Another great cause for creating art! The Mother Hen Project. For this auction piece, I wanted to draw something I just love to draw... mermaids. The Little Mermaid came out when I was 8 years old, and as silly as it sounds, changed my life. Like many other woman (I am finding) around my age, this film had a huge impact on our career choices. It was basically our "Star Wars" as a fellow story guy commented. And why wouldn't it be, it was all about a GIRL, with some personality...even if it's a lovesick teenager with a fishtail. For me, I decided I wanted to be an Animator, a Voice Actor, a MERMAID! I wanted to be part of the whole animation process... I focused mostly on the Animator part, and started keeping a sketchbook. I was completely in love with the film and would draw Ariel repeatedly, till I felt I had "mastered" the proportions. It took from about third to fourth grade to get a decent looking mermaid. I'd cut articles out about animators, anything about Glen Keane. There was also constant singing and repeated watching of the video after school every day. Later the animation fascination would move on to The Nightmare Before Christmas, but the first spark was The Little Mermaid. It is pencil on paper in a shadow box like frame, 5 3/4"x 7 3/4".