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Her Royal Majesty – Manatee Mer – is adorned with thousands of shells, crab claws, and sea urchins collected on the shores of Sanibel and Captiva. She proudly wears her royal cape – outlined in Florida Fighting Conchs, embellished with her royal seal of Pen Shell Hearts, Lion’s Paw, and more. In addition to the fabulous cape, she has two stunning collars and of course – her crown includes a Junonia topper. With so much magical detail, she will delight all who come to see her!

ARTIST: GINNY DICKINSON

A native of Fort Myers, Ginny Simpson Dickinson has no formal training in art. Her thirty-year financial career was as a bean counter (CPA/CFO).

Turning 50 a few years back included a personal challenge to try 50 new things and a promise to ‘do something’ with an ever-increasing loot pile of locally collected seashells. She tried making something with her shells – and now the manatee is the third in a series of large public art pieces. A confirmed biophilic, inspired by the surrounding nature, she collects shells, leaves, sticks, seeds, moss, bark, rocks, bugs, bones, fossils, drift wood and anything else Nature offers. She feels beyond blessed to be born and living in paradise.