❝MerMay 2025: MIRROR work in progress

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inspiration MerMay 2025 & Japanese mythology
materials 4B pencil (one of my kiddo's leftover they no longer use at school)

It's gonna...

...gonna...

...gonna...

...gonna...

It's gonna be MAY

Already behind and unlikely to do all the prompts for MerMay, but really just happy to be back in this kind of creative mindset ... and I love mermaids (my life's ambition between the ages of 3-5 were to become one) so really just a win-win all around

A work-in-progress, I took the 'Mirror' prompt and was inspired by the Japanese legend that koi fish transform into dragons and the spirit of Children’s Day (which is literally just around the corner over here and we have our koi nobori outside the house as well), and created this pencil sketch of a koi fish–inspired merboy gazing into a mirror and seeing a dragon-like, mighty merman reflected back at him. A little wimsay visual representation of growth, transformation, and self-belief.

Being a mama of two son—one of whom just started junior high and that thought alone just being beyond mind boggling—this theme is especially personal. Watching him grow into his own strength and identity feels a bit like witnessing that mythical transformation firsthand...though I should add, his version seems to include bass instruments, so it's becoming a very loud one