The Merwoman's Song
I was fortunate enough to be given a box full of fossils in varying sizes. While many of them call to me to do something with them, this one got me first. The song of sea has also called to me for as long as I can remember. I spent many long and delightful summers by the ocean where I played in the waves and sand and became acquainted with the many creatures who welcomed me into their watery home. I learned to hold my breath and twirl amidst a cresting wave and would often swim too far out, searching for the merwomen or, perhaps, following their songs. The fossil has been mounted on wood stained with red mahogany and is adorned with the long bones of a fish's ribs. A basket of shell contains a single vertebrae. The entire piece has been highly varnished and measures 3.5 inches wide by 5 inches long. The work is signed and dated by the artist and includes the story The Merwoman's Song on the back. She called me into the sea, so very long ago that I can scarce remember the way her song came in with the waves. She gave me gifts: baskets of mollusks, curling starfish, jellies and horses on a soft bed of kelp while all around me I could hear her singing. She gave me shells filled with bones and caught me between her ribs, trapped me in the fine web of her hair. Now her bones line the shore, for her time has passed us by, and all that is left for me are the faint strands of her voice, preserved in stone. Private Collection
