Old Technology That Works: Clearing off the stereo so I Can Play Solo Monk on LP

from the back of the album cover: Solo Monk by Thelonious Monk. Photo by Wayne Stratz

I stopped for some fresh coffee and a bit of conversation with a new friend on my way to the Lansdale Farmers Market. At one point we talked about old technology. I did not mention the 8-Tracks I had of Zappa Live and Pink Floyd's The Wall, but I did speak of Bruce Cockburn and Dar William cassettes; and a floppy disk that has my life list of birds. Things go out of favor, grow old, and new devices look at them with curiosity.

My new iMac is too thin to have a CD slot. Really?

But before any of these things there were LP's, a recorded moment in time. One source tells me that in February of 1965, Thelonious Monk sat alone with a piano. Twenty years later I bought the LP.  Thirty years later, I removed the stacks of CDs on top of my stereo in the studio and gently plopped the needle down on Dinah...

My 1000th blog post: seeing the world through new glasses while hanging out with rosemary

Stratoz
sporting a new pair of glasses and one glove (?)
 and a most amazing rosemary bush

1000 posts on Stratoz, an enterprise started in 2007. I think a few were deleted, but most remain to help me reach a thousand ramblings shared on ~> God and Jazz. Glass and Science. Teaching and Gardening. Lansdale and Mosaic Woman. Food and Art. Probably some need some fixing up, but I am OK with an imperfect blog.

My posts are shorter these days but I think I still have the same focus. Celebrate the things I dig. Maybe it is a bit too diverse to get a rabid following from the masses, but I do have a fan base and for that I am grateful.  

I got new glasses on Saturday, much to the amusement of a friend at church. And considering the long week she had, I have no problem with bringing some joyful entertainment into her life.

This post does not show the 30 perennials I planted in the last few weeks, but it does show some Hostas that came with the house and may not be here when the next owner moves in. 

Violet and Green
Stratoz decided he needed some color

Celebrating the Blue and Violet Flowers of Longwood Gardens and my Friend Paul Grecian

Blue Flowers with Paul Grecian
at Longwood Gardens
Photo by Wayne Stratz

If I can hope for traditions to be created, going to Longwood Gardens with my friend, Paul Grecian, will be come an annual event. Twice we have gone on my spring break from teaching. The first time tulip blooms were peaking and we barely spent time inside. Well I did pray for an hour with succulents. This time it wasn't too spring like outside so we made our way through the glass houses. The blue beds caught our eye on the way in, but it was at the end of the trip that we spent time there.

Paul may be my favorite photographer. We own two of his pieces and spending time with him slows me down. I spend more time in an area and possibly come home with better photos to share here.  The drive to Longwood is filled with some great brainstorming about being in the business of creating and selling art. Hope to be back next year and the year after that... 

Hydrangeas that surely would have 

delighted Mosaic Woman ~

Hortensia Hydrangea
 Hydrangea macrophylla
Mathilda Gutges
photo by Wayne Stratz

Hortensia Hydrangea close up

 Hydrangea macrophylla

Mathilda Gutges

photo by Wayne Stratz

A poppy that was past its prime,

 caught my eye ~

Blue-Poppy
 Meconopsis
Lingholm
by Wayne Stratz

Blue-Poppy
 Meconopsis
Lingholm
by Wayne Stratz

Then I saw my chance to see Paul

 in a wave of Echiums

Pride-Of-Madeira
Echium candicans
photo by Wayne Stratz

Pride-Of-Madeira and Paul Grecian
Echium candicans
photo by Wayne Stratz

Seven thoughts on Rainbow Mandalas

up close with Rainbow Dr Ed #3
by Wayne Stratz

Mosaic Woman are sitting down to write about our art for five minutes, one prompt was Now I love working with (Rainbow Dr Ed Mandalas)   

Because:

1. I get to use a huge variety of glass (not just colors) and it works well.  The rainbow brings them together.  
2. they are resonating with close friends, two of whom have bought one
3. they are raising money to find a cure for pancreatic cancer
4. they can be done in an endless variety of ways
5. they can use colors I don't often use; like yellow-greens
6. tis my favorite design
7. a reminder to those who loved Ed that he touched my heart

news on no news: Pierce Pettis follows Patty Griifin

and so it (no news for Lent) began on Ash Wednesday as I headed off to work with no NPR.  Patty Griffin singing about those times when emotional rains storm down upon us.  

Yes, I am curious as to what is happening in the world, but I'm Ok with visits from voices from my past.  Last night one of my best friends from college came over for pizza.  900 miles he travelled for that meal, well, not really.  But after a day of business in Philly working on how to help people own their own homes, he drove out to the suburbs so I could feed him and see his face.  It was the first time I had seen his face in 26 years.  So no news from NPR, but plenty of news from my friend.

Today I grabbed a Pierce Pettis CD and headed out to scrape some snow off the car to head to work and tried to remember:

"Oh, everything matters
If anything matters at all
Everything matters
No matter how big, no matter how small
Oh, God believes in you
God believes in you"

In appreciation for fresh pie ~ stained glass for the chef's gals

3D for L
by Wayne Stratz

 For several months this past year we celebrated the local harvest through the creative talents of a friend who happens to be a pastry chef (amazing food recipes found there). 

 It started with rhubarb and wound it ways through strawberries, blueberries, apples, peaches, back walnuts, raspberries, ...  Margaret and I would go over on a Tuesday or Wednesday night and eat pies and tarts (sometimes with homemade ice cream) and drink coffee.  The latter was too late and I would wake up to go teach with a "pie hangover."

Maybe sometime around July when the pie maker walked us outside, I told him my way of thanks... stained glass for his wife and two daughters.  The youngest (a senior in college, who was a pleasant addition to those summer pie nights) got the blue and green 3D piece that greeted you.  The daughter who teaches little ones got this 3D piece ~

3D for M
by Wayne Stratz

 As for my friend, Red (the wife of said Chef), well she has always been a fan of my Wernersville Cross and my patchwork designs, so I thought the Wernersville Cross II should be introduced to the world by way of gift.  So here folks is the one and only cross of this type.  I will make more, I think, but for now I am so glad to know where the first one resides. (and yes, every one has 21 pieces)

Wernersville Cross II
by Wayne Stratz

2012, The Second Half

Our church finally stumbled upon a new rector,
 she is wonderful.
I greeted her with this card.

I began what will hopefully be more mosaics
inspired by the photographs of KerriFar

I started making 3D suncatchers
and when our good friends moved
out of our neighborhood,
I gave this one to warm their new house.

My friend Deborah began leading interfaith services at our church.

Finally, I set up coloring pages for sale on our etsy shop

in the midst of self doubts, I created a pug mosaic

The Fit got personalized

A client saw one in our house and asked for three bigger ones.  One of the biggest commissions of the year was created by Margaret

Any time any one asks for three Dr Ed's mandalas, has to be a highlight of the year.  I also was commissioned to make one for Dr Ed's daughter

End of the year date at the art museum

and there was that magical time
being inside what I called
 The Wernersville Tree


and I made pizza
and taught
and listened to jazz

A Few of My Favorite Things 5 ~ simple conversations and pizza

I am fine with  8 days of silence*.  I generally don't enjoy large crowds.  The angst leading up to going to a large gathering of people can find me wondering why I said I would go to a party.  Mosaic Woman and I have this in common.  The other night there were ten of us gathered about a table.  It was a group I knew well for the most part and that was fine.

What I truly dig though is sitting together with one friend and sharing our stories.  

Having a couple over is our kind of party here in our one bedroom two studio row house.  Tonight will be our 22nd pizza event of the year.  Not sure how it came to be, but it started early in 2012 and pushed us to keep a constant flow of invites flowing into the universe.  Many of the 50+ people who have come over were never here before.  What a blessing it has been getting to know friends a bit better.  

Tonight will be a couple whom we have met through being artists.  In fact all four of us are artists, two full-time.  They have never been here before.

Saturday night it will happen again.  It will be special.  The friends are ones we gathered with on a regular basis before they moved to California.  At the beginning of the year, we did not imagine them moving back east, but they have and after a few attempts we finally got them on a free night.  What a way to end this year of pizza.

What a blessing to have acted upon the desire to feed and to get to know so many people a bit better. We have never come close to anything like this before.  The list of folk with get stretched on and on.  Who knows how many people will sit and talk with us?  In the process this house is gaining some good karma.

*One reason I am fine with those days of silence ~ the one hour a day I get to sit 1:1 with a spiritual director.  That is heaven to me.

Kerri Farley's Blue Jay Inspires Me

For awhile I was remebering which social media platform I met folk at, but lines are being blurred.  It was likely following each other on Twitter is where it began.  But I am a fan of her photos on Flickr and her blog A Little Piece of Me.  I was so happy when she said I was free to be inspired by her photos to create a Blue Jay mosaic, and her post, Sweet Soul Shining Through is the one that resonated.

I am taking some time on this day off (as Hurricane Sandy approaches) to finally place the Blue Jay into our Mandala listings on etsy and to publicly give my friend Kerri the thanks and praise she deserves.

I know there is more inspiration awaiting me over at A Little Piece of Me.  We will see.  We will see.

Mystical Monday ~ St Francis inspires a new generation

Our Wednesday nights of pie have continued as the seasons change here in PA.  But we are missing one member as the daughter of Red and the Chef has gone off to college.  She is studying biology (well one class in four years), so I have been sending her daily links to info I find interesting.  This could go on for decades as my interest in biology has been already around for decades.

The other night I found a story about how there has been an adaptation to large urban settings taking place.  Coyote pups are more likely to survive there than rural areas.  And now reports of larger animals are rising.

So yesterday, when our new priest told the story of St Francis taming the wolf... I was thinking we needed a new mystic for our times.  Mother Amanda proceeded to bless the domesticated beasts which were pondering why they were doing something new this Sunday morning.

Maybe from the midsts of these blessings of the animals a mystic will arrive, who will calm the fears of the humans and help to feed the hunger of the beasts.

The RevGals ~ my connection started with a mug

Soon I will be entering silence. A chance to clear my head from technology and to hear what emerges. I will be leaving the iPad and I will be packing my mug.

In 2007 I was in the second month of this blog when I was packing for silence. A woman named Michelle popped into my life to comment that she does the same thing. Michelle and I have become friends all because we take mugs to Wernersville. Our art graces her home and some amazing commissions have flowed across oceans because of her. I spoke to her college students about how spirituality touches my art. Cards that have her writing have brightened my days.

A few weeks back I put in a request to join RevGals as a friend. I am not either, but through Michelle I have become friends with others including Robin who also digs silence. As I waited to hear back, my church asked me to give a sermon. I quoted Michelle.

I am taking my mug, but also a hope that I will get lost in prayer in the same way as I do when I draw designs. This year is different, I will not have a director to talk to daily. I am considering traveling to a diner to chat with a waitress, but likely will not do any such thing.

Today, a friend who leads retreats at her Windward Farms, walked through my garden. When I talked to her about self-direction, Dorothy encouraged me to write to go deeper. So, here I am.

and that is why I now have a RevGal button on the side of my blog and why I will be taking a break from social media in the future and why I hope to return with words written to share here.  Having a bounty of spiritual friends wishing me well is a splendid thing.

My first 3D commission... or what happens when you choose the colors and let me create for you

I stopped by to see a friend and told him I had completed my first 3D suncatchers.  He said, "How about 4D?"

Since I knew some physicists thought time was the fourth dimension, I said, "Already done." and showed him this.  He was interested.

But when I showed it to him in person, he imagined something new, something yet be be created.

"Blue, Pink, Gray," he said to me.

So with with 7 pieces of gray, 7 of blue, and 7 of pink.  I got set to creating...

Then photos on flickr and instagram flowed into my life and I saw what I was creating.  Remember that amazing sunset when a partially cloudy sky turned pink, with patches of blue sky, and portions of clouds that remained gray?  Yes, my friend without knowing it had commissioned a sunset.

The Pug Commission

I met the Guardian of the pugs many years ago when I first entered the realm of group spiritual direction and was thrilled when she bought one of our Jazz signs, which resonated in both her love of the music and the name of her elder pug.  When I delivered that Jazz sign, we spoke of a pug mosaic.  

I surely did not move quickly on it and when I did finally face the idea of putting Jazz the pug on a mosaic, I had some second thoughts.  I sent an e-mail suggesting that mosaic may not be the best way to go, but my friend had faith in me.  And I ventured into the project.  Yes, dear friends and clients it is your faith in our ability that helps us take on commissions.  There are artists who refuse to do them, but for now we love being pushed into new realms by the desires of our clients.  Even realism (Di's Hawk and Snowcatcher's lizard paved the way)

When Mosaic Woman grouted the mosaic, I thought that I had some how pulled it off.  

So it came to the time to take another mosaic over to our friend's house.  She loved it.  And if you can trust her ability to get Jazz's thoughts down in writing, this blog post shows Jazz is OK with it, even if humans still baffle her.  By the way, a bonus for checking out the blog post is to see me hanging out with Jazz, whose head is tilted as she ponders us humans.

2012, the year of the pizza

This is not from tonight, but from the
land of pizza past

tonight the 16th and 17th friends came over for pizza

This is a celebration.

changing Kirk's moment in time into glass

Africa, boat on river, photo by Kirk Barbner

 It was back in the days of 1984 or so when I became friends with Kirk in college.  I don't think either of us were studying for what our future jobs would be.  Kirk would venture south and possibly the last time I saw him was in West Virginia.  His heart and soul were being pulled toward helping people with a critical need for housing.  He drove me around those mountains and to this day, I will not forget what he taught me and though I have not made it my life's commitment, the need to feed the hungry and house the poor were ingrained in me.  Although I may have been leaning that way already.  Who knows, but Kirk surely opened my eyes. 

I moved on to MA, and OR, and IL and then back to PA.  At some point Kirk landed in Georgia where he does amazing things at The Fuller Center for Housing.

This past year we found each other on facebook and became reunited.  I read about his journey to Africa.  One day I got a message from Kirk's wife who wanted me to create a gift.  She sent me photos and I resonated with the one above.  It was all those bright clothes.  Then the color of the river.  The streak of violet across the horizon came much later.  She was well pleased with my choice because it was her favorite.

So I said, "If you want realism, go elsewhere, but if you want me to spend time with this photo and create a design.  I am your man."  She said go for it.  And then the glass was there.  Purple water glass!  Mystic purple glass for the boat's reflection!  Youghiogheny glass that had never been called into a piece said, "Now is my Time!"   

It was a blessing to create this for my friend.  May we look into each others eyes, shake each others hands, and have a conversation this year which does not involve technology.

Peace and Hope

Stained glass by Wayne Stratz, Kirk's River Side View

Stained glass by Wayne Stratz, Kirk's River Side View

The Lyrical Chef Surprises Red and Creates Hope

   you will create this, because of this...



You come home and on the porch is a book.  There is no note.  Feel free to wonder why "Sean Scully: Works on Paper" is now in your house.

Go ahead, assume a phone call or e-mail will explain.  But you are left living a mystery.

Then one day, The Lyrical Chef shows up, unexpected as you expect.

He has something to say to you.

"I want a gift for Red.  This is all I ask.  I left a book here.  I want you to be inspired by Sean Scully.  I want something between x$ and y$.  I want it by Christmas.  I want to give it to Red."

You are one who believes that your brain works while you sleep, so you take the book to your bed and you look though it... night after night.  You are trusted to create something.  You are blessed.

Eventually images like this begin to become part of your daily thoughts

 
But your favorite number is 21, so you imagine this:

7 columns times 3 horizontal boxes

and

3 horizontal boxes times 7 pieces in each box.

You love Youghiogheny glass and you love your friends... the columns.

For diversity you turn to amber... the boxes.

Now it is Christmas Eve.  You have gotten all other commissions into the hands of the givers, but where is the Lyrical Chef?

The daughter e-mails.  A time is set.  And 20 minutes after the exchange of cash and unexpected sticky buns, you head off to worship with Red, who knows much, but not about this...

  


and thus there were 14 shades of amber glass sitting on my drafting table which cried out to be something special... 

the math of amber hope

The pieces came together at the same time.  Two pieces cut and ground from each type of amber glass.  So which is for my friend from our time in Illinois (who was part of the best prank ever played upon myself) or the friend, who lives here in Lansdale, not too many blocks from home.

I imagined a project and threw the idea out there on facebook.  For a certain price I would design a mandala of hope while keeping your concerns in my thoughts.  You see, I had 14 types of amber glass out from a previous project.  The glass kept suggesting possible projects.  The glass clearly did not want to be thrown back into the bin of amber.  The mandala idea stuck.  All I needed was a friend to have faith in the project, in me, in hope.

When I saw two friends had responded, how could I say no to one of them.  So I said, "yes."

As I was in the midst of foiling I realized I did not know who would get which mandala.  The answer that emerged made me smile.  It did not matter.  For in the math of hope, the hope did not get split into two pieces; the hope did not double in size, but instead their hopes mingled and then emerged after growing exponentially.  Each piece is filled with my hope for them.  My friends have been brought together in the midst of amber glass.

They are done.  My friends will see them before you do.  Oh, and those dark pieces near the center.  Just imagine what light can do to something that appears dark.  and that my friends, is my definition of hope.

imagining Hope, again

 The bad news floats between my friend and I.

I sit in her office, then she asks me to create a gift of hope.  In the past I have done stained glass pieces to bring her hope for healing, but mosaic comes to mind as I take in the news of our mutual friend's health concerns.  As the day goes on, a  design comes to mind, and when this happens it is always a rough draft.  I imagine a rectangular piece of slate. Hope fills the bottom left.  Below it I swoop a base out of glass.  At the top right is a swirl that flows across the top.  I imagine Mosaic Woman filling that swirl with warm colors.

Then we make it happen.

and in the end...

after gluing down 67 pieces of glass
... after meeting friends for breakfast, who desired a glass penguin
... after buying apples and cabbage from local farmers
... after getting the kitchen prepared
... after making 8 doughs (which didn't bother my bum wrist at all)
... after grating potatoes and cabbage
... after greeting mom, dad, and aunt
... after turning the oven on
... after stretching and topping and rolling 8 strudels (2 of each, those mentioned plus grape)
... after greeting sister here and saying hi to sister out west
... after eating with family as the last strudels baked
... after greeting friends
... after seeing my family to the door with hugs and thanks for carrying on the tradition
... after greeting more friends
... after finally turning the oven off
... after serving plates of food and glasses of beverages
... after sitting back and enjoying the presence of friends
... after maybe one or two snarky comments
... after saying good bye and your welcome
... after a few moments alone with Mosaic Woman in the living room

I stretched out on the couch, awake enough to hear jazz.  And I realized that I almost never stop and just listen.  So I did.  I closed my eyes and listened.

What happens at Wernersville... goes to Japan

This all happened because I take a mug to the Jesuit center in Wernersville...

A friend, who is a friend because I blogged about that mug, told me she had a commission in mind.  As my retreat neared it seemed to be the perfect time and place to draw the design.  Digital photos were sent my way.  I was taken by the wood, the iron tea pot, the fire.  I took those images in my mind and went to Wernersville.  And picked up a pencil and erasure.

I didn't want the tea pot to be shaped like a pot.  I didn't want it to be black.  I thought of Youghiogheny and drew flames.  I imagined the earthtones of the lizard as wood.  I thought of a piece of unused glass and imagined steam. 

and when I came home I cut the wood, the steam, the flames.  Then I searched for the iron.  Apparently I found it.

My friend traveled to Japan with the finished piece and handed it to the owner of the tea pot, Nakamura-san.  I am told that he held it and gazed into it.  Quickly he recognized it as stained glass.  Then he smiled when he saw his tea pot and took the group into his kitchen.  There are days I feel so blessed that I spend time in a place where what happens does not stay there, but travels with you when you leave.