Description
Earth of Water
In a secret tide pool
hugged by marbleized stone,
swirling green leaves, soft waters--
yet a softer sweetness.
She opens her fingers, her arms,
her eyes and mouth--
mimicking a surprised fish.
Earth of water, child of stone and sea
a momentary mermaid
laughing,
loving it all, adrift.
She gives all to this moment.
Symbolism
Here, marbleized stone means the variegated beauty of
earth, green sea-grasses absorbing away her negative
emotions. Her open arms and free hair flows in
voluntary love and offering protection to all in
her embrace. She imagines herself as a mermaid
belonging to a seascape of inner beauty and feels a
willingness to be a giving lover. Her childish
expression shows fresh romance, tinged with the
innocence. She meets a koi-like fish as a
a gift of communication and insight. She feels free
and yet is filled with tender understanding of her
past. Right now, the freeing action of being adrift
in water is a floating sensation of release and joy.
Card Meaning
The nearly transparent Japanese banners over the scene
have calligraphy symbols for Uguisi, the nightingale,
singing in the summer night. The rest of the poem
speaks of family gathered around a dinner table, a
feeling of comfort and security. For this imaginary
mermaid child, the freedom in her tide pool surrounded
by green grasses and marbleized granite is as sweet
and yet just as secure. The fish are a friendly
meeting and unexpected joy.
Artistic Media
Her childish expression was my first colored pencil
sketch. Next I drew the various fish, calligraphy,
greenery, and then the mermaid. In the last scans I
put the collage layers on marbleized material to
symbolize the earth or granite layers surrounding the
pool.
For good luck, this is something old, something new,
something borrowed and something blue. My marbleized
material is nine years old, leftovers from a fabric
dying class. My sketches are new, but the calligraphy
tracing is borrowed from my mother's old recipe book.
And the mermaid is definitely in the depths of blue.
Artist's Bio
Cerulean Mari is experimenting with concepts related
to Eastern and Western studies.
Go back to the project index, read the traditional card meaning, or get a free automated reading.
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