A view of The Paine Art Center from the reflecting pond garden located behind the historic 1920s mansion.
KALEIDOSCOPE. Even the word seems to hold a certain mystique. Rotate a kaleidoscope in your hand and the magic unfolds, there, before your eyes.
I’ve always loved looking into these tubes of mirrors and color that present ever-changing designs like a shifting gallery of art.
I’d never known the kaleidoscope as anything but a kid’s toy. But then I toured the gardens at The Paine Art Center in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, and discovered the garden variety of kaleidoscopes. These oversized and sturdy garden kaleidoscopes are comprised of a metal framework surrounding a bowl of plants and a ball. What a visual delight.
Robert C. Anderson, a Sturgeon Bay artist, crafted the garden kaleidoscopes at the Paine. These sculptures bring an interactive dimension to the gardens. I like that.
And because my daughter Miranda was able to photograph through the eye piece with her smartphone, you can see the art of a garden kaleidoscope:
Beautiful, isn’t it?
TELL ME: Have you ever seen a garden kaleidoscope or other interactive piece of garden art that especially intrigued you? Click here to see my blogger friend Valerie’s photos of these from the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum.
FYI: Check back tomorrow for one final post from The Paine as we further explore the gardens. Click here to read my first garden post. And click here to read my first post from inside The Paine Art Center.
© Copyright 2017 Audrey Kletscher Helbling
Close-up kaleidoscope images by Miranda Boyd
Minnesota Prairie Roots 
Love kaleidoscopes and remember them fondly from my youth when we visited grandparents who had them. Of course they were not fancy ones or anything like garden ones but how fun is this garden? What a wonderful find.
Miranda tipped us off to The Paine.
Love the photos looking into the kaleidoscope. My friend took one but I received it after my post.
Chihuly colored=glass sculptures displayed in gardens is beautiful.
Thanks for mentioning my blog.
I was so pleased with those images my daughter took and shared with me.
You are welcome re. the mention.
Beautiful pictures of the kaleidoscope and the gardens. I only see plenty of weeds in my garden area.
Lots of weeds in my flowerbeds this year too given I can’t weed, per my broken shoulder.
I’ve never seen a garden Kaleidoscope, You’re right it is truly an interactive dimension to the gardens.
I had never seen one before this garden either. And I love them.
These pictures are beautiful too. I’ve never heard of kaleidoscopes in a garden but I do have fond memories of playing with them as a child
This was my first exposure to the garden variety also. I, too, have those fond childhood memories.