Mummified Mermaid

$20 - $30 (based on 2019 prices)

Makes one mermaid

 

Part of 2019’s twisted carnival theme involved Dr. Victor’s Oddity Museum, a collection of bizarre artifacts meant to resemble the curiosity exhibits customary in turn-of-the-century travelling shows. To achieve this, I crafted a bevy of familiar oddities, from shrunken heads to two-headed babies. For this particular prop, I made a sideshow staple: a mummified mermaid resting atop a seashell seat.

• One twelve-inch mermaid skeleton
• One 4 oz. bottle of wood glue
• One 4 oz. bottle of all-purpose tacky glue
• One roll of one-ply, white paper towels
• One 10 oz. can of interior/exterior, fast-drying spray paint in flat black*
• One 10 oz. can of interior/exterior, fast-drying spray paint in flat brown*
• One 10 oz. can of interior/exterior, fast-drying spray paint in metallic silver*
• One 2 oz. bottle of acrylic paint in flat black*
• One 2 oz. bottle of acrylic paint in denim blue*
• One 2 oz. bottle of acrylic paint in grasshopper*
• One 2 oz. bottle of acrylic paint in metallic silver*
• One 2 oz. bottle of acrylic paint in flat olive*
• One 2 oz. bottle of acrylic paint in spice brown*
• One 2 oz. bottle of acrylic paint in surf blue*
• One 2 oz. bottle of acrylic paint in flat red*
• One 4” x 4” round wooden plaque
• Two large plastic seashells (roughly three to four inches tall)
• One small decorative fishing net
• One piece of 8” x 11.5” cardstock with specimen labels printed on it
• At least four tablespoons of black tea (e.g. Darjeeling, Earl Gary, English Breakfast, etc.)
• One pan large enough to soak the cardstock
• One foot of brown twine

1. Remove the mermaid’s accessories, cut her joints, position her into your chosen pose, and glue the limbs in place. To make her sit flat, separate her tail from her body and glue them together at a ninety-degree angle.

2. Make the papier mache paste by mixing ½ cup of glue and ½ cup of water in a bowl. Try to use a sealable container. This gives you the ability to store the mixture for a day or two between applications. Also, to give the paste added support, use a combination of all-purpose glue and wood glue (stray away from school glue because it is washable and will dissolve in the water).

3. Tear the paper towels into strips and, after soaking them in paste, cover the skeleton with one or two layers, creating wrinkles to make the flesh appear rotten. If you cannot find one-ply paper towels, simply separate the plies of multi-ply sheets. To make the process more manageable, keep the strips at a reasonable size (mine were roughly two inches long and half an inch wide). Similarly, only apply a few layers at a time and allow each layer to completely dry before adding more (I did two layers during each application and let them dry for twenty-four hours). The number of layers you apply depends on how rotted you want the corpse to appear: you can apply one or two layers to just a few spots for a highly decrepit look or several thick coverings for a more mummified appearance.

4. Once the layers have fully dried, give the skeleton a base coat of brown spray paint followed by a light dusting of black. Since you will build up detail with other colors, you want your brown to be a neutral tone that is not too light and not exceedingly dark.

5. Accent the skin with light brushings of blues, greens, and grays to provide depth to the base coat. I found that working from dark to light produced the best results. It might prove beneficial to practice your technique on a scrap of cardboard first before applying it to the prop.

6. Complete the painting process by darkening the eyes, mouth, and any other openings with black paint. You can also mute portions of the body by lightly brushing black along their surfaces.

7. Reattached the mermaid’s accessories, specifically her bra and hair. If she did not come with these items, you can fashion them with scraps of fabric and strands of hair from an old wig.

8. On a newspaper-lined surface in a well-ventilated area, give the plaque a few even coats of metallic spray paint. I used two, but you may apply more or less based on your desired coverage.

9. After the paint has dried, give it a rusted patina. Begin this process with dabs of maroon paint applied with an old paintbrush with splayed bristles (a sponge or paper towels will also work). Once the maroon has dried, repeat the process with brown paint. During this application, be careful not to cover too much of the maroon. Lastly, apply a flecking of black paint. You can do this by either quickly flicking a paintbrush or using an old toothbrush and strumming your finger across the bristles. Since this process flings paint everywhere, it’s best to perform it outside. If you want, cut a 4” x 4” circle of black craft foam and adhere it to the bottom of the plaque to protect surfaces.

10. On a newspaper-lined surface in a well-ventilated area, give the shells a light dusting of brown spray paint to simulate dirt. To achieve this, hold the can over twelve inches away from the shells’ surfaces and make quick flicking motions. You can also apply a flecking of black paint and smears of brown paint to enhance the weathered appearance.

11. Glue the shells to the plaque to create a seat for the mermaid. One shell will point upward to form the back and the other will recline downward for the seat.

12. Decorate the shells by draping a net over them and gluing it in place.

13. Center the mermaid on the base and glue it in place. For a sturdier hold, consider using superglue.

14. Boil enough water to completely submerge the cardstock and pour it into the pan. Add the tea. The longer you allow the tea to brew, the darker the stain will become. Likewise, greater amounts of tea will produce a richer stain. I found that a combination of English and Irish Breakfast brewed for over ten minutes produces a nice, deep brown. Submerge the cardstock into the tea mixture and soak it until it reaches the color you desire. I soaked mine for eight hours and scattered the loose-leaf tea over the top to add spots. Remove the cardstock from the water and allow it to dry. Once the cardstock has dried, cut out the specimen label, leave a small border, and give the specimen a name. To roughen the label’s appearance, use sandpaper to fray its sides and create holes. You can also use olive or vegetable oil to add further stains to the label.

15. After you have achieved your desired level of distress, punch a hole in the label and use twine to attached it to the prop.

16. The prop can be enhanced further with additional details, such as fishing floats and lures.

*You will not use the entire bottle’s content for this project.