October 19, 2001

12:03 PM

"Sometimes you just have to make the cats."Civil War buffs Ruth and Rebecca Brown have created thousands of clay cats in Union and Confederate uniforms.... the twins bring history to life by creating sweeping battle scenes and dioramas of dramatic moments, as interpreted with clay cats. Via Obscure Store. (and here comes mr. hand, Oh Noooooooo!)
posted by dchase (35 comments total)

Just goes to show you that some people are still able to take Whacked to a whole new level.
posted by PeterOA at 12:05 PM on October 19, 2001

There latest project: the Battle of Gettysburg.

Let's hear it for copy editing, eh?
posted by starvingartist at 12:05 PM on October 19, 2001

Aaaaaahh! Linda Brown! That's my Mom's name! This has got to be some kind of weird karma.

One other comment - they were homeschooled for 12 years. 'nuff said.
posted by starvingartist at 12:08 PM on October 19, 2001

That's pretty neat. And it is relaxing. My father and I painted 20mm "bastard scale" Napoleonic figures when I was in high school. I think he has well over 10,000 done for a 40 year hobby. The fact that these girls not only painted these figures, but made 4,000 of them from clay, tells me that they have plenty of time on their hands.
posted by samsara at 12:17 PM on October 19, 2001

Ooooookayyyyyyyy....

--Modeling thousands of clay cats............eccentric
--Modeling thousands of clay cats wearing Civil War battle gear...........unhealthy
--Modeling thousands of clay cats wearing Civil War battle gear to look DEAD.............there are no words
posted by thewittyname at 12:21 PM on October 19, 2001

Sadly, these two girls are guaranteed to die virgins.
posted by Sal Amander at 12:22 PM on October 19, 2001

This story made me very, very happy.
posted by moss at 12:27 PM on October 19, 2001

Greatest. Link. EVAR!
posted by aramaic at 12:29 PM on October 19, 2001

Rigorously Academic. Unapologetically Christian. Fun looking college these girls go to.
posted by phoenix enflamed at 12:39 PM on October 19, 2001

Those are girls?
posted by kfury at 12:40 PM on October 19, 2001

If not the "Greatest. Link. Evar!," dangerously close. Things like this make me very happy I joined up with the MeFi Army. I love the sentence: "The twins said they've yet to meet others who do what they do."

Just so the girls stay safely back in the 1860s, and keep away from creating little Plastalina cat terrorists.
posted by LeLiLo at 1:06 PM on October 19, 2001

"I've found that home-schooled kids, when they get to be around 11 or so, don't have the peer pressure some other kids do. So they developed their natural abilities." = Not having developed the self-restraint to be allowed out in public.

I always wanted to rip my clothes off in public and engage in llama...

wait.

I'm oversharing.

Never mind.

I must have developed the above mentioned self-restraint.

Do you think the twins like pancakes? "Hey sis, it's Friday night, no dates for us! We're going to stay in, make pancakes and clay kitten soldiers, woo woo!"
posted by ebarker at 1:08 PM on October 19, 2001

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0517545160/
posted by NortonDC at 1:22 PM on October 19, 2001

Man, I hate it when chicks get implants.
posted by NortonDC at 1:23 PM on October 19, 2001

So, was the picture reversed or is the sultry one wearing her watch Osama-style?
posted by NortonDC at 1:29 PM on October 19, 2001

There was a post some weeks back about Magnificent Obsessions...this certainly qualifies.

I've got to say, this is a definite parable about the dangers of Christian home-schooling. Yikes!
posted by me3dia at 1:35 PM on October 19, 2001

"The new cats are nice and spiffy and slim.

Spiffy?
posted by malmec at 1:37 PM on October 19, 2001

See what happens when you don't let your kids watch enough TV?
posted by Sal Amander at 2:04 PM on October 19, 2001

Seems like home schooled kids are the new "MK"s -- "Missionaries' Kids". If you've never met one, just think of a PK (Preacher's Kid) to the "n"th power. "MK"s never quite fit in at the college I attended, because they were raised in a different culture and seldom interacted with anyone their own age. Very odd folks.
posted by mooncrow at 2:13 PM on October 19, 2001

Hey, give the girls a break. It's a hobby! A very weird hobby, but still...nobody's getting hurt. Wish I had that much free time.

Hope PETA doesn't find out about this, or these girls are in deep kitty poop.
posted by groundhog at 2:16 PM on October 19, 2001

These girls go to Messiah College. MESSIAH College.
posted by aaron at 2:24 PM on October 19, 2001

all i want to know is where can i buy the chess set edition.
posted by lescour at 3:04 PM on October 19, 2001

The one on the left has a really large left hand.
posted by mmarcos at 3:06 PM on October 19, 2001

See what happens when you don't let your kids watch enough TV?

When I was their age I was make little clay cats based on the A-Team.
posted by electro at 3:22 PM on October 19, 2001

Hmm... I think this sounds like a damned cool hobby. Does that make me weird?
posted by moss at 3:24 PM on October 19, 2001

Not weird at all, moss. I think it's pretty cool, myself.
posted by Kikkoman at 3:28 PM on October 19, 2001

This is definitely more cool than deliberate multiple posting!
posted by Carol Anne at 3:28 PM on October 19, 2001

This is really sweet. Thanks dchase.
posted by Grangousier at 3:33 PM on October 19, 2001

Sadly, these two girls are guaranteed to die virgins.

Are you kidding?! Look at all of the pussy they've gotten!
posted by JDC8 at 6:50 PM on October 19, 2001

150 years ago, home-schooling and childhood war fantasies gave us the Brontë sisters. Either these two have great careers as novelists ahead of them, or the end of days is near.
posted by holgate at 8:00 PM on October 19, 2001

So, like, my husband's father was like, a doctor, y'know? And we had this, like, garage sale...? And we put the, um, speculums on the "for sale cheap" table...? And, like, the little kids who came with their mothers wanted to know what they were...? And so, like, I told them they were, like, ducks...? And the kids grabbed 'em and were playing with them, going, like "quack quack quack"...? And then the mothers didn't want to come to our garage sale anymore.

Oops, sorry, I thought we were sharing...
posted by airgirl at 8:09 PM on October 19, 2001

Now I have seen everything.

This is eerily reminiscent of some antique/craft mall statues I saw years ago. One was a statue of a cat licking it's own butt. Realistically painted as a tabby with a red collar. $50. I am sure people purchased these.

I wonder if these young ladies are related to that, um, artist. I hope the real world is not too rough on them.
posted by ilsa at 8:23 PM on October 19, 2001

speculums : An instrument for dilating the opening of a body cavity for medical examination.

now we're learning.

my cat's breath smells like cat food.
posted by hotdoughnutsnow at 8:27 PM on October 19, 2001

What I want to know is: Which one is the "wild and crazy" twin?
posted by jjg at 12:47 AM on October 20, 2001

Are there ceramic cats with missing legs dying of gangrene? Can I get a full feline Confederate prison camp with piles of dead dysynteric Union cats stacked up like cordwood and set on fire? Is there a scale model of "Catlanta" with Union troops throwing kerosene into homes and offices?

Otherwise, it's not providing the full feline blue-and-gray experience, is it?
posted by basilwhite at 10:05 AM on October 25, 2001