How Mermaids Moved into My Life

Hey Joe! How’s everything in the Four Corners? glowed the message on my laptop. It was my friend Nick an ex-marine turned cryptozoologist (the study of uncertain species- Bigfoot, Loch Ness Monster, and, yeah, mermaids).

Things are good! I’ve just started a teaching position at a new school. Where are you these days?

I’m in Scotland checking out a supposed mermaid burial…actually wanted to connect with you. Would you be interested in helping with the excavation if Scotland authorities give me to go? I figured with a background in archaeology you might be able to help.

Way cool! Yeah, I’d be willing to assist. It sounds like an interesting project!

There are archaeological reports and historical documents from the early 1800s related to the burial. Seems the whole town showed up.

That sounds really fascinating!

Let me send you related documents and you can get back to me.

Cool! Yeah…let me look them over.

So that’s how it all started. It was at a time when I was trying my damnedest to break into the writing world. This was pre-electronic publishing and writing back then somehow felt more real, alive, and fun: I enjoyed every bit of it. Of course, waiting months to receive a rejection letter was right up there with the five-year colonoscopy in terms of vulnerable anxiety.

This also was a time of much upheaval- I had decided to make a big move back east from the Four Corners area of the American Southwest. I lived so many years on my own in pretty much complete isolation and decided moving back east made sense…an aging mother, closer to New York publishers and wanting to get away from a known source of mercury exposure—the Four Corners power plants.

Anyhow, back to how all of this relates to me and mermaids. I decided to live off my retirement funds and fix up an old house I’d bought while also pursuing writing professionally. I had a couple of books I was working on but thought it’d be neat to write a YA novel connected to the mermaid burial on Benbecula. I had the money and time so I booked a flight into London and planned to get a cheap flight to Edinburgh from there.

The month before I left I went to Letchworth State Park and rented a cabin to start writing the book. The park location I’d chosen was very isolated and cheap ($22 a night for a cabin with electricity). Anyhow the week got me writing a bunch which in the end I’d end up tossing.

So, I headed to Scotland with a location some fair amount of research and a mermaid to dream on. This was the start and would lead to my book Beul Nam Beinn: a Merworld Fantasy.

The actual writing- now that’s another story!

Merworld Freedom

While it is true the Mermaid Burial on Benbecula piqued my curiosity and enlivened my armchair research self (pass me my pipe and the globe, I need to ponder on my leather study chair). There is a bigger reason I am intoxicated by the Merworld. In short, the deep and endless waters create hope for true freedom. Let me explain.

While writing Beul Nam Beinn: A Merworld Fantasy, I would for those scenes deep underwater immerse myself in the open sea or a pool and think as I did. Especially for the character Posie (yes there is a bit of me in him) I found myself in the water thinking- how would it be? What would he feel? What would his thought be?

Posie being half Mer finds great joy in simply swimming endlessly. For myself, so much of the oceans are not explored and the depths and immensity of the waters of the world feel somewhat endless (though I know this isn’t true…as a human, I certainly think thoughts of the water and all take us to our true limits in contemplation.

So, I wrote scenes between swims and floats in water. I especially recall a break from teaching on Paje Beach in Zanzibar. There were great tranquility and such beauty. I swam laps at a resort pool and scanned the far waves of the Indian Ocean. I would swim until tired thinking the whole time and jump out towel dry and quickly scrawl down my thoughts and ideas related to scenes I created.

The deep is truly mysterious and the waters for our limited purpose are endless. When we jump into the Merworld- immersed in waters or simply in our minds, we give ourselves the freedoms we seldom experience. We are simply alive and wholly in a kind of trance or peace which I suspect is closest to our natural state. There is health in finding freedom and releasing and enjoying life.

The Merworld will always represent this to me—simple freedom. Give yourself this freedom. Life is not about money or stuff or how others see you. Life is deeply about love. What greater way to love yourself than to open to freedom.

Mer-Art

I desire to paint undersea landscapes. I don’t exactly remember where it came from or how it started. I also envision creating high-quality Mer-art…but all in steps.

It was 6 years ago. I was living in a ratty rental and felt lonely. I decided to get some fish to keep me company and act as models for fins and tails or Mer. I figured if I studied a fishtail eventually I’d find a way to transfer this skill to mermaids and merman. I sat for what felt like hours (probably was only minutes) and tried to sketch the fish as they swam this way and that over and over. The resulting sketches were not even note-worthy. In short, they sucked!

I am building skills to create modern abstract waterscapes. I want big! So, last summer, I followed an online video on building big canvas frames for use in painting. I hadn’t painted in some years and got online to see what has been going on in the paint world. I found some videos on acrylic pour painting and got hooked! I started by hitting Cheap Joe’s Art Supplies and got plenty of paint to play with. 

And this is what I have been doing through the fall and winter. I go into the basement and pick out some colors I feel will express my desire (underwater, sand and watercolors are my focus). I figure if I can practice and do in something in small I should be able to transfer my abilities onto large canvases.

Have I begun transferring Mer imagery onto canvas? Not yet. I have Mer-art around my house. I think about it plenty. Thinking and imagining and understanding patterns of light and shadow and fish scales and such are a start. I am hoping to do the large canvas starts in summer or into next fall. 

Jump In!

The beach is warm but the water is inviting. Jump in!<img class="size-medium wp-image-6 alignright" src="http://merworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/snorkel5-011-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" />

My name is Joe Keleher and I welcome you to Merworld. I live in the desert southwest far from the ocean and admit I am an unlikely host. While I could share on the geology of the area and how this once was under the sea I would rather tell you about my personal connection to the Merworld. My novel Beul Nam Beinn (Gaelic and translates to <em>Mouth in the Hill) </em>was the first Merworld fantasy. While I am currently knee-deep in other writing, I suspect my return to the Merworld in written form is inevitable.

I love the ocean and all things Mer! It is in this joyful spirit that I welcome you. Feel free to share on your own connections to the Mer.

Underwater Art

I’ve wanted to do underwater landscapes for some time now. I actually had thoughts of trying to make very believable Mer-art in underwater settings over 5 years ago. For a time I sketched fish I kept in my 10 gallon tank, but hadn’t taken matters much further until recently. An upcoming trip to Belize will be my first attempt at underwater Plein Air drawing.

It seems many adventures today start with a google search. I entered “Plein Air Underwater” and found the works of Bonnie (Bonn) Richardson. She shares her experience and some of her fine art at: http://www.bonnartlondon.com/home.php .  In an email she explained, “I definitely draw very quickly when snorkeling as everything changes in seconds. I have learned to trust the body memory as I paint on shore afterwards.” After reading about Bonnie’s approach, I purchased a set of Koh-i-noor woodless color pencils and Yupo synthetic watercolor paper. I began to get excited over the prospect of a new snorkeling approach—art in the water! It seems when I make financial investments I am at a deeper level of commitment to a project.

But this project has become a bigger investment than I’d first expected. I started to wonder about my abilities to snorkel. I’ve never been a strong swimmer although I enjoy the water immensely. I thought, maybe I should practice? First I went to a local reservoir and found it a terribly experience—the area drought has been extensive and there was but a puddle of muddy water to muck around in (had to hose myself and my equipment off when I got home).

I decided to get some quality time in at the local Recreational Center. Sunday afternoons worked best as I often found I had the pool to myself. I snorkeled back and forth following lane lines up and down the pool. I have increased my distance and length of time underwater considerably over the past two months.

Thinking of the practicality of having drawing materials in the water, I decided to purchase a mesh sack through SakGear (https://www.skogakust.com/collections/coast) to pull with me as I swim. I think this will be a wise investment although I have yet to test the gear.

As I am very nearsighted, I also decided to look into getting a prescription snorkel mask. I contacted one company and had an estimate of almost $400 and figured it was too great of an expense. Then found https://www.getwetstore.com/ and entered my prescription into their lenses calculator. I got my new mask late last week and tested in just yesterday. My impression—wow! I can actually see the entire length of an Olympic size pool! The cost of $55 is, I think, a bargain.

In total my entire investment for this art adventure is close to $120. Not bad! I am hoping to have some pieces to share with you in a couple of weeks.

Stay tuned- Joe






<img src="https://merworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/mesnorkelmask-003-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-187" />

BNB to Be Released in Paper Form By August 10th!

The print form release of Beul Nam Beinn by Turquoise Morning Press will be on or by August tenth. Merworld fans everywhere rejoice!

Beul Nam Beinn

I plan to go through Beul Nam Beinn a final time this weekend (I even purchased a highlighter for the final edits). In walking down to library, where I tap into internet access, I started thinking about when I first dropped my pencil to paper in creating this story. As it is my first novel written for adults, it has special meaning. I also think is some ways the story tells some shade of my own story (it is complex yet simple). I hope to hear Merworld Fantasy as a new genre. I am very excited about the release. I hope to entertain and inspire. The waters run deep, Joe