Blue Skies turn Hans Van De Bovenkamp Sagg's Portal blue

Hans Van De Bovenkamp "Sagg Portal" 2004 stainless steel  at The Grounds for Sculpture. Photo by Wayne Stratz

The Sculpure caught Margaret's eye as it resembled a sculpture here in Lansdale (a search of his name and Lansdale led to nothing).

The clouds caught my eye.

Combining them led to a real combination that I did not notice at the time.

That is the unexpected joys that can come with photos. In this case the blue sky reflection in the stainless steel sculpture was not my goal, my goal was to get the two separate, not the two interconnected.

Van de Bovenkamp states, “…it is all about time, change, and interconnectedness." The sky changes and the sculpture connects to it. See the entire sculpture and more about the piece here

Glass is so much the same. A photo of a suncatcher in a window is a moment in time, as time unfolds the glass changes interconnected to the moment at hand.

Wayne Stratz: Stained glass designed to the music of Vijay Iyer

See three other moments of this suncatcher.

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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...

Reflections from the Jesuit Center: after discovering the nonexistant gate, a walk back up the hill

On the grounds of the Jesuit Center, Wernersville PA, 2015 by Wayne Stratz

After discovering the gate was not where it was supposed to be, and being told where it was by the passing by Jesuit; I had to walk back up the hill to the Jesuit Center.

Five images have survived the purge of photos taken on that walk up the hill. The first is a celebration of a lush evergreen botanical life.  The second photo shows the ravages of an aging leaf. The summer is early but the great vibrancy of a springtime leafing Maple has moved on to leaves showing the signs of a hard life.

On the grounds of the Jesuit Center, Wernersville PA, 2015 by Wayne Stratz

 Then there was this Maple seed. A sign of hope. One could say, "a dashed hope" as it rests on the macadam driveway at the Jesuit Center, but a tree could still emerge. Who knows where that seed could travel to if forces lifted it up?

On the grounds of the Jesuit Center, Wernersville PA, 2015 by Wayne Stratz

It sure was a wet June this 2015, after a dry springtime. Talks of drought were gone and fungi were sending up their fruiting bodies. And like the Maple leaf, it captures my destination in the background.

On the grounds of the Jesuit Center, Wernersville PA, 2015 by Wayne Stratz

I am no bird photographer and my camera is really, really not up for the job, so when I got home with hundreds of silent photos, this Blue Jay delighted me. I knew it was there. I had hope that it was in the frame. I clicked. Hopefully in the next moment it would be nourished by a leaf eating insect on this Maple tree.

On the grounds of the Jesuit Center, Wernersville PA, 2015 by Wayne Stratz

New Jazz in our house: Matthew Halshall & The Gondwana Orchestra; When The World Was One

My brother-in-law chose Matthew Halshall & The Gondwana Orchestra; When The World Was One to be my birthday present. He did well. I have listened to it three times in the last few days. Halshall's website describes him as a "Manchester based trumpeter, composer, arranger and band-leader Matthew Halsall is one of the rising stars of the UK jazz scene."

When it was given to me, my brother-in-law told me his favorite track was A Far Away Place. Give a listen:

Looking back at my birthday dinner, Greek Food at Yanni's Gyro in Lansdale on this Blue Tuesday

Maredsous, Blue Label Tripel from a Benedictine Abbey, Belgium Ale photo by Wayne Stratz

 

Plenty of blue to be found at Yanni's Gyro in Lansdale, and it is nice to be walking when you are bringing a large bottle of Belgium Ale to the table.

Cold Spreads presented at Yanni's Gyro in Lansdale. I do believe the spicy Feta is our favorite.

 Photo by Wayne Stratz

Briam is a perfect side with so many items at Yanni's Gyro in Lansdale. We had mussels and gigantes along side this evening. Photo by Wayne Stratz

And  some authentic Greek coffee is a fine way to end any meal at Yanni's Gyro in Lansdale. Photo by Wayne Stratz

10 Groundhog Thoughts: Pondering in the Garden of Nutmeg Designs

Margaret Almon's mosaic bowling ball with sunshine streaming across the top and Black-Eyed Susans in the background. Photo by Wayne Stratz

Ten thoughts on Ground Hogs:

1. There is a groundhog, that has not shown itself to me, but Mosaic Woman has seen it dash about a few times. It seems to like being under our porch.
2. Groundhogs dig spending time in crawl spaces under porches; this I know.
3. Typically a groundhog gives birth to six young. That is plenty if you ask me.
4. Groundhogs enjoy eating plants; this is why I don't dig them very much.
5. A few times this growing season, I have filled in/blocked the entry way the groundhog has created to dash under our porch.
6. Groundhogs weigh in around 13 pounds. That is an excessive amount of plant matter being transformed into a critter. But a moose in my garden would be so much more critter.
7. As far as I can tell, our groundhog has caused no damage to our garden. This baffles me. Living harmoniously with a groundhog has me pondering my life as a gardener.
8. I do believe that a groundhog watching me pull weeds and deadhead flowers from under my porch would be baffled... "What is that two legged critter doing on all fours and why is he not eating anything?"
9. If the groundhog looked up as it it dashed into our yard, then it might have the view I had when I took the above photo.
10. Groundhogs are true hibernators as their body temperature plummets to the temperature of the air in the burrow. I respect animals that snooze instead of driving to work on icy roads.

July 31st: The Feast Day of St Ignatius, an imagined photo: Statue with Clouds at the Jesuit Center

St Ignatius, Statue with Clouds at the Jesuit Center. Photo by Wayne Stratz

I am sure there are plenty of people born on feast days of saints who don't go on retreats inspired by the spirituality of that saint, but I do. And I had gone many a year before I realized the connection.

So what is the connection. Imagination? Ignatius wanted us to imagine ourselves into biblical stories, as bystanders and key characters. By becoming part of the scene, we become part of the story and are placed into the tradition of the church. On Facebook I list my job title as CID of Nutmeg Designs , Chief Imagination Dude. Imagination leads us into places we would never experience. Our story takes shape. Imagine a JOY inside a mandala. Then design it. Then collaborate with Margaret.

Joy Mandala: Imagined by Wayne Stratz. Created by Wayne Stratz and Margaret Almon

The clouds are not an afterthought, like when a photo of a flower lands a great insect within it. I was photographing the clouds as much as I was photographing the statue of Saint Ignatius. Photography is imagination. Imagine an image recorded for history. Use the camera. My imagined designs and photographs are not crystal clear. They have some clouds floating between the idea and the finished product. Ignatius did not say how exactly to imagine a story, we may have an idea when we leap into a scene, but forcing it to play out as it was predicted foils the creative flow of imagination.

Choose a story, any story, now leap in. And follow your imagination.

St Ignatius, Statue with Clouds at the Jesuit Center. Photo by Wayne Stratz

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