2020 Year in Review

2020 has been a difficult year for all; from quarantine to the economy, panic buying and mental health decline, people losing their jobs and losing their lives… this year will inevitably go down in history as one of the hardest years for our generation.

As this year closes, I wanted to take a moment and look back at what I have done as an artist and as a human being going through the motions of 2020.

Here are some of my silver linings for the very dark times of 2020;

Started my first children’s book

I started my first children’s book this year, Forest Friends ABC’s. After speaking with my mentor though, I’ve decided not to self publish.

Instead will be sending it around to publishers first to see if I can get it published the old fashioned way!

Mermaiding

Yup, that’s right! I started Mermaid training on October first this year and it completely changed my life. I wanted to find something that would be me outside, back into nature after quarantine. I live on the beach here in Sydney, but I can’t surf and I suck at most sporty things. So I wanted to find something that I could do.

I’m not sure if I found Mermaiding, or if mermaiding found me, but through this amazing endeavour I have reconnected with nature, connected with an incredible community and connected with myself. Through Mermaid training, I found my inner wild woman, made incredible new friends (yes there is a whole community of mermaids out there around the world!) and started to love myself again. There’s just something about putting on a mermaid tail and slipping into the ocean that screams love yourself girl! I’ve never felt so wild or free, and after three months of training I feel like I can do anything!

Mermaid Lauren

So, I pretty much had to start a webcomic about mermaiding, am I right? My new mini-series webcomic, Mermaid Lauren is available on Tapas and on the website here.

I’ve had so much fun mermaiding, and there are so many funny things that happen behin the scenes that I wanted to share!

Sydney Mermaids

Is 2020 my year of Mermaids? Why, yes. Yes it is!!!

I’ve teamed up with some other lovely mermaids I met at a Mermeet here in Oz to bring you Sydney Mermaids!

We are a group of real life Mermaids in Sydney, Australia that work with ecofriendly and local businesses for promotion, inspire joy and help improve mental health and body confidence in Sydney.

We love helping our planet with Beach Cleanups and educating people on howto keep our oceans clean, doing Mermaid Popups, Community Events and festivals when they come back.

We have a lot planned for 2021, so stay tuned! Check out our website or follow us on Social Media for updates!

Wishing you all a better and brighter future!

Xx

Lauren Metzler

#mermaids #mermaidillustrator #mermaidart #mermaidlife #mermaidgoals #mermaiddreams #sydneyillustrator