Vonnegut at Cornell University: two eyes and a quote

art by Kurt Vonnegut as seen at Cornell University. 2015

 Do you like being asked about favorites? What is your favorite cake, flower, 80's band, color, ... author?  To say one is a favorite seems wrong to me. Really are Cosmos better than Dahlias?

There was a time period where Vonnegut was one of my favorite authors. His writing spoke to where I was in my early and mid twenties and I read everything I could get my hands on. I am not sure if I would enjoy it as much these days, maybe.

art by Kurt Vonnegut as seen at Cornell University. 2015

I did not go to Ithaca to see his art. I was much more interested in seeing waterfalls, which I did. But it was there on a steep campus and now I can remember my younger days. Legs and spirit that would have carried me about a campus that now looked better suited for mountain goats than humans.

But here is a Vonnegut quote shared by the museum currator, and at this moment in time, as brief as moments can last... It is my favorite. Maybe it needs to be taken within me when I enter my studio.

quote by Kurt Vonnegut as seen at Cornell University. 2015

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TBT: painting a two studio row porch 2005 ... and again today

2005: the first time Stratoz painted the porch

I dove into the project in 2005, using tape to scetion off areas, maybe it took ten years and a rotting board to forget the project to the point of doing it again. But I have enjoyed the color.

And I guess I am grateful we didn't buy a house with a huge wraparound porch. Our two studio row is all about moderation. Small yards, small porches, small studios... it fits us nicely... most of the time.

When we bought the house in 2004 it was to have more space. Space to create art; and from the beginning it was a two studio row. Eleven years have passed and art indeed has emerged; as well as pizza, strudel, jazz, blog posts, and glass.

So with a promise to Margaret to fix the porch, time off from teaching, and a favorable forecast; I began the project today. Feeling ten years older is not the only change. The yellow has more ochre, the dark green jumps toward the blue side of the sprctrum, and the design... simpler much simpler. And the sunflowers, well they weren't there in 2005. The rose bush has died, and today I am glad to not be painting by thorns.

August 2015: Stratoz painting the porch.

Quilt Awe: Eleanor Levie What if? Philadelphia PA

Quilt: Eleanor Levie What if? Philadelphia PA

A sun and sky photo shoot at the Jesuit Center

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

Going Forth: What does one take from a Silent Retreat?

The second Ignatian Star: a design from Silence by Wayne Stratz

The Jesuits are glad to have us there for a time to be in silence, but they are joyful when we leave. It is then that the awakening of silence grows. No matter what the silence brings: days of wresting with God, a week of rest and rejuvenation, insight into who you truly are, hope to make the right decision, and/or a stained glass design. 

In 2013 I drew a design of an asymmetrical seven-pointed star. Each point consisting of three pieces of glass, which gives me that number I love, 21. It sat for nearly a full year before I made use of it. I remember feeling pressure of going on a retreat without having used a design from the previous. Feeling moved, I chose Three types of Youghiogheny Glass and this emerged:

The original take on the Ignatian Star by Wayne Stratz feauturing three varieties of Youghiogheny Glass

Retreats are where prayers are formed. Truth learned. Journeys begin. They are not vacations from everyday life. Everyday life can fuel what happens on a retreat. What do I truly desire from this life I am given? What pain needs to be released? How can hope remain?

They live on in you like a design drawn on an old wooden desk. The best work will resurface:

Ignatian Star: a design worth revisiting by Wayne Stratz

PS ... I do remember the moment in time the first one sold. It was in my living room and it was to friends, who had come to our open studio in 2014. To purchase an Ignatian Star: Go this this section of my shop which is where they reside

Blue Butterfly Thoughts

Blue Butterfly by Wayne Stratz with the row homes of Lansdale, PA

When I go about creating a blue wing, I walk to my tower of glass, go to the blues and choose one, two, or in this case three that delight my eye.

When a butterfly creates a blue wing, it requires a bit more precision. Scales grow forth, each one from an individual cell and thus a colorless membrane is covered. To get blue light to reach my eyes, the wavelength of light entering my eye must be in the range from 400 to 480 nm. The slits in the scales of the Blue Morpho are 200 nm apart. One inch contains 25,400,000 nm. Like I said, I don't need that precision because the glass already appears blue.


Now if I actually worked from scratch, some cobolt or copper would come in handy to make glass blue.

and this... see all my current animals, blue and not blue at my etsy shop

Rogue Sunflowers in the early morning with bees: three moments in time

Sunflowers in the early morning with bees by Wayne Stratz #1

 In the Garden of Nutmeg Designs, what I call Rogue Sunflowers have been arriving in masses each year. A few live to feed the bees, most are culled. A new variety is arising here in Lansdale.

Sunflowers in the early morning with bees by Wayne Stratz #2

Sunflowers in the early morning with bees by Wayne Stratz #3