I’m the new Orvis Artist in Residence at Spalding House—I start my installation on July 21. This is my first experience with a specifically outdoor site reflection work. I am excited to begin. This Garden of Reflection is primarily about displays of sunlight upon reflective objects and their movement in the wind.
I am the art teacher at The Academy of the Pacific, and my students are participating in this collaborative event. We have been experimenting with the visual possibilities of colored mirror and reflective Mylar. We have been cutting, bending, pasting, and coloring the materials, then gluing them permanently onto painted sticks of varying lengths, then sticking them into the ground. The challenge for us has been to take the numerous objects we’ve created and assemble them into one coherent and inspiring installation. As the weeks went by, the idea of exotic plant life emerged from the accumulated pieces, sort of growing organically from inorganic materials—sheets of reflective paper and circles of colored mirror. We decided to develop the idea of a garden of reflection, which hopefully will highlight the existing grounds at TCM Spalding House.
I like this blog and this project.
Thank You Lou!
Great job Mark!
I love that you have worked with involving the children actively in the process of creation. This can only broaden their sense of what is possible and meaningful. Incorporating reflection, play with light and using nature both as inspiration and theme leaves room for endless varaiations from every angle. Wonderful initiative!
Thank you Carol for the positive feedback! The collaborative effort with my students on this project was a woderful and rigorous experience. Mark