Childhood Beginnings
Many people enjoy the mythology of the mermaid at some point in their lives but my own fascination since childhood has never abated.
Around the age of 5, I encountered the story of The Little Mermaid illustrated by Japanese artist Makoto Takahashi.
The illustrated tale stayed true to the original bittersweet ending of Hans Christian Andersen’s story with themes of Sacrifice and Love that transcended personal desire. The story and the beautiful drawings enchanted my 5-year old heart…
Then when I was 10 years old, the iconic mermaid movie “Splash” with Darryl Hannah came out. The realism of the Splash tail delighted me to no end… from the underwater scenes where she explores a sunken ship to the bathtub scene where she unfurls her tail in all its glory!
Throughout childhood, I practiced swimming mermaid-style in the pool and imagined that I would one day swim in the ocean with a realistic mermaid’s tail!
By high school, I had a fantasy where I’d pop up on a beach to delight unsuspecting beachgoers. I wanted people to believe even just for a moment, that mermaids and magic were real…
The Search for Realism
In 1996, I consulted a special FX artist in Vancouver about making a realistic tail together. He quoted $10k for a prototype but couldn’t guarantee it would work in the water as I wanted. I’d just graduated from university so did not have that kind of cash and since it was not my primary dream, I also couldn’t justify the expense or risk in using credit to pay for this.
Shortly after that, I called Thom Shouse who made the original Splash tail to see if he could create something realistic for consumer use. He said that his work was for film crews – involving multiple tails and technicians. It would not be suitable for me to use on my own in the ocean.
In 2002, this fantasy compelled me to begin sewing my own mermaid costumes, performing as a singing mermaid in cabarets, appearing as a mermaid at private pool parties, creating a shadowpuppet mermaid fairytale, doing mermaid photoshoots and even being featured as a mermaid on the cover of Shared Vision magazine.
Between 2001-2012, I consulted at least 3 more special FX artists and the quote was still around $10k to co-create a tail. I started to invest some money into the process but needed to focus on my primary life work so did not go further.
Mermaid Costume #1 – October 2002
Mermaid Costume #2 – November 2007 in Mexico
On the cover of Shared Vision Magazine – November 2007
Mermaid costume #4 – April 2009, Mexico
Into the Ocean
My mermaid fascination included a true love of the ocean so in 2008, I got certified as an advanced Scuba Diver.
April 2009: I took a freedive workshop with Mandy-Rae Cruickshank and Kirk Krack in Vancouver. (They were featured in the dolphin documentary “The Cove” and have trained celebrities like magician/endurance artist David Blaine)
Though scuba had been very easy, freediving was surprisingly difficult for me as I couldn’t understand how to equalize my ears/sinuses.
Freediving is the art and science of breath-hold diving. (without a tank) It allows you to swim to great depths or distance with just one breath so activities like pearl diving or spear fishing involve some freedive skills.
(In competitive freediving, champion divers reach superhuman depths, times and distances that continue to boggle the minds of scientists.)
January 2011: I hired Peter Scott (www.Seahiker.com) to do a bit of one-on-one training. We went to a local pool and practiced equalization but it was in a local pool so there was no depth available for our training.
March 2011: A friend suddenly asked me if i would shoot a short mermaid clip for his upcoming music video. His timing was impeccable as I’d recently constructed my fifth mermaid tail and was looking forward to swimming in it.
April 2011: I traveled to Thailand again to do 26 fabulous dives in the Andaman Sea, with 14 of them done from a liveaboard boat which visited the Similan Islands, Richelieu Rock, Koh Bon and Koh Tachai. We traveled on the fabulous Manta Queen I boat from Khao Lak Scuba and had a blast! http://www.khaolakscubaadventures.com/
While in Koh Lipe, I hired a freedive instructor for a private session but he swam out in rough waters with zero equipment and zero instruction – simply telling me to dive! (no luck there)
In Koh Phi Phi, I found an underwater videographer named Dee to help me capture my first ocean swim in the 5th fabric tail I’d made…
This is the video she shot and edited of my Koh Phi Phi swim session…
The experiment turned out to be a grueling experience due to challenges with:
a) A monofin that was too flimsy
b) Very choppy surface waves
c) No device to rest on in between takes
d) Not seeing anything clearly without a mask
Despite the physical strain, it was exciting to “plunge” into the ocean after all these years of dreaming. The experience was truly invaluable and a helpful push forward in my mermaid fetish…
May 2012: I returned to Thailand and after multiple attempts, was finally able to freedive to 85 feet after someone gave me a crucial tip for how to stretch my tiny ear canals for easier equalization!
UPDATE: In November 2013, I went to Kona (Hawaii) for another freediving weekend with Performance Freediving and dove down to 97 feet!
Mermaid Explosion
Since 2009, I have seen a mermaid explosion in the collective consciousness!
Mermaids both amateur and professional have arisen all over the internet and the world’s first Mermaid Awards will be held in August 2011 in Las Vegas!
It’s exciting to see so many like-minded dreamers follow their passions!! Many of them have become professional mermaids with amazing costumes and advanced breath-holding skills. For these passionate aficionados, mermaids are a full-time focus!
Although the mermaid fantasy is not a major priority in my life, it still remains a whimsical thread in my personal journey.
Playful fantasies are important aspects of our consciousness, revealing layers of our psyche that we might not otherwise discover.
If we listen and cultivate these passions, they can be a powerful initiator for unexpected evolution and adventure…
With love from the deep blue sea,
xox little woo
(May 7, 2011)
SEE MY FREEDIVE VIDEO:
http://littlewoo.org/follow-your-fetish-mermaid-in-training/
