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Well, it took me just two days to get cracking on something more challenging in the stained glass arena. This sun catcher is just under 6 inches in diameter and has 26 pieces...a far cry from the 5-9 piece ones I had already done! Besides having so many more pieces, some of them were very tiny, which posed a challenge. But I think it turned out pretty well. Yesterday I cut out the pattern and the glass and did some of the grinding. After work today I finished the grinding and soldered it together. I'll add a chain to hang it from but that will have to wait until I get into town tomorrow or Saturday (depends on how much snow we get tonight). I plan to give this one to my daughter for her birthday next week.


1 March 2008 (an addendum):

The class is officially over but I'm still immersed (or is it obsessed?) in this stained glass craft. Last night I completed this old time coffee pot, done in a semi-opaque blue with streaks of white running though it, and purple tulips (unfortunately, when I took the picture, the sun was at the wrong angle to vividly show the colors). Could I be thinking spring??? You bet! I think it took me all of 3-4 hours to complete from cutting the glass to fusing it together using the copper foil technique. One aid to how quickly this went together was with the assistance of a wonderful little device that rolls and crimps the copper foil onto the glass pieces in the proper position in one easy step. Sure saves the frustration of getting the positioning right by hand! Think I'll give this one as a gift to one of my friends who is a master gardener.

The other night I simply got bored waiting for the snow to start and with nothing but reruns on TV, so I put together a simple apple. Off and on I will make small and simple sun catchers and save them to donate to the craft sale at our church's holiday bazaar in fall.

Sun Catchers

I finally got around to taking pictures of the stained glass sun catchers I have made. Well, almost all of them - Simon took the sailboat one home with him on Sunday.




This is my very first class project: a hummingbird. I must say that it wasn't too difficult once I got rolling.






This butterfly was my second project done at home. Both this one and the hummingbird are put together with lead came.






Last week we learned how to do copper foil. So I just had to practice the technique at home and made this cardinal.

Too bad the sun wasn't shining brightly when I took these pictures...maybe tomorrow!




Meanwhile, I have been working on a chickadee using the copper foil technique. Tonight is the last class and I'll be finishing the teapot sun catcher I've been working on there. I'm sad to see the class end but I have enough glass here at home now to keep me occupied for a while. One day, after I figure I've practiced enough, I plan to do a real window! Wonder how long I'll have to practice...

Transforming Signs

Even though the days and weeks seem to fly by so quickly, the reality is it’s still February – it is still winter – and yet another round of snow is in our forecast for tomorrow night. There’s a deep and abiding restlessness this time of year – a longing for warmth and sunshine and color (any color) instead of the almost two-toned black and white of this Wisconsin winter.

But some signs of spring are emerging amid the winter storms…at least I think they’re signs of spring. A few small, courageous birds braved snow and wind one day to perch on a snow bank outside my window and a gorgeous red fox sprinted effortlessly across a snow-covered field as I was driving to an appointment yesterday. These signs speak to me of the emerging new life of spring. And they remind me of hope – hope in what is transforming in nature and the hope and trust that ultimately has its birth and fulfillment in the Divine One – the hope and trust I strive to attain (even when I am so very impatient).

Nature is ripe with signs of glorious beauty, if only we take the time to really see – not only with our eyes, but with our whole being. This kind of “seeing” is what I call beholding – being captivated and in utter awe of what one sees. Just a couple of nights ago, as I was driving into town, I caught a glimpse of a sight in the rear view mirror I rarely see: the sun was just about below the horizon, most of the western sky was a deep purple, and a wide shaft of bright orange was shining straight up from the setting sun as if reaching high into the heavens. This was a truly holy and awesome sunset and my first thought was that I wanted to “capture” and hang on to this sight. But then, I just as quickly let that thought go, feeling in my heart that I could no more hang onto this one beautiful sunset than I can will myself into a mystical experience. Sacred time knows not the constraints of human time measurement. Sacred time is a gift, poured out in grace sometimes at the most unanticipated moments, and received with humble appreciation. Blessed be!

Still not too old to learn...

These February winter days here in Wisconsin are ripe with cabin fever - when it's above 5 degrees it's been snowing, when it's not snowing it gets below zero. So...what is a Wisconsinite to do? Well, I've already made my yearly trip to Florida, so there was only one other option: Learn something new!

Over the past month I have been taking stained glass classes. I have found a new passion! There's one more class to go, but I am already nearly obsessed with this new craft activity. The instructor told us we'd get better with practice, so...after purchasing the necessary tools, some glass, and searching for beginner patterns, I set up a work station in our basement and I HAVE been practicing every chance I get!

Now, I'm not saying I'm all that good at it yet, but I do see progress. And the absolutely best part is how relaxing and renewing it is for me. It's like a breath of fresh air amid the sometimes turmoil of the workday or week. In that respect, the time I spend cutting, shaping, and connecting colored glass into a pattern is sacred time - spiritual activity. I think my sister (her blog is listed in my links) who is a master quilter will probably agree that immersion in a creative activity is indeed sacred time.

Night time ramblings...

Today, Feb. 14th, we had yet another round of snow here in northeastern Wisconsin. The weather report stated we got 6 inches, but I am convinced I shoveled at least 10 inches off our deck this afternoon...and it kept snowing until 6:00 tonight!

But...with the snow, came a day off - a blessing in disguise! I could not get to work because the road conditions were terrible. In fact, I couldn't even see the road from our window most of the day. So...I had a day to myself to rest, to ponder, and to play. It was one of those nourishing kind of days...food for the soul. AND...it was much needed!

It's been a busy week. On Monday I began teaching a class, which amazingly both energized and drained me. Both Monday and Tuesday were very long days of work...but I'm not really complaining because it is good work with good people. Mixed in with work, in the late evening hours, I have been reading. Not just any old reading or being engrossed in some juicy novel. My reading these days is for school. Yes, after all these years, I continue to immerse myself in learning - formal education. What a gift it is...to be able to continue education in areas I feel called to AND enjoy! But there are times when I simply get tired - worn out - in need of renewal. And today, my snow day off, was just the kind of day for that renewal I really needed!

So...winter, be what you may; snow if you will. I'll take a day of rest any time!

Not too old to learn...

Oh my goodness, I used to think I was on top of the game when it came to technology but things in that area move along so quickly these days. Though where I work I am considered one of the computer guru's, I have no clue as to how an ipod or an mp3 (or is it 4?) player works, nor do I know the first thing about a blackberry. I have text messaged only once and found it quite awkward.

But...to my delight, I learned just yesterday, how to upload a video on YouTube! Didn't take all that much effort in the brain power department, but it was something very new to me. No, I'm not going to give you the link to the video - it was done only for someone specific and I will be deleting it soon. But the sheer accomplishment of actually figuring out how to do it - upload a video from my camcorder - made a very long day a huge success!

All the patterns that are emerging within and around continually amaze me!

Doing a 180 for Lent

I just took a look at my sister's blog - a warm 66 degrees??? Well, I'm still in Wisconsin and it's 10 degrees and the wind is howling. Suspect the wind chill factor is well below zero. This has been a winter of ups and downs - warm (for winter) one day and bitter cold the next...snow one day and melting the next. I'm getting tired of hearing people say, "Well, this is Wisconsin"!!!


So, let's muse a bit about Lent, which began this past Wednesday. Every year I struggle with the concept of giving up something for Lent - as a discipline. We Catholics are to refrain (fast) from eating meat on Fridays during Lent. It may seem blatant disrespect, but I say that practice (and by the way obligation) is rubbish! Nearly 52 Fridays of the year I refrain from eating meat and I'm basically vegitarian anyway! What's the "sacrifice" in it for me during Lent? I have jokingly said this year I will give up football - would be "easy" enough since the season and the Super Bowl is over anyway. The point of fasting from something during Lent is supposed to make us better, through discipline. Well, I equate the word discipline with negativity...and there is certainly more than enough negativity that surrounds many of us. And the point of my stubbornness in not giving up something tangible for Lent is not really a blatant defiance of the religious practice/obligation...or maybe it is.

Anyway, what I have pondered, and invite everyone to consider, is to add something to life during Lent - to "label it", if you will, as a spiritual practice. Something that will seek and serve, if I am/we are faithful to the practice, to nourish and enrich life - and something that will "stick" longer than these 40 days. How about adding some meditation time - some silent abiding time? Heaven knows there is more than enough noise in our lives! Sure, I'll most likely have to "give up" a half hour of sleep. But it's not the giving up that is the focus; it's the adding of the specific practice that will (hopefully and with the grace of the Holy One) nurture and nourish the soul...yes, during Lent but also beyond. Now, isn't that, and the reality that God is deeply in love with us, the stuff of what REALLY matters?