Sofia Dea and the Abalone Charms

Sirens: Models of Danger and Desire

Sophia Loren, diver: still shot from Boy On A Dolphin.

One of my earliest mermaids in clay: sculpture mix; pit-fired on Ocean Beach, SF.

The tail is reddish from the kelp I wrapped around that part. The charcoal and blue markings surprised me with their aptness here: pure luck in the pit for a crude piece of work.

I've posted shots of this one before, of course. I wanted to look at it again with fresher eyes, and so used the camera and posted it. (That tends to work for me. Handling it, actually taking the piece down from the wall and feeling the clay, works too, often better.)

Study prompts.

Early Crush: Sophia Loren, Diver

Still shot from Boy On A Dolphin, I believe.

(I happened on this shot by chance this evening, so I feel compelled to share it.  Thanks to the person who checked out my blog via a page with this photo.)

Time to go diving, I am thinking.

Happy Chatter

My kayak Sofia is a very chatty boat. As she heads into any chop, she talks. I like that. I like how she talks to me, commenting on the conditions of swell and tide. As she moves through the water, particularly as she moves up and down, slapping and smacking, she talks and talks. I appreciate her voice and her beautiful shape in ways that other riders just wouldn't.

If you look up at her hull, you can see her "shoulders" or "hips". The full-bodied shape makes her very comfortable in rough water and reluctant to be rushed anywhere. (If my 180 pounds were in the kayak, you'd see how those shoulders and hips ride down in the water; hence, her deliberate pace as we move through the water.)

Sofia is named after another full-figured beauty: Sophia Loren. One of my earliest crushes.

You can see how she sits in the water here. Her "wings" are what give her that characteristic voice and way of riding and even sitting in the water. She's stable without being boring, and I can dive from her, sliding overboard to make my way underwater for a while, sliding back onboard, with a minimum of fuss and no anxiety or concern at all. With my fins on, I can practically vault onto her without any fear of upset.

I think she's a beauty, though most kayakers look for sleeker models.

Now, occasionally when I consider claims that sharks, for example, are drawn to the sound of helicopter blades thudding, I wonder about how much my chatty girl is being eavesdropped by you-know-who/you-know-what, but any flash of concern disappears as I listen to her happy conversation. Sofia just loves being out in the water, and her cheery manner puts me right at ease.