Sunlight and Clouds: 1 at the Jesuit Center in Wernersville PA by Wayne Stratz
On a splendid spring day I took my Earth and Space students outside and told them to look up at the clouds. Fifteen minutes later the class period was over. It meant something to some of them who told me they were now checking out clouds. When I am on Silent retreats I allow myself more time to look up and use my camera to try to preserve that moment in time. These were my favorite three from one particular photo shoot. look up.
Sunlight and Clouds: 2 at the Jesuit Center in Wernersville PA by Wayne Stratz
Sunlight and Clouds: 3 at the Jesuit Center in Wernersville PA by Wayne Stratz
Second day in a row of a letter that we have not ventured into, well at least to start a word. All those Hopes had O's. But as I considered the word Open I grew to like it more and more and can imagine it happening one day.
To be open to yourself so that you can be open to others.
To be open to new adventures no matter the uncertainty to where it will take you.
To be open to change, to refuse to be stagnant.
To be open to what the other side is saying so that middle ground can be found.
To be open to love.
To be open to a God that may not be the God you have been told about.
To be open to your part of disasters.
To be open to those who want to know you.
To be open to new music, new art, new neighbors, new bosses, ...
To be open to your imperfections
To be open to your talents
To be open to challenges you would rather avoid
To be open to the idea that your true self is ready to emerge.
To be open that you must let go to find that true self.
I spent my day with my students, who were so excited to be out and about in the gardens at my school. March was cold.
I came home a bit tired, but was excited to see how Margaret had finished off the background on what looked like this not so long ago when it left my studio ~
The client who ordered this chose the colors based on a welcome sign we had done in the past. Well, if you know us you know we love orange, and we surely love orange in our garden. So, who were we to refuse. Does the one word message, "Garden" take you to special place?
Here are orange scenes from gardens past ~
zinnia by Wayne Stratz
Midas the orange cat with orange zinnias
by Wayne Stratz
Flower arrangement
by Wayne Stratz
Lantana going well with a
mosaic bowling ball (created by Margaret Almon)
Last Friday people gathered in the library of the Friends Meeting House to enter into silence before we split into our spiritual groups. The leader asked us to think a moment about the landscape of our spirituality, I thought of riding a wave that emerged while I was in silence at the Jesuit Center.
I made a list of blog posts when I returned, but made no rush to get through them. One by one they have merged into being here. My return to the nightly examen has remained strong, and then there is the designs I came up with while in silence.
I wanted to come home from the retreat with mandala designs. I am not sure how many I will get to, but am so glad that I was in the midst of making this when I was asked about my landscape. The Wernersville Wave is here. I am upon it.
yes, I need to start fading out the music but I had to switch the tune when Warner ripped out the audio of the first tune and I just wanted to finish it... but this tune swings!
1. A new flower. The other night after walking under the most amazing wisteria at Rhoads Gardens to get a lilac for our garden, Mosaic Woman searched the annuals for home, while I searched for work. Lantana 'Radiation' is now brightening our front yard.
2. A client of ours decided her house needed a third mandala, and this time she chose one of mine. The only problem, it was for the outside of her house so I needed to make a new concrete crab mandala . I had the orange pieces cut, ground and glued; when I wanted to do something different. The idea of all the flat plain black glass bored me, so Mosaic Woman contacted the client and with some blue Youghiogheny glass it became an Illini crab mandala.
3. Yesterday we had a business meeting at home which extended to the West Main Diner (where they make a fine Greek omelet; and are still friendly even when their computer system crashes in the midst of a full restaurant). As soon as I got home I grabbed the user name, Nutmeg Designs, at You Tube and later in the day posted our first video. I have ideas for plenty that won't be animated, but Einstein may also have more to say in the future...
4. New Jazz...
5. New directions in energy. While Marcellus Shale made for an interesting story, it was one of those gloomy environmental ones as it ended. So we turned to global warming, but with the twist of looking at solutions not just all the news that would leave my students more distressed about their future. Nova, Power Surge has been playing all week in my classroom as we slowly make our way through hope for the future.
6. There is a new stained glass butterfly in this world, but since the client hasn't seen it, you will have to wait till later.
7. New pieces to fix our broken tent frame arrived this week. Guess what I am doing this afternoon.
The other day I was directed to the moon rise. Something about Mars and the moon was happening. I was at the place to witness it--- on a hill top in semi-rural PA with a big sky containing no clouds above me. I left my room just after the sun had dipped below the horizon. And gradually day turned into night.
I tried to remember the last time I had been a witness to the transition. Birds turned into bats. Insects grew quiet while a new bunch came out to play. The big dipper stood huge above the retreat center. But no moon.
A flash of orange caught my eye behind some trees and soon I was standing next to another person who had been directed to watch the moon. And yes the moon put on a show, but the Mars thing was happening in the opposite direction. And though I remember being amazed at how bright Venus was in the midst on the setting sun, I knew not to look for the Mars-Spica-Venus show that I just read about at Sky and Telescope. I would say I did catch Jupiter because he was by the moon.
But we were watching a moon that was molten orange. By the time it had cleared the trees, it was that lovely creamy orange I had seen before. The photo above was taken by a Flickr friend of mine back in June. Have you seen a blazing orange moon?
Now I am thinking I want to assign my students to watch the day turn into night, but doubt if many live outside of urban settings. But I am thinking all the same and hope that one way they will witness it happening. and I am being grateful for what particles in our atmosphere (why it is orange?) can do to make for encore to a long quiet evening watching things unfold.
On this day of green you could always count on my one friend to wear bright orange. The last time I saw him was at a funeral for a mutual friend a few months back. I greeted him warmly. He said, "I wish I could remember your name." Dementia has him and is winning the battle.
A few months back from that date Mosaic Woman said good bye on her cell phone and headed back into a conference center hotel lobby. She sat down and had a drink with a friend. Her friend asked where I worked and became all excited when she heard. She had been a student there and she spoke warmly of many staff but it was the Orange Man she gloated over the most. He had hooked her up to a center that does the exposure and response treatment for those with OCD, which I had blogged about here. Her life changed and the Orange Man was behind it.
I almost wore an orange shirt today in tribute. Maybe I will do it next year. This one is for you...
some times you have to move on, and that means not blaming yourself or the design.
I committed myself to donating a stained glass to an fundraiser at work, spent lots of time drawing and erasing to come up with a design. Carefully chose glass, then was not exactly thrilled with the result...
those dark pieces are not black, but a very dark violet that seemed to let more light through before I started.
so off I went to draw a new design and in that mood came up with nothing I liked. Then I let the thought float up... the design is good try again, which I did...
Oh, the first piece will not be destroyed. I have made art for long enough to know that just because I don't like something I created, doesn't mean nobody will like it. I am pleased with the second piece.
