Every year during May, an internet-wide, informal art event is held. The basic idea is to draw a mermaid every day in May! The event is cleverly called Mer-May, or just Mermay.
This year I got very busy so I didn’t draw something every day, but you can see my pieces below. I made it partially interactive– I asked friends and acquaintances if they’d like to be drawn as sea monsters, and to decide the direction of the “story.”
People tend to draw beautiful, elegant mermaids… but not me! Heheheh! I embraced the weird this year.
My friends & acquaintances below! They decided on how they’d look as monsters:
I finished my Divemaster course and made thank you notes for the dive shop staff. They ended up putting them on their respective tip boxes on the front desk, which was a lot of fun for me to see.
From top left going clockwise:
Hawksbill Sea Turtle
Spotted Garden Eels ft. Flounder & Conch
Moray Eel & Lionfish ft. Lobster & Harlequin Shrimp
This is an illustration I submitted for a for-charity zine, Polar Lights. The publication focused on Arctic and Antarctic flora and fauna, and proceeds are donated to an Arctic environmental charity. The stuff everyone produced is so gorgeous, it should be in a museum. It made me want to rise to the occasion and make something equally amazing.
Each participant submitted plants or animals for consideration; I was approved for the Giant Phantom Jellyfish.
I am not usually frightened by sea animals, but to be perfectly honest, this thing freaks me out haha! I think it’s because it’s just SO BIG. The Giant Phantom Jellyfish can get as long as 33 ft/10m…
That’s just too big, especially when it looks like a UFO. Happily I will never see it, because it’s only been spotted about 100 times, in the last 100 years. I haven’t seen proof that it’s ever been sighted near the surface either– all sources describe it around the 5,000 ft/m depth. I’m safe!
Toto, I don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore (Monterey Bay Aquarium)
I initially had a papercraft idea for this piece, which I eventually scrapped. I think it could have worked as a standalone piece, but not against the other submissions in this particular publication. I need more practice with this style before it’s ready for human consumption!
I joined a charity zine in December ’25 called Polar Lights. It’s focused on Arctic and Antarctic life, and participants can submit written and visual works based on an appropriate animal.
Someone wrote a very cool piece about Spotted Seals, and last minute asked if anyone in the group would be able to create some spot pieces for their story.
Spot pieces are small works of art that accompany text. They’re placed on the pages with the text, rather than being a separate illustration on a separate page.
I whipped these up and submitted them for consideration. I adore seals and sea lions so this was very fun for me!
Polar Lights was published on April 6th, 2026 and you’ll be able to see my full art piece I made for it, plus my spot pieces accompanying a wonderful written work! You can:
This year has been an exciting one for scuba! I’ve gotten back into diving after a 10-year break, taken 5 PADI specialty classes, reached 50 total dives, and seen some incredible locations and wildlife. So what better way to celebrate than to make themed Christmas cards for friends!
Unfortunately the color and glitter don’t come through well on camera, but I swear they look awesome in person.
From top to bottom, we have the vaquita, the thresher shark and common seahorse, the humpback whale, the hammerhead shark, and the orca. Most of these are the favorite aquatic animal of the friend receiving the gift. I always love hearing what people’s favorites are– I think mine are tied between sea lions and gobies.
Open Water Saga 