The first illustration of the book Looking for Marla, where a famous clownfish contemplates how they will manage to be a single father, let alone a single mother in just a few more days. 

They set out to discover the magic that is successful parenting, by seeking advice from a plethora of diverse marine critters... 

The first mentor of motherhood he encounters is a female turtle, who has just laid her eggs on the beach. She leaves them there, hoping for the very best. She doesn't even know what sex her children will be, as it is up to the mercy of a changing climate. 

The second stop on the clownfish's crusade brings him to some less traditional examples of parenthood, the mouthbrooding jawfish and belly-brooding seahorse. These progressive dads advocate for paternal leave so they can brood their young, in their mouths or in their pouches, until their young are ready to swim away and greet the world. 

The clownfish, on a quest to discover the secrets of parenthood, meets a crew of bluestreak cleaner wrasses (Labroides dimidiatus) who explain their own fascinating parental dynamics. The male has a semi-permanent cleaning posse of himself and his two lady friends, who run this mom-n'-mom-n'-pop cleaning station.

This ferocious looking eel is one of their many faithful customers. However, if you look closely, one of the females is "cheating" (a legit scientific term), by taking a piece of skin and mucus from the eel. This not only annoys their customers, but also gives the female a nutritional boost that might allow her to grow bigger than her male cleaning partner. If the female "cheats" too much, the female can become bigger than the male and the female will transition to a male, while the male will turn back into a female. Therefore, the male discourages this cheating behavior as it both jeapordizes their business and the male's masculinity.

In the next scene, the clownfish ventures into the Blue Lagoon, a bustling night club that welcomes critters from all walks [swims?] of life, representing diverse sexual preferences and identities, from simultaneously hermaphroditic sea slugs and sea snails to heterosexual flamboyant cuttlefish, and more! 

Here, our intimidating goby bouncer inspects the sexual maturity certificate of a small snail, assuring they are of age to enter the club. Behind them, a slough of other animals wait their turn, including a photosynthetic sea slug, a flamboyant cuttlefish, and a banded sea krait. A celebrating disco clam lures them into the club with its flashing mantle, while an angler fish calmly sits by, illuminating the scene above a gregarious ribbon eel and its new nudi friend.

The entrance to the night club is based off of the Federal Building at the UN Plaza in San Francisco, where activists chained themselves to this door in support of the HIV/AIDS Vigil, requesting increased allocation of government funds to education and research combatting the epidemic. 

Behold the fabulous & voluptuous puffer queen "Mama", the ultimate mentor of motherhood. Here she is performing amidst the decorative folds of a giant clam at the Blue Lagoon, inspiring the masses with her confidence, warmth, love, and compassion. Her mentorship will allow the clownfish to relax into their newfound role as a mother, and recognize the true, universal values of parenthood. 

This puffer queen, Mama, was a brilliant idea from one of the queer and transgender youth participants of a brainstorming workshop held by Paloma and myself at the Diversity Center Santa Cruz.

Reflection and discovery. The ultimate motherhood mentor and voluptuous pufferfish, Mama, brims with pride as she shows Marla that although she has transitioned to a new sex, her true identity is unchanged.