Magic Gardens

Art should not be segregated to museums; it needs to live free among us. ~ Isaiah Zagar



The city of Philadelphia has numerous murals of paint and tile which have reformed neighborhoods and communities throughout the area. Last week I led a small group on a Mission Trip to the St. Francis Inn in Philadelphia which had been planned for some time. While on the trip we took a few afternoons/ evenings to take in some of the cultural sites including the Magic Gardens in Philadelphia, off of South Street. This is an outstanding environmental mural installation of tile, glass and mixed media by the artist, Isaiah Zagar, who we had the pleasure to meet. The installation took him years to complete, which he began in 1994, and he continues to build across the street, parallel to South Street.

See photos of Zagar's Magic Gardens.

We also took some time to visit the Philadelphia Museum of Art and viewed the Impressionists, Post Impressionists, Modern, Post Modern and some special Contemporary exhibitions there.
We also viewed the special exhibition at the Franklin Institute, Cleopatra, which included artifacts from a recent archaeological excavation.

During the long train ride from NC to Pa and back, and some evenings, I had a lot of time for reading to inform my work in progress.