkey. Turns out that the famous Little Mermaid statue in Copenhagen isn't the only statue so check out the rest on Viola.bz and Kuriositas.com. 


(Please note that we don't know who the photographer is of this pic so we hope it's okay if we use it. Please alert us if it doesn't fall under a Creative Commons licence. )

Elf~Fin Leaks and Peeks 25

Not long soon. Jozef's busy painting away!

Ants in the Machine

Okay... so about two weeks ago I printed up a document, and when I picked it up from the printer I noticed there were a few dead ants on the paper. I didn't think anything of it because I occasionally get ants and other bugs in my office. I also have half a dozen daddy long legs that take care of business. But this time they failed to do their jobs and I in turn was completely unprepared for something that happened a few days later...


I needed to scan a document but when I opened the lid I was confronted with a swarm of ants. There were easily a thousand in there. I was completely in shock. What was worse was the fact that I could see clumps of eggs under the glass and what looked like winged ants. I'm not usually queasy but it was kinda disgusting. I had to face facts... I had an ant colony living in my printer.


I promptly unplugged it, took it outside and placed it on the back of one of the farm trucks. I opened the lid in the sun and the worker ants promptly went into overdrive to move the eggs from the nursery into the deepest chambers of the printer. I suspect there was a queen in there somewhere. You can see some of the yellowish eggs in the last pic. This is probably ten percent of the entire load... they moved the bulk of the eggs in about five minutes. An extraordinary feat!


I didn't want to destroy the nest but I did want my printer back so I ended up leaving it on the back of the truck for several days, covered with a towel. After about three or four days most of the colony had moved out. 


Today I had to deconstruct the printer. It took me about an hour to clean what I could, although I couldn't get into the deepest chamber or clean the underside of the glass which was covered in smears. I haven't tested the printer and I suspect it will need to be serviced by a technician. On the other hand it may just be cheaper to buy a new printer. It's the end of the financial year so I may be able to pick up a bargain.


What do I make out it? Well it's winter now so I think the colony decided to relocate into a new dry warm home with lots of subterranean tunnels and chambers for the ant hierarchy. It was quite extraordinary on one hand but a real pain on the other, as I needed to go off site to print, copy and scan documents and it looks like it cost me a printer.


A comics buddy of mine has already claimed the premise for a story. He can have it with pleasure! I'll let you know if he ever does anything with it so you can read it for yourselves.

Underwater Sculptures

Jason de Caires Taylor's underwater sculptures are hauntingly beautiful. They remind us of the Pompeii victims—frozen in time and space and emotion. Love the seahorse in the second video.
Want to see more? Then check out the Underwater Sculptures website. Thanks to our friend Nick for the heads up on these beautiful images. We just want to drink them up.

Oceans of Garbage – The Facts

Created by: MastersDegree.net

Supanova Announces Ledger Awards

Supanova has announced it will be resurrecting the Ledger Awards which went into hiatus in 2007 because it became too big a project for its founder Gary Chaloner to organise. It will be launched in 2013 under Supanova's benevolent umbrella. You can read all about it here: "Supanova Proudly Announces the Australian Comic Book Industry Awards" (scroll half way down the page to read it). 

BMP Lauches New Bridal Black Mermaid™ Range

Jozef is madly designing a wedding dress for a friend of his (it's all top secret until the wedding day!) and Julie attended two weddings last month so we thought a new Bridal Black Mermaid™ range of designs would be apt. We'll bring out one a year, and the "Pink Bouquet" starts the procession off.


You can check her out at the Black Mermaid Boutique.

BMP Directors Say Goodbye to ASA Comics / Graphic Novels Portfolio Positions [UPDATED 26/06/12]

Our five year management plan for the Australian Society of Authors (ASA) Comics / Graphic Novels Portfolio is coming to an end on 30 June 2012, after which we will be vacating our positions as Portfolio Holders. 


Since founding the portfolio in July 2007 under then Executive Director Dr Jeremy Fisher’s and the Committee of Management’s approval, we have accomplished the following:

(1) Surveyed and profiled the Australian comics community to gain an understanding of the demographics and the needs of this group of literary creators;

(2) Created the ASA Comics / Graphic Novels Page Rates;

(3) Organised annual Professional Development Seminars at Supanova such as "How to Write a Graphic Novel Book Proposal for the Mainstream Book Market", "Legal Self Defence for Comics Creators: Understanding Comics Contracts", "Understanding Trade Marking 101", "Copyright, Resale Royalties and Cultural Funding", and "Professional Friends with Benefits" across four States (NSW, Vic, Qld and WA);

(4) Created and edited 30+ issues of the marketing and legal issues oriented Comics Biz ezine, which has been sent out exclusively to portfolio members since January 2009;

(5) Organised and promoted the successful Comics Masterclass in 2011, which attracted 100 participants from around Australia and overseas;

(6) Promoted 30+ Australian comics artists and writers through the "Comics Creator of the Month" series, which has featured in Comics Biz and the ASA website;

(7) Consulted on the Model Publishing Agreement, which was published in Australian Book Contracts (4th ed);

(8) Coordinated the Comics Creators’ Toolkit, which contains various agreements such as the Comics Collaborators Agreement, the Comics Commissioned Works (Work for Hire) Agreement, Confidentiality Agreement and several more, which will be available from the ASA in the second half of 2012;

(9) Organised the design and printing of the Comics / Graphic Novels Portfolio membership brochure, which has been distributed at various comics events around Australia;

(10) Promoted the ASA and the portfolio through various blogs, social media groups, online comics forums and networks to build awareness; and

(11) Created relationships and cross-pollinated with other organisations such as the Australian Cartoonists’ Association (ACA), the Copyright Agency Limited (CAL), the Arts Law Centre, and IP Australia to provide additional membership benefits, access to resources, and to enhance professional development opportunities for our members.

Furthermore, since its inception, the portfolio has grown to around 100 members. We have kept our members up-to-date with opportunities and important information through regular newsletter columns, as well as broadcast emails. 

We are leaving to focus on our creative work, as we will be launching a new comic book series and a new comics oriented business during the next few months. We have enjoyed working with the ASA and comics creators, and we thank everyone for their friendship and support. The ASA will appoint new portfolio holders to reinvent the portfolio with their own signature and style. We will remain ASA members, and look forward to supporting these new initiatives.