The 12 Days of Christmas Shout Outs: The Neighbors of Surprises for day five

It was a terrible night. Screams woke us. Flames across the street scared us. Seeing someone jump from a house horrified us.

After that comes the gratitude that no one died and an even greater respect for those who put out fires. After that we got to know the five households quite a bit better as we greeted them when they returned to see the damage and when they returned to once again live across from our two studio row.

Three Christmas past, I lied for the man who survived that jump. I told his wife that we would not be able to get their house number done in time for the 25th. Side note ~> This year I once again lied to a friend when I told her the piece she wanted had sold, but left out that her husband had bought it.

Two Christmas past, this time the wife surprised the husband with a mosaic celebrating chili peppers.

So, when they came to our home show and commissioned a cross and a nightlight, I decided it was my year to surprise them on Christmas Day. The commissions sight unseen, plus a small bonus gift, were placed in a box and gift wrapped. It amused me that for the third straight year a surprise gift was being open, maybe not as much as amusing as the surprise created by telling fibs, and surely not as joyful as when they moved back, but it did amuse me.

 

R is for Rainbow ~ the A to Z of One Word Messages

Collaboration between Margaret Almon and Wayne Stratz

Rainbow is another word that does not need letters, but it does take some time to pick out colors.  We have made some rainbows here at Nutmeg Designs. Hope you are ready to experience some color. 

Rainbow mandala
by Margaret Almon

Rainbow Wernersville Cross II
by Wayne Stratz

Rainbow Dr Ed Mandala
by Wayne Stratz

Rainbow Spiral Mandala
by Margaret Almon

Rainbow Celtic Cross
by Margaret Almon

Rainbow starflowers
by Wayne Stratz

Wordless Wednesday: Crosses by Mosaic Woman

Mother of Pearl Cross on Olive Wood by Margaret Almon

Cosmos Cross in Green by Margaret Almon

Cosmos Cross in Gold by Margaret Almon

crosses

WW: from the land of silence

Wordless Wednesday: The Color of Easter

The Holy Trinity Cross

On March 20th, I sat down at a long table waiting for the vestry to gather at Holy Trinity and drew something that had been gathering in my mind. I got my friend's approval, then got ready to doodle through the rest of the meeting.

When I got sick a week ago I was an hour away from completing four of these crosses. I finally finished them this morning. Apparently when you fill in space with naps and NCAA basketball, studio time gets bumped out of the schedule.

But now I have 4 to take to a show Harrisburg tomorrow, why are we going to Harrisburg.... Mosaic Woman tells that story

... crappy light conditions:

Wordless Wednesday: bird in the center

Wordless Wednesday--- new Celtic Cross Mosaic

Celtic Cross Mosaic in Blue and Amber by Margaret Almon

Celtic Cross Mosaic in Blue and Amber by Margaret Almon

meet the artist
buy from the artist

the last 6 weeks led to a walk....

I was home from the retreat that took weeks to blog about and someone said to me, "this place sucks the life energy out of us." I let that seep into my being.

Over the past 6 weeks I have convinced myself that I was toast, and maybe I was. I wrote two IEP's got a physics and a zoology class up and running, and watched the vegetable garden at the school fade away from summer. I entered too much data into a computer. And I was at a loss as to help my ever challenging students. Having fun in my classroom and teaching the subject at hand was not enough. I wanted to see behaviors that held them back vanish into thin air.

At home Mosaic Woman and I took a long drive to see glass sculpture, a shorter drive to see quilts, and moderate drives to hear two jazz concerts. We lived through a major disappointment in her life. I forgot to go to Monday adult classes at my church. I wrote a news letter for Nutmeg Designs and tried to keep up with my friends on-line as my own blogging slowed.

I did not forget that I had come home 6 weeks ago wanting to take God into my glass studio. I cut out pieces for two collaborations. Designed a piece for a school auction. Was commissioned to create a piece that will or has flown to Rome where a design in my head will be transformed into a gift at an ordination. I put a cross in my window and made four more. I made a Dr. Ed Mandala that even impressed me and tomorrow I will hand it to a friend who wants to buy it sight unseen. I have returned to the green vine design as well as a few of my star designs while also designing a 4 pointed star that has 8 pieces. In all 15 pieces have been made, two pieces repaired and a 16th is halfway is cut out.

And the whole time I knew that I had a retreat planned. I forgot what it was about, who was leading it, and when it began and ended. But I knew that on Friday the 16th, I would leave work to go Walking with God, and so I did. and I talked about being called into my studio...

a cross emerges from going deeper...

So at the retreat I picked up the erasure and went deeper...






it will hang in my studio as a constant reminder of how blessed I am to have a studio. A studio where I utilize what I see as an amazing gift from God.


...

Mosaic Woman and the Pennsylvania Guild of Craftsmen

Mosaic Woman's next show is the Pennsylvania Guild of Craftsmen Fine Craft Fair at Montgomery County Community College in Blue Bell. Her mosaics will be in the Bucks Chapter Booth, #301, right by the food.

Saturday October 18th 10-6
Sunday October 19th 11-5

The Fall show used to happen at Tyler State Park, so don't head over there. MCCC will be different including paved parking.

Can't make it but absolutely need to buy a mosaic... go to our ETSY site.

Just want to see more of her mosaics, go to my FLICKR site

want to see recently completed projects and refuse to click on a link or drive to SE PA, just take a look below. want to see them larger, click on the image...

PA invades Delaware-- PA Guild of Craftsmen take over the Chase Center

Mosaic Woman recently was reading to me about when Connecticut invaded Pennsylvania because King Charles the 2nd had given them the Wyoming Valley (later the state out west would be named for this valley). Anyway this coming weekend the PA Guild of Craftsmen invade Delaware for the summer crafts show. These events of one state entering another, one for a valley, one for convention space make little sense to me. But hey, next weekend if you are travelling I-95 to the shore... stop by the Bucks Chapter of the Guild (Booth 351 in Governor's Hall) and check out her wonderful mosaics. Mosaic Woman will be there Friday, and I will travel down with her on Sunday afternoon. Saturday other folk will man the booth.

HERE ARE 4 RECENT MOSAICS:

Here is her first box with a quilt design called broken dishes.

a recent mandala with a dichroic glass center and some gold smalti and lots of stained glass (I wonder who gave her the scraps).



She saw this variation of the classic quilt design (square within a square) and created this mosaic.

Don't look for this one in Delaware or Pennsylvania or even Connecticut or Wyoming for that matter. Her mom commissioned this when Mosaic Woman's Uncle got married. He is in Colorado.