We were prepared to be dazzled by colors and textiles in Guatemala, but surprised to come across so many mermaid images. Apparently the sculptor of the main fountain in 'Central Park,' Diego de Porres, was inspired by images in books brought over from Italy via Spain. The main fountain was built in 1738. The older kids had gone off for a walking tour of La Antigua, leaving me looking for ways to spend the better part of the day with 5 year old Piper. What a joy then to discover mermaids on all the fountains, carved into walls, etc. There are so many good textures and whimsical details, it was really fun to take a few moments to sketch them. Mermaid 'fountains' would also be a really fun ceramics project, since fired clay could hold water, and you could explore so many different clay techniques--slab, coil, ball, sgraffito, etc.--when creating the mermaids.
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