Kathy and Karol take on South Street in Philly!

Have you ever heard of Philadelphia's Magic Gardens?  Have you heard of the artist named Isaiah Zagar?

Well, if your answer is no to both questions, you must go check it out. 

Philadelphia's Magic Garden is located on South Street in Philadelphia.  The neighborhood is full of tattoo parlors, cheesesteak restaurants, consignment and antique shops.  My kind of neighborhood!

 Isaiah Zagar has and is creating mosaic murals like no other.  The Magic Garden is his work of art.

Every turn reveals something new and different.  I just love this sideways bird!

Ceilings, floors and walls are all mosaic! (look in the far back and note the archway made with bottles)

 There are so many words to describe it...remarkable, fascinating, incredible, overwhelming, beautiful, thought evoking, green, masterpiece, delightful  magical, inspiring, re-purposing, life's work, artistic....I could go on and on.  I've never seen anything like it.

This is a ceiling

Nothing is off limits; mirrors, glass, tile, bottles, bicycle wheels, statuary.  You name it, you can probably find it!

This is a stairway that leads to a labyrinth. 

     He bought the property in 1994 and works on it daily.  This space is his biggest accomplishment, but he has done several very large mosaic murals in over 100 spots in the city.  His goal is to mosaic the entire city.

 Do you see Karol in the distance?

 this says: I built this santuary to be inhabited by my ideas and my fantasies

 I love these blue bottles and

 there are figures everywhere!

Here is a wall with so much embedded in it, it is hard to see it all!

A little hiding place to just sit and think...

You can find mosaics all over the neighborhood.  Each one is unique and beautiful!

Karol and her new friends.  How many faces can you find?

This was on a wall in a parking lot...

and this is the wall of a building.  I found his work to be so inspirational.  I have all kinds of new ideas for my classes in the fall. 

I want this on my doorstep!

Field trips are a wonderful way to recharge our creative batteries! 

Of course, you can't go to Philly without having a cheese-steak for lunch, and we did!

blogging challenge day 17 - my day in pics

a quick look at my day:

 ansel adams nature photography with preschoolers

signs of spring everywhere you look

a beautiful hydrangea never dead-headed

rhododendron bud starting to form

 mama wren waiting patiently for the playground to clear...

and after a long day of work, at home relaxing on my porch

among the colors

and patterns I love so much

something I found this winter in my forsythia bush

(bringing this to school to show my enrichment class next week)

and dixie always standing guard, she is a very hard worker dog!

Blogging challenge day 10 - portfolio time

It's that time of year again. The school year is coming to a close and it's time for me to put all the portfolios together showcasing the children's' work. This time of year is bittersweet for me. Most of the pre-k children are moving up and out of our school to various kindergarten classes. A handful will stay and continue at the school.
But it is so nice to look back at the projects and see what was a hit and what was a miss.

I love to look at one child's body of work and see how much they've grown and improved since September. I love to look at all the self portraits and see if I can guess who it is without looking at the name. I gather up the Matisse patterned hands that the pre-k so diligently worked on and marvel at their ability at such a young age. So another year comes to an end. I have one more lesson next month with the K-1 class and I'll send them home with their work, give them a hug and hope that in a small way I've made art fun while introducing them to the wonderful world of art history.