My first painting of a Mumu Mama, she remains nameless..

It was Febuary 1/08 and we were happy. If the secret meaning of happiness is" being content with what you have" then we were very happy! We sat, as was our routine on the deck at sunset and watched the sky spread swaths of colors like paint spills until they all blended into a brilliant orange. A sunset like that is powerful juju, red sky at night and all of that...coupled with wine, a love that never grows old, music and the *Mumu Mamas* were born. Often I just draw a line and the rest appears. My painting is admittedly quite primitive, I never quite capture with paint what my drawings mean to me. But, this is where my Imaginary Island began with visions of women celebrating life. The Mumu Mamas have or represent qualities that I admire or aspire for. From that night on the tales of the Island have grown enormously in my mind. So far, it is a joyous place for me to visit. And I go there often.

I believe 3 were painted that night. This ACEO original painting was for sale with the others but nobody bit and how she has grown on me over the years! The eBay club of artists who paint ACEO's (artists trading cards, a baseball collector card sized original or edition) publish a deck of cards each year and I believe this painting was chosen for the Queen of Hearts, or was it the 10 of hearts?...I'll have to let you know.

Older Mermaids on the other hand...

Just wanna have FUN. Mermaids are essentially geared to having FUN. Having no floors to sweep, or trash to take out, they have a lot MORE time to play than Mumu Mamas who have to provide food and comfort. This is the way it was and is. "Cavorting" is an natural..for a Mermaid of any age!

Taking the Plunge

Occasionally when a particulary driven Mumu Mama feels like her life is near the end just because she has accomplished all she set out to do and wonders, "what is left for me to do?"..........Well! THAT is the time to "take the plunge"! Just JUMP! Once in a while... the Gracious Lady having taken "The Plunge" into unknown waters finds her way back to the surface AND back to the place she knows as HOME. She finds she has gained a brand new outlook and most often, she has a new directive. That is something that sometimes occurs when one is fighting one thing, that the other (better) thing comes to mind. Nothing like a turmoil to seperate out the important things!

Mumu Mama Meli

Mumu Mamas' babies were swaddled, swung, and toted by sling or bareback. There were always more Mamas than babies, so the Mamas shared duties with pleasure and ALL of the Mamas were, (of course) called " Mama". They were all sisters after all, if not by the exact same blood, they were tied by heartstrings and an openess, a *freedom* of mind. All of the Mamas became one in the way a child sees things. Can't have too many loving Mamas in this world. But there is always ONE more special, as it should be.

Mermaids of a Different Tail

Mermaids are a different tail er.. tale. Mermaids are as family oriented as the Mumu Mamas in their early life, while they hold close in familia(r) pods to protect the young. They are however the very opposite in the manner of seclusion. Whereas the Mumu Mamas are bound by the edge of land and see only a vast sea beyond, Mermaids see a whole other world beneathe the waves, a world with no boundaries. Perhaps *attached* but not *actually* bound by any land itself, AND having been given the great gift of speed, with ease and grace through most any water they are able to travel great distances and visit other cultures at will. In "middle life" the age of bearing offspring is most *usually* a curious age, when the call to travel beckons. "Rose" Mermaid as painted here, travelled all the way to the Mediterranean and returned preggers, while portraying a definate "movie star" attitude. Rose will take her ease now and play in her assumably safe familiar waters until her child is born.

The Mermaid Reggie has a raport with fish in general...

She is not exactly able to *command* them, as for instance to appear in a school in a particular channel. However, once in hand, a fish can, if she or he wants to a present a level of communication to express distress or utter contentment, and Reggie can decipher this.

TICKLED PINK !

And she said "I laughed so hard tears ran down my leg!"