Clearly she got it wrong, because if I had done it my way, it would have been a mosaic. When I first imagined a word out of glass, I made them to have the sun flow through the word, but then came collaborations with Mosaic Woman. Oh what a joy. No background pieces, no foiling, no soldering, no glueing into a frame (not to mention all the hope that it will fit in the frame), no attaching chain to the frame. Just glue down the word and hand it to Mosaic Woman, who I trusted to create a splendid background. Like I said, clearly Robin commissioned the wrong thing. I need to stop listening to friends, who keep insisting I push my talents. Thanks.
Margaret Almon's Rainbow of Pendants complimentary pairings
It has been an amazing list of characters that have helped support us for the past 24 months, which was the time we decided Mosaic Woman would end her job search, quit unemployment benefits, and emerge as a full-time artist. Kerri Farley has been one of those characters. If her name sounds familiar it could be you are well aware of her blog of nature photographs or my mention of how one of those photographs inspired my Blue Jay mosaic. Kerri wrote Mosaic Woman and suggested a giveaway to help build support of our work. The giveaway ends this Monday, December 3rd, so head over to her post, which happens to feature amazing photos of the pendant Kerri purchased and loved so much she wanted the world to know about it.
When commissioned to create something new, I never make two of it at the same time... However, something happened when my friend Di commissioned a Red-Tailed Hawk. Maybe it was the thought that I would very likely never make another one on my own volition? But that has been true in many situations, so maybe it was that one day I could make Di smile.
You see I didn't tell Di what I was up to till after the fact, and then only spoke of it with a twinge of guilt. But the hawks are not twins, for that would be impossible for me to do. They are siblings of a new species, Di's Red-Tailed Hawk. If I ever make a third or a fourth, they will have Di's name on it. She inspired it.
Now why do I finally blog about the sibling, well it is being sent to a new owner this week thanks to our etsy shop. I wonder if Di and the new owner would be great friends, but what I do know is that when Di reads this and leaves even the briefest of comments; I can guarantee that I will send her a message that will make her smile.
Once again, well for the second time, I have been asked to give a sermon at my church. And while I am not opposed to Jesus being the bread of life... I have become quite in need of the weekly Eucharist provided in my Episcopalian church... Psalm 130's message of hope clearly caught my eye.
Where did my hope come from, how did I emerge from despair, was there a moment in time that transformed me, what does unfolding with creation have to do with this
The Talisman dude has been blessing my life ever since a friend made it for Mosaic Woman ( I is for Iridized Glass.) and myself to bring us good luck on our journey from Oregon to Illinois in 1993. He has been with me ever since. When we moved into our own home, he made his way into my studio.
The other week, I did a favor for my friend, Snowcatcher, and she paid it back ten fold by offering up one of creations. As I gazed over the photos, a certain character caught my eye--->
Iluak is an Inuksuk. So I had to look it up because apparently my memory for the word given to Inuit stone figures had left my memory. I placed Iluak on top of the mirror which the Talisman dude hangs. Neither seemed to happy to be photographed there, so I plopped them down on top of the dresser and on to the pattern of our most recent collaboration:
I just had dinner with a large group of friends at my church. As I enter blogger land, I have decided to celebrate that I have been blessed to have stumbled upon some new blogs, so let me praise them:
1. Synch-ro-ni-zing--- Original poems, great photos, developing a love of jazz, a recent post on Detroit that is filled with hope... also check out her projects on Rumi and Rilke
2. Curt's Jazz Cafe--- I mentioned Curt back in July when I was talking about twitter and jazz, but failed to mention his blog. His recent take on obscure trumpet players has been quite educating and his end of the year best of list gives me a chance to catch up a bit on what I have missed.
3. Our Little Family--- I am so loving what happens here most Thursdays and that is all I have to say.
4. Art Propelled--- When Mosaic Woman's sister moved to South Africa, Mosaic Woman, hoped to find some interesting blogs from there. Just so happened I had just found a blog by a wood carver.
5. Sew On and On--- She has stormed from being a twitter follower to flickr contact to blog reader to facebook friend. Check out her Thankfulness Installation, which she has been highlighting for the past several weeks.
6. Snowcatcher--- OK, so I may not be planning a ride up Pike's Peak this summer, like she is, but her passion for bicycling has my heart aching for what used to bring it so much joy. Her photography like so many of these bloggers makes me humble.
7. Blue Lion Blog --- A science teacher with a passion for nature and photography. His relatively recent post on Yellowstone had me flashing back to when I was 13 years old.
these and a few others just got added to my blog roll today.
2. Lesson Plan Nonsense: With another storm appearing to possibly cause delays and or cancellations of school this week, I really feel like scrapping the whole lesson plan thing. Anyone willing to discuss this with my supervisor?
3. The emotional unrest: I am generally OK with uncertainty, but along with medical test results, I do not do well with snow. The idea of driving out into what may be a nightmare or may be a smooth commute unsettles me. On Wednesday while stuck at a red light, I watched cars making right hand turns down a rather steep transition to the road where I sat. Then I hoped that the garbage truck also kept its traction as it came down in my direction.
4. Snow Days: I don't love them as much as many of my colleagues, because if it snows that much it means I will be:
sore the next day
annoyed by parking in my neighborhood for days if not weeks
and stir crazy from being snowed in
4 b) However:
I don't have to live out that anxiety of driving to work
I can have bonus time in the studio: come back on Tuesday and Thursday for details of what transpired this past Thursday.
Mosaic Woman and I can usually walk to an open restaurant (unless it is a truly amazing storm) and leave a big tip to a brave waitress, who made it to work on a day that I was given off)
5 Snowcatcher's snowcatchers
I had visited this blog a few times before I saw why it is called snowcatcher. Check out her snowcatchers then take a look at the blog as a whole to see some amazing nature and bicycling photography.
6. Snow Lightning: We had some Wednesday night, which is not a good sign if you desire just a dusting (think of a thunderstorm that only produces a drizzle). I had Thursday off from teaching. Have you experience it?
7. Snow Leopards:
an animal which will likely not be seen by many of us for two reasons: one needs to get above 10,000 feet and they are becoming very rare. Years ago I read a book about them by Peter Matthiessen that I may just want to revisit. What I remember from the book was the passion for nature expressed by the author and being shocked by a map that used swastikas to mark off where Buddhist temples were located. I had not known the long history of the symbol and to this day I wish we could steal it back from the hatred it has become associated with because of Nazi Germany.
While taking a break from preparing for the Belsnickel craft show, I read a short story while my oil was being changed...
Near the end, a woman decides to help a person who was asking for food in order to feed his dog. She turns and sees a man with an empty tin cup...
He had seen. And I was giving him---- nothing.
How far do you take a thing like this? I think you take it all the way to heart. We give what we can----- that's as far as the heart can go.
from ..Nashville Gone To Ashes by Amy Hempel.
This past Sunday I heard the great Judgment classic sermon on Christ is King.
Over at Quantum Theology, my friend Michelle wrote about trying to see Christ in the poverty poverty one experiences while walking the streets of Philadelphia.
How to respond? I will steal the above... The key is to take it to the heart. The response will arise and we may all respond differently.
a lousy night of sleep, well, till 4:19 AM it was going fine sent the end of the work week to a groggy point in time. I was glad to see Gannet Girl had written a post, but it sent me in a tail spin.
She spoke of how hearing others say it is impossible to imagine the pain you are feeling is not helpful. So some ancient part of my brain responds... "how dare she say that I can't say I can't imagine this pain. How could I imagine it." I take a nap. I read a short story. I start roasting an Asian eggplant, a patty pan squash, a red onion, and a two pound German Pink tomato. I think of a response. I start an e-mail to GG. I ramble on as words and thoughts remain a mess. I break away to eat the roasted veggies (first adding a can of beans, some salt, some pepper, and some balsamic vinegar).
As I nourish my body, Iggy (Saint Ignatius) and his Jesuit thugs slap me silly. "Stratoz, how can you tell GG and yourself that you can't imagine? Have you not imagined yourself into the life of Jesus? Have we taught you nothing about imaginative prayer?" I go to the gym to workout. I go to bed.
This morning Mosaic Woman headed out for breakfast with a friend. I headed to my chair of contemplation. I don't think it had that name at the store.
I imagine I am GG at a Jesuit retreat center... I am eating in silence with my fellow retreaters as I have a memory of a movie I saw years ago. I leave the cafeteria and check the message board. There is a note to call home. Stop, go back. I leave the cafeteria and there is no note on the board. I am sitting in my room reflecting on Jesus but thoughts of that movie scene keeps interrupting. A knock on the door. A spiritual director I adore guides me to her office. I have lost a son to death. I sit in silence, in prayer, in conversation, in lament. A Jesuit enters with a glass of wine. I will forever be grateful to the love I feel in this room. I am back in my room. I am alone. I should be packing. I am sitting on my bed, feet on the ground, head lowered as it is held on by my hands... Stop Go, back. I am not alone. My husband is there. My head rests on his shoulder. Days pass. I am wondering how I am to believe what so many can't imagine. It is real. But how can it be? The movie scene does not leave me. Was the memory sent by God?
I rise from my chair of contemplation and clean the shower.
Mosaic Woman does not work the same hours every day, but there are two days of the week that allow us to commute together, if we choose to do so. On those days, she takes a shower while I eat breakfast, and check on the weather and e-mails. When I clicked on one from a blogger, I expected to see a simple response from a comment I had left the night before. Not a truly personal message
It asked me if I knew someone IRL. Then told me something devastating had happened to her. I responded that I had not known her In Real Life, but that I appreciated knowing what had happened.
Then I cried. Maybe because I couldn't imagine the pain she had in her soul. Maybe because I thought of the one death I truly feared living through and it is unimaginable.
I walked upstairs to shower and passed on the sad news. We left the house and I left the notes I had taken on the evolution of bacteria. The sad news sent MM into a funk and she read about my blogger friend at work. We talked about the sadness on the way home.
It was a good night to meet with friends who make us laugh. I wish that in this time of desolation my friend has some distractions too, even if brief. The taste of food given to nourish her. The flash of color from a bird she loves. I wish her peace in this time.
I have a student who would be happy spending all his time connecting with people on the computer. I have heard many say that computer relationships are not real. I am grateful to experience both. In my introverted nature folk who know me IRL are getting to know me better through this blog. I spent yesterday curious about that phrase IRL. This woman traveled with me through the spiritual exercises. She knows me well. I have traveled with her through a year of her life including praying for her as she completed CPE this summer. I know her well, in this life of mine. In my mind I see her experiencing what I can't imagine. I wish her comfort, peace, hope, joy, and love and call on God to send forth his spirit. I almost deleted "joy", wondering if it was wrong or strange or unexpected to wish for joy at this time. But then I thought, how could I not wish for moments of joy to enter into this sadness.
I started thinking about my lack of being an Evangelist for Christ when I read my friend's post about going door-to-door in his past. Then came an unexpected e-mail. Then before I could write about anything, another friend, who in the midst of describing what I did to my parents 30 years ago by describing her own son, informed me that the origin for martyr is a Greek word meaning witness. We have associated the word with what happened to early witnesses of the faith.
I am not one to go door to door, go on missionary trips, talk to strangers about faith, preach on street corners...
I do tell folk at work who ask, "are you going away over break," that I'm off for 8 days of silent retreat, and I do blog about how my walk through life is actually a journey with God. And that just may be what led to reading this line in the above mentioned e-mail...
".... Thank you for your good work in helping Catholic teachers and catechists with their faith mission."
As a man who is not Catholic I was impressed that I was managing this act, but considering the e-mail was addressed to some character named Statoz, yes the 'r" was missing, I am assuming this employee of Loyola Press ( a Jesuit press) had found my blog. It would not be hard to read all or some of the posts I have tagged: Jesuit, Ignatius..., and make the assumption that I was a Catholic.
So I am grateful that this woman sees my writing as a help to those trying to plant seeds of faith, for who knows, maybe my writing here has helped someone. I did not tell her I was not Catholic, but I did ask her to send me the review copy of a soon to be published book which was offered to me in the e-mail. It may just help me plant seeds as I continue this journey with God.
