Aquarium Free Day!

Yesterday was a free day at Mystic Aquarium for residents of local towns.  I haven’t been inside the Aquarium for a few years (partly because it is expensive and I don’t have a membership.)  So I went over to spend the day sketching whatever struck me as interesting.

When I first got there I knew it was going to be challenging because there were no parking spaces!  Inside at 11 am the place was rocking, with Jammin’ 107.7 outside, and lots and lots of kids everywhere.  I set up in a little corner with the spotted jellyfish and my white and red pencils. When I am lurking there, I love to hear what kids think, usually exclaimed loudly….oooh cool!  BABY JELLYFISH!  Do these sting you?  I drew a picture of a cnidocyte, to explain how jellyfish sting to a slightly older boy.  Seems like they could have a cnidocyte model kids could play with and shoot foam rubber nematocysts at their siblings.

Jellyfish quickly became too claustrophobic, so I moved on to the lionfish, then outside to penguins (the sea lions were being fed and there were too many people around to be able to set up comfortably),  the bat rays, and the Moray Eels and Barracuda.  At the very end of the day when most people were gone, I could finally sit on the floor in front of the spiny lobsters.

I like to draw in museums and zoos because it is a great ego boost to have kids tell you “wow are you a ARTIST?!”  in a half-question, half-statement kind of way.  I usually try to be encouraging to kids who like to draw and also the ones who say “I can never draw like that!” by telling them that everyone can draw with practice and drawing what they see.  But I do have to concentrate sometimes so I can’t talk to everyone.

The spot near the bat rays was super-challenging and  totally distracting. Close to the touch-tank, so constant schpiel from the touch-tank volunteer about keeping the animals in the water, and the feet on the star fish. Next to the employee break- room so constant coming and going.  The bat rays and skates are in one of the large side tanks of what used to be the marine theater trio of pools. There’s a big concrete ledge in front of the window for the small kids to climb onto in front of me. As a result of all this people activity, I could not get an hang on drawing the swimming rays, which is too bad because they are make for quite interesting picture as the move around in schools.

I finished off the day with a refreshingly sedate group of Barracuda and Moray Eels.  They don’t move much and the tank is sort of off in the corner, so they are sort of relaxing to work on.  Would love to do something more with the Eels… there are a ton of them in there!

Also, huge news, I got accepted into the Science Illustration Program in Monterey! So excited!  So panicked about moving!