Showing posts with label mosaics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mosaics. Show all posts

Friday, January 1, 2016

My birds of 2015: birds of glass by Wayne Stratz



 Only two have not found new homes and they remain in my critter section of my etsy shop along with a couple butterflies and a funky turtle. A few were commissions. The male and female cardinal, although I had started the female cardinal when someone asked if I had ever created a cardinal, but the male cardinal was a commission from the start, as was the hummingbird. I remember the day a hummingbird visited a Hosta bloom, raising their favor in my garden. A couple birds were revisited designs: The Blue Jay and the Goldfinch both chosen for the patterns created by their plumage The Blue Jay was a chance to celebrate a corvid, a rare one with color. The Goldfinch that rare bird that passes up on bird feeders to eat seeds from a variety of my flowers. At the end of the summer opening the front door always meant a burst of gold flying from the sunflowers. And the Great Blue Heron and the American Kestrel were birds I loved that were new designs. I still see herons on a regular basis, in fact one flew over my car as we drove to Margaret's sisters on Christmas. Kestrels are a bird that I saw all the time in the late 70's and early 80's. I hear their numbers are dropping and I can say I rarely see them though I have not moved out of their range.

I ended the year creating two more heron mosaics when asked by a friend for one of them. A Wood Duck has been simmering in my mind for months. Maybe this will be the year.

What is your favorite bird?


Thursday, September 26, 2013

With All Due Respect to Robert Indiana's Design, Our Take on Love



Original Lettering design by Robert Indiana
Adaptation and Letters by Wayne Stratz
Peachy background by Margaret Almon

Wednesday, April 24, 2013

U is for Up ~ the a to z of one word messages


Up, an Alexander word
Words and design (including big white pieces) by Wayne Stratz
Blue background and tower of color by Margaret Almon

OK, I wish I had two words to show you. My word is unfolding. It is my tagline. It is how I see my life.

Margaret digs up. It is a word used by those who have learned the Alexander Technique.  Margaret turned to this when she had a reoccurrence of back pain. It has helped her immensely and is still meeting with a master of the technique. Curious, check Imogen Ragone's site. To those with training this one word is a gentle reminder of how to align themselves. 

What word gets you aligned with this world?

Saturday, April 20, 2013

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


























Wednesday, April 17, 2013

O is for Open ~ The a to z of one word messages


Blue by Wayne Stratz
Orange by Margaret Almon

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.


Imagine being open.

Tuesday, April 16, 2013

N is for Nuthatch ~ the A to Z of one word messages

White-breasted Nuthatch
created and designed
by Wayne Stratz
Yes, that is a bird and not a one word mosaic sign, but we have not done an N word (commissions welcomed if you have one in mind).       

So...

Bird names for me are often one word messages. Name four species of woodpeckers and you can take me back to a spring break camping trip to the Smokey Mountains, a forest east of the Cascade Mountains in Oregon, a time share in WI, and the Monocacy Creek that I walked to as a teen in search of solitude. 

Maybe going for a walk recently with Mosaic Woman on a path along a busy road during rush hour will come to mind if you say Red-Winged Blackbirds to me ten years from now. We stood as they perched and called out and flashed their red allowing us to appreciate their beauty.

And that makes these one word messages indeed.  So where do nuthatches take me? My childhood home and the oak trees that soared above our house and the tiny birds that delighted me as they behaved in a rather unexpected way.

  What animal name creates a one word message in your mind?





Monday, April 15, 2013

M is for Music ~ a one word message that soothes my soul

Lettering and treble clef by Wayne Stratz
Background by Margaret Almon

Those of you who followed my blog before the A to Z challenge know that I gave up news for Lent, especially while commuting to work.  Since Easter, I have turned the news on but not everyday. So with a decision to go with news, I drove home getting the earliest news reports of the explosions in Boston.

For as long as I can remember I have turned to music to soothe my soul. Nothing moves me in the same way. 

Recently we went to see Kurt Elling in concert. He told the story of wanting to find words for a tune by Duke Ellington.  Then he was inspired by an improvised melody by Von Freeman.  Finally he read a poem by Rumi and it all came together.

I offer this up on this long night.


I like the sunrise cause it brings a new day
I like a new day. It brings new hope thet say
I like the sunrise  blazing in the new sky
Nightime is weary.  Oh, and so am I





Wednesday, April 10, 2013

I is of Imagine ~ The A to Z of one word messages

Imagine by Nutmeg Designs
lettering by Wayne Stratz
background by Margaret Almon
Imagine is word we chose to make.  For me it is a powerful reminder of times spent at the Jesuit Center in Wernersville.  Ignatius was big on using imagination in prayer.  Read scripture and place yourself into the story.  Be a bystander, be a main character ~ no matter, just place your self into the story and see where it takes you.

Of course this can be applied to real life as well.  Imagine a friend's misery before saying I can't imagine.  I think we say we can't imagine because it is painful to place ourselves into those shoes.  But if we do we can then respond to the needs of our friends.  Doing it for the stranger for the enemy is just as valuable and even more difficult.  Imagine.

Monday, April 8, 2013

G is for Garden ~ The A to Z of one word mosaic messages


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)

Marigold by Wayne Stratz

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Being the straight man in this endeavor





My last post I celebrated being able to explore color in the letters of GARDEN, so here I was cutting out white glass today. Mosaic Woman wanted to do a new word inspired by how learning the Alexander Technique has helped her to feel less body pain in and out of the studio. I had an idea.

Rough drafts got smoothed out as we consulted and finally all that was left was color choice. I said, "White." No client wanting white, and yet after the joy of cutting out GARDEN in oranges, I wanted to do it in white.

I was seeing myself as the straight man in a comedic team. I was setting up the situation knowing what beauty can and will emerge when I walk it into her studio. And on this day when so many of my friends are hoping for a bit more equality to emerge into this country, I couldn't resist being the straight man who is hoping right along with them.




Saturday, March 23, 2013

Celebrating Colorful Letters: a garden sign commission emerges





Margaret and I must be doing something right because house number and word signs commissions have been steady business for Nutmeg Designs. Today I cut out what will be our 8th house number of the year. I don't tend to complain, but hey, I am the dude who love to create things like this:




... And nearly every commission features white or off-white or black or dull pink glass for the lettering/numbering. Then Margaret gets to play with colors in the background. Well a while back we made a welcome sign with some splendid orange glass. A new client dug it. I redesigned GARDEN, and then with a pile of scraps I went to work. Placing the pattern pieces down here and there to capture all that glass had to give.




Thursday, March 7, 2013

Nutmeg Designs celebrates their first baby mosaic with a video


a celebration of birth
by
Nutmeg Designs
This is the first time we placed a baby's name into one of our mosaics.  What a joyful thing to be asked to create. And how kind of the recipient of this commissioned gift to have given their child the name of one of the greatest sax players to ever play jazz.  Once I handed over the letters on a piece of slate to Mosaic Woman, she took lots of process photos. I took the photos of her grouting.  See it emerge here:



Monday, January 28, 2013

Why choose between paths when one can be infinite. Mosaics and a quote by Paulo Coehlo

first journey
Wayne Stratz and Margaret Almon
Mosaic Woman created these last year.  I drew the design and we did them as different ways to view the project.  What I did in big pieces in the first path, Margaret did in her style the second way.  and vise versa.  

While there are many quotes about a good path and a bad path, I am glad I found this one when I went searching:

“In a forest of a hundred thousand trees, no two 
leaves are alike. And no two journeys along the same 
path are alike.”  Paulo Coehlo
second journey
by Margaret Almon and Wayne Stratz

Saturday, January 12, 2013

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

Friday, January 4, 2013

2012, just thinking about it tired me out


The year began doing a bunch of special pieces for our exhibit at Pebble Hill Church

The other day we were driving to my parents and we began thinking about 2012.  I thought, "I should be exhausted."  The next morning I woke up sick and am still recovering.

some of the highlights from the first half  of 2012 in no particular order except how blogger chose to do it ~ 

my first and currently only Hex sign mandala,
inspired on one of my silent times with the Jesuits
I set up a place on etsy for my cards of Hope.
The commissions that flowed in have been amazing. 
 
My parents commissioned
peace, hope, and love
from us and it looks great
in their living room.
 
Margaret was commissioned to make
another bowling ball
 
In June we stopped at The Corning Museum of Glass
 after several nights of jazz in Rochester with our friends
crazy early tulips
after a crazy warm winter
which left us crazy gardeners
wondering what the heck is going on here
The Hippo Project ~
it sounded like a practical joke
but it emerged from the studio and is in California
 
The Angel Wings ~
another of those places
only clients could take us in 2012
Margaret started collaborating with
our friend, Suzanne Halstead.  
 
We celebrated our 20th anniversary with a trip to see
Jane Ira Bloom, a favored sax player

Wednesday, January 2, 2013

Sunday, December 2, 2012

Mosaic Giveaway Coming To an End

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.  


Tuesday, November 20, 2012

The Call of the House Number Signs


It has been quite awhile since I cut a piece of glass, well it seems like it has been a long time.  But as I focussed on drawing cards, Margaret moved forward on some commissions that did not involve me.  But now three house numbers are priorities and I am looking at a five day weekend.  I think I got some numbers in me, what do you think?  

Even some thought to be unlucky.  I can't wait for a request for a 21 to come my way.  Order yours here