Koi by Sligo Creek Tile Company, 2005.

Sligo Creek Tile Company, Takoma Park, MD

Sunflower Mandala by Margaret Almon, glass, dichroic and smalti on slate, 5″

I planted a sunflower seed when I was 8 years old, along the side of our house.  I was enchanted that the black and white streaked shell could be opened like a gate by the green sprout within.  My father went on a sabbatical when the sunflower was still shorter than me, and we moved to Texas for the year.  I came across letters from Mrs. Firth, our next door neighbor.  I was worried about my sunflower, and had written to her, and she reassured me that it was fine. The growing plant is a wonder.

One evening I went with Stratoz when he needed to water his school garden, and there was a sunflower taller than he was.  I took some pictures of it in full stature.

Stratoz and the Giant Sunflower. Photo by Margaret Almon.

One of the first mandalas I ever made in mosaic was a sunflower, and to discover there were orange ones was a bonus, like the one in this blog’s banner.  I return to sunflowers again, and admire their beautiful faces.

Sunflower Mandala in Nutmeg Designs Etsy Shop

More Orange Goodness at my Orange Tuesdays Pinterest Board.

I finished the 2013 A to Z Blogging Challenge, which kept me blogging throughout April.  One of the pleasures of the challenge is discovering other artists and bloggers who are participating, and these folded tissue paper window stars by Ann of  Harvest Moon by Hand caught my attention.  Like the stained glass cookies of ZOOM, these are another encounter with letting light shine through color.

The Craft Show at the Kimberton Waldorf School is one of my favorites to participate in, and the students sell their own handiwork as well, including Waldorf Stars.  They remind me of the Moravian Stars I grew up with.  My congregation was the home of the Alberta Starcraft Workshop, which constructed Moravian stars in one of the Sunday School classrooms during the week.  Walking into this room was like walking into a galaxy, with stars of many colors hanging along the walls.

Interesting post on using a star to learn multiplication: Math Star

More Orange Goodness at my Orange Tuesdays Pinterest Page.

Harvest Moon by Hand Blog

Harvest Moon by Hand Etsy Shop

Custom Mosaic House Number by Nutmeg Designs. Photo by Margaret Almon.

Custom House Numbers by Nutmeg Designs

Do a ZOOMdo, edited by Bernice Chesler, Little, Brown & Company, 1975

Z is for ZOOM. In the 1970s, Zoom was a place I wanted to be. Although I lived in Canada, a transmitter relayed the wonder of WGBH-Boston to my television set via Spokane’s PBS station.  I didn’t know where Boston was, except as the home of ZOOM, where kids my age made things.  This is the essence of what captivated me: making.  ZOOM kids encouraged the audience to write them letters, and the address was incorporated into the show with such rhythm, that I had it memorized.

As an adult, I found a copy of Do a ZOOMdo at a thrift store, and all the ZOOM goodness was mine for a dollar.  The pages are saturated with color, and instructions for many of the projects I watched raptly at age 8 or 9.  I kept it on the shelf in reserve, just happy it was there.  I picked it up to write this post, and yes, the most memorable project is there:  Stained Glass Cookies.

Stained Glass Cookies from ZOOM circa 1975.

Two details imprinted themselves.  One was the sour ball candy, and how the kids crushed them and filled in the cookie dough frames.  The other was how baking transformed what was crushed into translucent color.  It is no surprise I married a man who eventually became a stained glass artist. . .

Bonus:  Bernadette Yao’s instructions for the Butterfly Arms(if you watched ZOOM you know what I’m talking about.)  Also, the ZOOM logo has some fine orange in it for Orange Tuesday.

My previous A to Z posts.

More images on my A to Z Challenge 2013 Pinterest Board.

A to Z Blogging Challenge April 2013

Ysleta Spanish Mission, near El Paso, Texas. Established in 1682 via Boston Public Library on Flickr.

Y is for Ysleta, TX. I lived in El Paso, TX during the 4th grade, when my father was on sabbatical, and we rented a house near my grandparents. I went to Loma Terrace Elementary School part of the Ysleta Independent School District.  The name Ysleta came from the mission settlement, established in 1682 by Spaniards and Tigua Indians fleeing the Pueblo Revolt in NM.  El Paso annexed Ysleta in 1955.  I didn’t know any of this when I was in the 4th grade, but I did love the sound of the word Ysleta.

Texas Readers Club. 1977.

Moving from Canada to the desert of Western Texas was a shock.  One way I insulated myself was reading.  My father kept our schedule of visiting the library on Saturdays.  I have 5 gold stars on my Texas Readers Club Certificate of Award.  Each star stood for 10 books.  Now I want to look up the authors in the border of the certificate.  I only recognize Lois Lenski.

My previous A to Z posts.

More images on my A to Z Challenge 2013 Pinterest Board.

A to Z Blogging Challenge April 2013

X is for the Xerox Rochester International Jazz Festival. Started by some jazz lovers in Rochester, John Nugent and Marc Iacona in 2002, Xerox became the title sponsor in 2009.

Our first visit, Stratoz went to vespers at Christ Church, one of the venues, and after asked if he could photograph the Tiffany mosaic. He got this cool silhouette of the drum kit as well.

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