On account of the dreaded pirates that have been terrorizing Nefarious’s Playmobile universe, we built a jail cell for the worst offenders. It’s made out of some Fimo, BBQ skewers, and a bunch of silver spray paint (yes, it’s a little blobby). The skewers are exactly the right size to be fit their hands!

I added some more layers to this painting to try and give it more depth, and a rainbow because I like them. It’s approaching completion, and probably will only need a couple hours more — click it to zoom in.

I worked a bit more on The Blind Leading The Blind, building up the texture and making the colours a little less “flat”. Of course it’s in an unlined state right now, but you can see it’s much nicer than in the previous post. You can click it to zoom in, and after the break there are two projects that Nefarious did today — each is a portrait of Caitlin.

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This still needs a lot of work and I’m not so happy with it at present (it’s also a poor photo), but I did a little bit more painting on this project…

I decided to do a new painting based on one of my favorite classic paintings, “The Blind Leading the Blind” by Pieter Bruegel the Elder (1568). It’s of course based on Matthew 15:14;

Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.

This came after some debate on the specifics of religious ritual (which is why Bruegel would have chosen it I’m sure, as that was a big issue during his time); with Jesus saying that it’s not what goes into your mouth that defiles you, but what comes out of your mouth, explaining (my paraphrase):

What you eat passes through you and leaves your body, but the words you speak come from your heart, and when evil comes from your heart, these defile you — eating with dirty hands will never defile you.

The reference itself is actually from the Katha Upanishad (about 900 BC, Vedic), which was first translated into Persian, and later made it into Europe and has been widely referenced;

The Hereafter never rises before the thoughtless child (the ignorant), deluded by the glamor of wealth. “This world alone is, there is none other”: thinking thus, he falls under my sway again and again.

There are many in the world, who, puffed up with intellectual conceit, believe that they are capable of guiding others. But although they may possess a certain amount of worldly wisdom, they are devoid of deeper understanding; therefore all that they say merely increases doubt and confusion in the minds of those who hear them. Hence they are likened to blind men leading the blind. The Hereafter does not shine before those who are lacking in the power of discrimination and are easily carried away therefore by the charm of fleeting objects. As children are tempted by toys, so they are tempted by pleasure, power, name and fame. To them these seem the only realities. Being thus attached to perishable things, they come many times under the dominion of death. There is one part of us which must die; there is another part which never dies. When a man can identify himself with his undying nature, which is one with God, then he overcomes death.

As it is often said that one should read the book instead of watching the movie, it’s often better to read Vedic scripture than Christian scripture. Anyway… Sorry about the poor photo.

I hope she doesn’t write me out of her will for this.

This is what we do when it’s not nice enough outside to ride bikes. It was my first time baking sugar cookies and I was surprised by how dense the dough was (it has virtually no liquids in it at all).  Then we all pitched in and decorated them with icing and sprinkles.

Yum!

There is still some minor touch-up required (the water around the big bear most obviously) and of course it needs a frame, but I think this is coming along quite nicely. You can click it to zoom in to a higher resolution version (although it looks better in person — my camera just can’t capture the subtle tone gradients, as well as the fact that you can’t really get just how textured it is).

To those who’ve been asking I’ll probably set up an online shop for both originals and prints soon. Thank you for the support in this!

Well, I started this project a long time ago, had all the pattern pieces and eyes picked out, plastic bead stuffing bought and everything pinned together…and, well, put into a bag and stashed in my closet. Then I finally set up one of my sewing machines to make a blackout curtain so I decided to get to work.

I love the pattern, but next time I will alter it a lot, as there are lots of problems with it, notably the arms and legs are too skinny (and I couldn’t even turn the ears right way out) and there isn’t any neck to attach body to head. The solid pink fabric is wool, the floral body is print cotton, vintage fabrics from my costuming days.

I do like her, and she will find a home somewhere in this house.

Oatmeal Coconut Cookies

2 sticks butter (yes, a whole cup), softened
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 cups Quaker® Oats
1 cup coconut
1 cup raisins

Preheat oven to 350.

In large bowl, beat butter and sugars until creamy.

Add eggs and vanilla extract; beat well.

Add combined flour, baking soda and salt; mix well. Add oats and coconut; mix well. Add raisins, combine.

Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.

Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool 1 minute on cookie sheets; remove to wire rack. Cool completely. Store tightly covered.

I considered adding chocolate chips or cinnamon, but I really like how they are crazy buttery and awesome.

Make them, eat them, try not to cry tears of utter joy.