A Mermaid's Tale
What happens when 'custom' gets a little too personal?
As told by Scott Cohen to Rebecca Robledo
Never underestimate the curiosity of a 13-year-old boy. Sometimes it can undo some of your best work.
The clients were a younger couple with no children, and they wanted a bronze mermaid to adorn a water feature in the side yard. Ultimately, they decided against it. Apparently all the mermaids they'd seen were ugly.
Now, I'd studied ceramic sculpture in college, and have years of experience with face and body casting. I even had converted my garage into a studio. Primarily, I make ceramic portraits of friends and family, or cast pregnant women's bellies for mementos. In my landscape work, I make custom ceramic tiles for pools, water features, or cast concrete outdoor counters.
"I can do something custom for you," I suggested. "We can her {the wife} nude as the model for the mermaid." This would actually be the first nude casting I'd ever done for a client.
And you know what? They loved the idea. Even when I explained that she would have to be topless, they didn't flinch. Casting day finally came. I know it sounds like a turn-on to rub plaster all over a topless young woman, but it's not as easy as you might think. It's fast, focused work. You
have to get the plaster in place quickly, otherwise it sags and you need to start over.
I wanted to handle the situation delicately. Of course, her husband was there. That was for my wife's sake as much as anyone's. Lisa is a good sport, but she didn't want me working unaccompanied with a nearly naked woman. Nor did I want the liability of being alone with a client in her underwear!
The whole process took five hours. When I cast her face, she had to breathe through straws stuck in her nose. I cast her upper body topless. Then we created a mold for the mermaid's tale by wrapping her legs together with plastic wrap.
Once the clients were gone, the real work began. I had to mold and sculpt the mermaid in six pieces. I crafted a seashell necklace to hide the cut line between the neck and upper body.
Next, I hand-sculpted the eyes and hair. The tail took excruciatingly long because of all the scales.
We knew the couple would be hosting family get-togethers and and other events where discretion would be required, so I fabricated two removable shells to hang over the breasts when needed. We figured we'd thought of everything.
The project took four months, and at 7' long, it's still the largest custom ceramic piece I've ever created. Installation was complex because of the weight. We used a combination of steel strapping and construction epoxy to adhere it securely to the wall.
Everyone loved it, and the customers enjoyed having a custom work of art. But I don't think they had expected the level of detail the casting process picks up — every single pore is captured in the porcelain.
A few weeks later, my clients threw a Christmas party. Two of their nephews, both in their early teens, were horsing around in the back yard. And as boys their age might do, they spotted the sculpture and began fondling the breasts. (For some reason, the homeowners hadn't put the shell covers on!)
Before long, the boys recognized the face as well, and proceeded to dance through the house proclaiming, "I touched my aunt's boobies! I touched my aunt's boobies!"
I got a call early the next morning that the mermaid had to come down.
Because we'd installed it so securely, we had to demolish it with a sledgehammer. This nearly brought me to tears because I'd spent so much time on it.
I was paid well, but this was about more than money. I was really proud of the job.
I still have the mold, so if anyone is in the market for a ceramic mermaid, I can make them the real deal.