Sad but true, baby harp seals up until fairly recently were hunted for their pelts – the fashion industry could not get enough of them:
While seal hunting still continues today for food, oil and pelts, the clubbing of baby harp seals has largely been banned. Continue reading
Always looking for a nice Xmas tree topper, this little angel is designed by Leonardo Pulido Martinez and was presented in one of my BOS journals:
Had accuracy (and my Spanish) been better, I would also have hands (fingers) on this little model but I started with an almost square and crease drift occurred towards the end. Continue reading
…then my wife casually asked if I could line some cake tins:
A simple fold, unequalled as a way of protecting a fruit cake from extended baking – the outer layer is 35cm square kraft paper, inner is 25cm greaseproof paper, they fit snugly in the tins. Later they will protect the maturing cake as it regularly bathes in rum. Continue reading
People I work with know my OCD tendencies. When it was casually suggested that I might consider folding a Nativity scene for the end of year celebrations, it was a forgone conclusion that I would:
The assembled figures (each nearly 30cm tall) form quite a striking display – hopefully one that works for the display space – we shall see. Clearly Christmas is just around the corner, with this scene, it is beginning to look a lot like … well … christmas.
We have on the left, 3 kings, bringing gifts (bronze waterbombs are quite the thing this year). Centre there is an angel, looking over a mother, father and child. Bringing up the rear is a random shepherd … because … the scene needed balance.
So the challenge to render a more feminine figure, seated, as if tending something was on:
Using a variation of the generic judaian I managed to change the head, add knees and change the posture so sitting is suggested. Continue reading
So the next challenge was to render a babe, in swaddling clothes:
Using principles garnered from an adult fold, I sort of MacGuivered a larger-proportion head, wrapped the body and presto. Continue reading
…now when you want to fold someone from ancient Jerusalem, the options are few and far between. I stumbled across a design, again by Max Hulme, that will, with modification, do nicely:
My generic Judaian is wrangled from a 50cm square of thick Kraft paper, and ends up being about 25cm tall all up. Continue reading
Cruising around the internet, as one does, I stumbled across a thumbnail graphic of a diagram that appears somewhere else and sort of just worked it out:
This is loosely based on an angel design by Max Hulme. Continue reading
I have this image in my head – last day of Dalek highschool, a bunch of Daleks more and more excitedly rattling off “Matriculate! Matriculate!”:
Yesterday another cohort of seniors left school to join the journey to the next phase of their life. I am blessed to have taught some of them. For a teacher there is no greater gift than an enquiring mind that wants to learn. Continue reading
For what seems like an age, Australia has been torn apart by a divisive postal survey that the incumbent government decided was the best way to determine what the right thing to do was:
Ignoring world trends, common decency and justice, we “voted” on whether 2 people who love each other should be allowed to marry. Labelled the “Same Sex Marriage Debate”, it became an embarrassing mud slinging match as conservative bigots surfaced all sorts of reasons why this was a bad idea.
Thankfully, the majority (61%) of Australians said “Yes”, this (theoretically) now means the government has a MANDATE (hahaha, sorry, my inner 7 year old took over for a moment) to change our constitution so “Marriage” becomes a union between a loving couple, regardless of gender, orientation, hair colour, religion, IQ or political ideology. Continue reading
The poppy has become a symbol of remembrance, reverence and honour:
A humble flower capable of thriving in the harshest of conditions, flourishing under duress with a beautiful, if short-lived ephemeral flower. Something existential to learn here for all of us. Continue reading
Australia does not really have a tradition of Halloween, it seems to me a cultural import that encourages the worst sort of excesses – a point I tried to explain to a small halloweenie dressed as a fairy who came knocking on my door on this day a few years back:
It did not go as well as planned, needless to say I am now labelled “the grinch” of our street and little kids scuttle past our place in costume afraid of the bad man in that house. Continue reading
People process loss in different ways. 10 years ago a friend lost her fight with cancer and I am still saddened by the loss of such a bright and affirming soul:
While I could not bring myself to attend a memorial mass, none the less I still feel the loss. I chose to find solace in the many wonderful memories of a friend and confidante. Continue reading
For some reason the republic of Australia still has ties to a monarchy that is completely irrelevant to us but somehow, ultimately, still controls aspects of our government:
I decided to celebrate the public holiday (yay, I accept the holiday, just reject the reason) by folding a crown. Continue reading
First day of the new month, one superstition seems to be to say “White Rabbits” as the first thing you say that day – not sure why:
This is Fernando Castellanos’ rabbit, taken from DOT2, and it seems, designed to be folded on a MUCH larger sheet of paper than this. Continue reading
