Martin Strolz Blues from GRS Grand Masters 2009

[mdengraver]

Martin Strolz Blues" - YouTube

www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_-N3cU64FQ

By glendogrs ·
3 min ·
403 views ·
Added Oct 08, 2009

Friday, October 2, 2009 // As a farewell and thank you to Martin Strolz for teaching one of the Grand Masters Program courses at Glendo Corporation in ...

 

[Andrew Biggs]

My goodness.....that brings back some very fond memories of that class

Martins GRS Grand Masters class was excellent and a real privilege to attend. He is Grand Master in every sense of the meaning. To watch him work was just incredible the way he pounded out a scene with his hammer and punches. He made it seem oh so easy.

Rod's song was the icing on the cake

Cheers
Andrew

 

[rod]

I don't know where you found that song, MD, in among about a billion YouTubes, but thank you for bringing back memories of an outstanding Masterclass given by an outstanding teacher/artist/ engraver, and a man for all seasons.

It is timely, I just responded yesterday, to a most wonderful email from Martin. The quality level of that memorable GRS week was way above my pay level, however I was privileged to be on the course, and Martin left a permanent impact on my work and on my life. Engraving aside, he and I shared an interest in mountains, and by coincidence I had made an ascent of two big Alps in his native Austria, when I was about 19 years old, these were the Wildspitze and the Weisskugel.

Martin has climbed for many years, usually solo, in fact he came to GRS straight from the Dolomites. But his wilderness adventures also extend to high performance gliding, and sports car rally driving. Indoors, he is an audiophile, who builds splendid high end preamps for his sound system.

Well, in that context, he wrote me this summer with dramatic photos of his recent ascent of the Wildspize, this mountain demands advanced rock and ice techniques. However, before the climb, Martin made an astounding solo glide from his home base to this mountain, around it, and returned, a total flight of 8 hours, and above dangerous glacier conditions. Let me quote from his email:

" ...Hello Rod!

Finally I can tell you that I too have been on the summit of the Wildspitze. It truly was a great day and a very good experience. As I mostly go to the mountains alone, I needed to book a class for mountaineering. So I had a good guide and I could learn important techniques. Meanwhile I have purchased all the technical stuff for further excursions. The week before I had suitable weather to visit that mountain with the glider from my home base Micheldorf. It was a 360 Miles out and return flight. Conditions got weak on my way home so the flight lasted more than 8 hours. Longer than the climb itself...

I hope you and your loved ones are fine!
Your friend, Martin..."

I have done enough gliding and light plane work involving aerial photography amidst the high mountains of British Columbia (not as pilot) to know that Martin's adventure was cutting edge, yet that is exactly what his life is about, with every endeavour he undertakes .... cutting edge. He appears to feel at home 'standing on thin ice'. It is my own view, this level of uncertainty, with attendant risks, has to become familiar homeground for those determined to be masterful.

It is because I admire the man, that I have taken the liberty of sharing his adventure, since it is not in Martin's character to be outspoken.

Rod