The Penn Stater Magazine

Philadelphia’s Magic Gardens

December 23, 2009

I took the day off yesterday and made a round-trip visit to Philadelphia—not to do Christmas shopping, which is what many normal people would be doing on Dec. 22, but to do some photography. I figured that the recent snowstorm (Philly got about two feet last weekend) combined with a forecast for sunny skies would create some nice possibilities.

At the suggestion of a colleague at the Palmer Museum of Art, Dana Carlisle Kletchka, I included a stop at a place called Philadelphia’s Magic Gardens, on South Street. It’s kind of an indoor/outdoor art installation made up of the amazing work of mosaic artist Isaiah Zagar. Better yet, the executive director of Philadelphia’s Magic Gardens is a Penn Stater: Ellen Owens ’04, who has degrees in both art and art education from the University. We might have to profile her in the magazine sometime—seems like she has a pretty cool job.

The Magic Gardens are indeed a lot of fun to photograph—funky and colorful, with great opportunities for wide-angle shots as well as close-ups of little details in the mosaics. Just a great treat for the eyes. Included here are three of the photos I took yesterday. Click on them to see them bigger.

Tina Hay, editor

Entry Filed under: College of Arts and Architecture, The Penn Stater magazine. Tags: Philadelphia, Philadelphia's Magic Gardens, Isaiah Zagar, Ellen Owens, South Street.