ZAGAR’S MAGIC GARDEN

A week ago Sunday was a perfectly gorgeous day and I was eager to take a long walk with my camera. I was in search of some graffiti and other street art. Instead of finding graffiti I found a enclave of beauty, art and magic. I am still reeling from my discovery and have been left to wonder why it took me so long to find a treasure like this in the city I have lived in for 7 years. I feel like I was the last person in Philadelphia to know about it.

Certainly, I had seen Isaiah Zagar’s mosaics around town and have admired them and photographed them for quite awhile. There are many buildings in Philadelphia covered with Isaiah’s tiles. The Painted Bride on Vine Street between 2nd and 3rd St. is a masterpiece that I have photographed often and never tire of seeing. But let me tell you, finding the Magic Garden and wandering through its labyrinth of tiles, bicycle wheels, pottery shards, bottles, and other decorative ephemera was mind-boggling. Imagine what it would be like to actually walk into a kaleidoscope of sparking colored glass or pirate’s cave encrusted with treasures of incredible wealth. Well, it is better than either of those things…

It is pure magic! It is a wonderland of decorative whimsy. I wanted to stay there as long as possible to soak up joyful dazzle of the place. Such creative good energy! It was tinkling, jingling, buzzing and humming with beauty, peace, love and ecstatic exuberance. Isaiah’s Magic Garden is a delicious dream of what life could be like if we all embraced art, beauty and joy as our natural birthright.

I took over a hundred photos and would like to share just a few of the better ones with you. You can check my Flickr site to see more of the Magic Garden photos. I suggest you look at them in their largest size to get the full impact of the complexity of the mosaics and all the decorative details. Quite honestly, the photos do not give justice to the Magic Garden. You do not get a sense of the complexity and beauty of the place. It really must be experienced to get the full magical impact. If you are planning to visit Philadelphia, make certain you get to see this amazing place. It is only open on weekends, but I think you can call for an appointment. Check out the Magic Garden website for more information.

Content and photos copyright 2007 Janet Towbin.

CINDI’S PRINT STUDIO

Today was more than just a great day. It was terrific! I accomplished so much and it feels great to be that productive. Creatively productive.

I spent the whole day at C.R. Ettinger’s studio in Old City. I managed to work on 4 different etchings and they all came out better than I had hoped. I have been struggling with one of the prints for almost 2 years now, and I think I finally resolved it by making the aquatint a good bit darker. There is one more color trial proof Cindi has to print for me so we can nail the right color. No photo of that one yet–but soon.

Kaleidoscope I and Kaleidoscope II have been through many incarnations and stages, but today’s additional lines etched in KII have added depth and strength to the print. No photo of KII but Kaleidoscope I has 3 new bands of aquatint and the print is completely changed. The whole pattern is stronger and the color-range has been extended. Even though it is a 2-color etching it looks like there are 4 or 5 colors in it. Amazing what a little bit of aquatint can do…

Here is Kaleidoscope I before and after the additional aquatint:

KI–2nd state

KI–3rd state

There is another little print I worked on with tons of cross-hatched lines that is loosely based on some work I saw (amazing stuff) by Gego (Gertrude Goldschmidt) currently on exhibit at The Drawing Center in NYC.
Gego’s art is truly inspired stuff…her hanging sculptures are made of delicate wires that cast intricate shadows on gallery walls. And her drawings make me salivate. No kidding…I really want one of them! Almost as much as I want a print or drawing by Agnes Martin.

Well, I guess my wish list will have to keep growing for now–there’s little chance that a work by Agnes Martin is in my future–or a Gego, for that matter. Thank God there are museums and galleries where I can go to see work by these marvelous artists.

There are wonderful books available about both artists. Check out these titles at Amazon.com for Gego and Agnes Martin.

Content and photos copyright 2007 by Janet Towbin.