Friday, September 21, 2012

International Day of Peace

He Ping

'Peace' in Mandarin, spoken in China

Yu Yuan Garden national monument

Today, September 22, 2012 is International Peace Day.
What a wonderful idea!
Let's celebrate peaceful images today,
and 'peace' in some international languages.

peace around the world

Rafi
'peace' in the Northern Sami language, spoken in Finland

Peace dove by Picasso found at www.planetpals.com


Paz
how to say 'peace' in Portugal

kirigami cutting by inkspired

Santiphaap

how to say Peace in Thailand
Peace Dove watercolor
 
 Sliem
'peace' in Maltese, spoken in Malta

'Day Dreaming at the Well' original Collage Paper Painting by inkspired

Amniat

'peace' in the Pashto language, spoken in Pakistan


a statue of Mahatma Gandhi
no photo creds - if you know, please tell me so I can credit it properly
 
a scherenschnitte pattern for you, I believe it is from an out of print BackStreet book
Place the cutting on a fold, and cut both sides at once.


Pau
'peace' in the Valencia language, spoken in Spain


in the 'for the home' section

a coloring page from a Noah's Ark coloring book,
courtesy of Dover Books
 
Uxolo
'peace' in the Xhosa language, spoken in South Africa


Hasani (means handsome in Swahili) with his surrogate mom, Bawang.
photo cred: Marcio Jose Sanchez

a beading pattern for you to do in peyote or brick stitch
c. Mary J. Tafoya, 1998


Freda

'peace' in the Alsatian language, spoken in France

peace-dove painting by Douglas Schneider found at www.fineartamerica.com


Hetep

'peace' in the Egyptian language, spoken in Egypt
 
kirigami cutting by inkspired

Cutu
'peace'  in the Nganazan (Siberia native) language, spoken in Russia

a polar bear at peace
photo credit: Martin Meissner

That's all for today.
I hope you have found today's blog
peaceful.

inkspired

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Nursery Rhyme Time with 3 Blind Mice

nyeinjanyei
or

Nrim-khyam-ye

'Peace' in the *Burmese language

*also known as Myanmar

'Burma's Defenders'
3 Burmese monks praying
www.hrw.org by Platon for Human Rights Watch

Welcome to my new Burmese readers!
For those of you who don't know,
Burma is the correct name of the country
that the news insists on calling 'Myanmar'.
It isn't.
It is Burma.
Myanmar is the name that guerrillas have called the country
that they have violently overthrown the government.
The UN recognizes the country of 'Burma'.
It does not recognize any country named 'Myanmar'.
The people call themselves 'Burmese'.

For more information,
google 'Aung San Suu Kyi'

Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi

Oh, and just a quick comment here -
We should ask ourselves why the news media
newspaper, TV, radio, etc.
have been calling a country with such a rich, long history
by a name that violent guerrillas have given it,
instead of what the country is actually named.

It would be like calling Egypt
Rome-42
instead of 'Egypt'.

or should we say
'the country formerly known as Holland'
instead of
The Netherlands?

In case you haven't noticed,
an impartial news coverage is currently non-existent.
News publications and live 'news' have an agenda.
Just make sure it is your agenda, before you believe
everything you see written
or
everything you hear on the 'news'.

clip from toonpool.com


Okay, okay, I'm off my give-a-speech pedestal!!!
:0)

On to Three Blind Mice!!





This is usually the first song students learn to play
on new musical instruments in the United States!

a limited edition print www.zuill.us

So, what does the simple rhyme mean, if anything?
I mean, blinded mice...
mice chasing a woman...
a woman chopping off mouse tails...
WHAT????!!??

an 1889 illustration of the nursery rhyme

Gathered from




and


here's what I found:

The 'wife' in the verse may be Mary I, the daughter of King Henry VIII of England
and  Catherine of Aragon, his first wife.

Queen Mary I of England

Mary had a hard life, what with her father King Henry VIII naming her the successor to the throne, then declaring her illegitimate, then putting her back in the succession,
refusing to let her see her mother the last 5 years of Catherine's life,
being a devout Catholic in a country that was 'Church of England' territory...
and many, many unnamed injustices and slights she had to endure.

This led to her being, shall we say, grouchy?


Mary I's nickname was 'Bloody Mary'.
She was very determined to bring England back to being
a Catholic country.
That meant being a Protestant, including Church of England,
was a big no-no.
So big in fact that if you were found to be Protestant
it was 'off-with-your-head' time.

an ebay listing by 77maddog   www.ebay.com

It is also considered a clue that Mary I and her husband King Philip II of Spain
owned large estates - thus she was a 'farmer's wife'.

From a 1911 'Our Old Nursery Rhymes' book;
illustration by H. Willebeck LeMair, arranged by Alfred Moffat.

The 'Three Blind Mice' in the rhyme may refer to
Bishop Hugh Latimer
Bishop Nicholas Ridley
and
Archbishop of Cantebury Thomas Cranmer.

Three Blind Mice ACEO Mouse Art by www.SteviT.etsy.com

All three of these reforming churchmen were Anglicans
and preached Protestant theology -
which is in direct contrast to many Catholic tenets.

Bishop Hugh Latimer found at www.clarealumni.com

Bishop Nicholas Ridley found at www.en.wikipedia.org

The three churchmen were convicted of plotting against the Queen.
Keep in mind Mary I was Catholic
and Latimer, Ridley and Cranmer were Protestant.

found on www.flickr.com - cindy4752 photostream


Bishop Latimer and Bishop Ridley were burned at the stake,
with Archbishop Cranmer forced to watch.
Cranmer was kept alive for other purposes....

Archbishop Thomas Cranmer, artist may be Holbein.

3 blind mice figurines - www.happywadeing.com

...that would be the
 'let's torture him until he confesses to something we want him to confess to'.
A popular theme in Middle Ages history.

1917 illustration by Margaret Evans Price

Later (think torture), after watching his colleagues burn at the stake,
Archbishop Cranmer recanted
and repudiated (that means 'I didn't mean what I said')
Protestant theology. He rejoined the Catholic faith.
hmmm...
Still, Queen Mary I refused to release him from the death penalty.

On the day he was to be burned at the stake,
he made a dramatic announcement before the crowds -
who had gathered for the 'fun' of watching him burn -

He withdrew his recantation!
That means, he said 'I didn't really mean it when I said
I gave up the Protestant beliefs,
and became a Catholic.'
BIG doggy doo-doo on the face of the Catholic accusers.

Also a strong testament to the fact
that torture can make someone say anything.
Take note, US military creeps, that think torture
is an okay thing to do to prisoners.
Think Guantanamo Bay. Think Iraq.
A disgrace and a slap in the face to all true Americans.
oops, stepped onto my soapbox again!

illustration by Charles Folkard

So, let's recap:
The three blind mice were 3 Protestant churchmen (Latimer, Ridley & Cranmer).
Blind because they were not Catholic.

They ran after the farmer's wife, (Queen Mary I of England) -
'a plot to kill the queen' is the reason given.

The farmer's wife (the Queen) chops off their tails.
Or in the matter of history, burns them to death.

Such a gruesome little nursery rhyme!!

a closeup of James Christensen's Three Blind Mice

But then, Grimm's Fairy Tales were really gruesome!
I am currently re-reading them, in the original form.
Verrrry interesting!
Definitely not the Disney style of fairy tales!

We do tend to make things like nursery rhymes and fairy tales cute -
and how cute are 3 Blind Mice!

costumes for toddlers www.squidoo.com

That has to be one of my favorites!!
:0)

Here is a grown-up version:


and that is my second favorit-est!
I just love it when people get creative with their costumes.
No pre-made Wonder Woman costume for me, no sir!
But then, of course, I'm not really Wonder Woman size either.
No amount of costume cleverness could disguise that...


Here is a fun scherensnitte pattern from an out of print BackStreet Design:

and here is my cutting:

cutting by inkspired, background by Dover books

Let's make some Chocolate 'Church' Mice!!
This recipe/directions are from FamilyFunMagazine, inkspired version:


You're going to need:

>1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
>1 Tablespoon vegetable shortening
>48 dried apricots
>wooden skewers
>48 M&M Minis
>Black shoestring licorice
>24 dry-roasted peanut halves

How to:
1.  Place chocolate chips and shortening in a microwave-safe bowl.
        Microwave on high for 1 minute.
2.  Stir, and microwave for 1 minute more.
3.  Stir again, until smooth.
 For each mouse:
Press together 2 dried apricots and squish to make a small point
for the mouse's nose.
Thread them onto wooden skewers.

Dip them into the melted chocolate/shortening,
and place on a waxed-paper lined baking sheet.

Use a second skewer to push the mouse off the first skewer.
Use your fingertip to smoosh the chocolate to cover the hole left by the skewer.

Add M&M minis for eyes,
shoestring licorice for tails
and broken peanut halfs or quarters for ears.

Refrigerate until hardened.
Makes 24

Now is that cute or what??!!

If you don't know, Family Fun Magazine sends out e-mails with lots of super fun activities for all age groups. I don't currently have any small children
but I still find fun things to do and make there.

Did you know?
The Three Stooges used '3 Blind Mice' as one of 'their' songs?


stained glass at www.pdqpatterns.com

Did you know?
Jazz Artist Art Blakey has an album by the name '3 Blind Mice'?


Did you know?
There is a movie named 'Three Blind Mice' that starred
Loretta Young and Joel McCrea,
along with many other stars like David Niven and Jane Darwell?


So, after all,
3 blind mice can be pretty entertaining!


I wish I knew where to give credit for this charming sketch.
It appears to be a 'rough' for a cartoon.
If you know who to credit, please let me know!

Well, I hear laundry calling,
and the dirty kitchen floor crunching,
and Tanner is chasing me out of the office with
incredible
stinky
gas.
Time to close!
See you soon,
inkspired

Big Dog Tanner, trying to fit in a little space...
Note the HUGE bottom with HUGE capacities for gas...

Monday, September 10, 2012

Comments, Seashells and coloring books

Salama

"Peace" in the Swahili language, spoken in South Africa

Nelspruit, South Africa

Welcome to my blog today!

I have a blog all set on 'SEASHELLS',
but first I need to address a nasty comment submitted.
I suppose this happens to everyone, eventually, who writes blogs.
However, it is my first time, and I feel so wronged!!!

First, the person didn't leave any way for me to return a comment.
Frustrating.

no photo cred, found at www.ethnicwords.blogspot.com

Second, the accusation was completely untrue!
Hurt feelings here!


The comment went something like -
'you are an in-your-face photo thief who never gives photo creds'
ouch.
The funny thing is, by leaving only a first name, I'm guessing
the author was a photographer from a photo that I DID credit!!

So, let me reiterate (wonderful word of the day) -
If you find a photo, or puzzle, or anything on one of my blogs,
and you know who is the creator/photographer,
please
let me know so I can add the proper credit!
...as I have said again,
and again,
and again!
no photo cred, found at www.psychadminpartners.com

Now, on to more fun things!!!
:0)

Like Seashells!!!


I've been workiong on a line of notecards to sell in my mainly paper shop -

Here are just a couple of samples of the base images:


hand colored seashells, from Dover's Seashell coloring book
by inkspired

When I am in pain, and watching tv to get my mind off of it,
mostly movies that is...
I don't feel very creative.
But, I can't just sit there, so I color.
I have loved coloring since I was a small child.
We always had coloring books, and good crayons.

soy based Prang crayons, found at: www.ladyandtheblog.com

My mom liked to color also, so we would sit, sometimes just the 2 of us, sometimes the 3 of us (with my sister). She had a special box of crayons just for her, that were all sharp and new looking in the Crayola box with the fold up top and the crayon sharpener built in in the back.
Good times!
So, I continue to love to color. It is very relaxing.
I love the Dover Books series of coloring books.
I have many.

Dover coloring book by Jessica Mazurkiewicz

After finishing off some seashell pictures, using my new Fine Point permanent Sharpie marker set my Michael gave me, I really liked the finished result.

When turning the pages, I noticed that the back side of each page had such pretty designs from the permanent markers bleeding through!
Inspiration!
Here are just 4 examples. I'm not sure if I am going to add sparkle or glitter or whatever, yet.  I will be putting sets up for sale at:

Here are a few coloring pages for you to have fun with -
I like this one because it tells me what the different shell names are,
from Dover.

A coloring page courtesy of Jan Brett.
She has wonderful coloring pages you can download for free!

A wonderful large stamp from Peddler's Pack.
I LOVE their large stamps like this one!

Ruth Heller has a series of Designs for Coloring books printed by Dover
I especially like them, as the design is printed on one side,
and on the back side it is blank.
That means if there is bleed-through, it won't damage a second coloring page!
I really like that.
I have finished coloring in 'NatureScapes' by Patricia J. Wynne,
a Dover coloring book. I love the designs, but they are printed back to back, so I can only choose every other design to color, due to bleed-through.
Oh well.  Here's one I have finished:

NatureScapes by Patricia J. Wynne, Dover Books
colored by me!!

If you haven't smelled the familiar smell of crayons
or played with colored markers in a while,
why not color a coloring page today?
It truly is very relaxing,
 and then you'll have something you can hang up on your fridge!!
That is, for all you non-children households.
If you have kids, the space is all taken up with report cards,
art drawings, photographs, hand made magnets, etc.

Here are some seashells to inspire:

no photo cred - do you know?

Cloth of Gold Cone seashell, www.seashellsupply.etsy.com

knobby starfish, www.beachgrasscottage.etsy.com

Have a grand day!
:0)

inkspired