Carolyn Bennett is noted for her career as a kaleidoscope artist and photographer.
She was born and raised in a small upstate New York town.
Her father was a dentist and guitar maker. Her mother was
an accomplished porcelain painter and teacher. Fascination
with kaleidoscopes began as a young child. In 1959, at the
age of nine she made her first kaleidoscope from instructions
in a 1917 edition of an old encyclopedia.
After earning a BA in Fine Arts, New York University and a
MA in Art History / Art Education, SUNY, New Paltz, Carolyn
began teaching art. In 1973, while teaching, Carolyn began
to make kaleidoscopes again. An interest that began as a hobby quickly became a passion.
In 1978 she began her career as a full time kaleidoscope artist. Through the years C.Bennett Scopes grew and relocated ten times.
Carolyn considers kaleidoscopes a contemporary art form and continues to do extensive research and experimentation. She is now considered to be one of the pioneers of the modern kaleidoscope movement. Each of her kaleidoscopes is designed to be an interesting piece of sculpture. She approaches the inner image as if it were a painting, combining colors and shapes to create complex and infinite patterns. The discovery of an ever unfolding world of color, art, philosophy, and beauty within the kaleidoscope continues to inspire her.
Carolyn was one of the Directors of the Brewster Kaleidoscope Society, ('03-'07)(www.brewstersociety.com) an international organization for kaleidoscope enthusiasts, started 1986 by the late Cozy Baker.
She holds several US Patents for her numerous designs and inventions ie. The Pop-Up Kaleidoscope™ , a scope that folds flat and opens to become a working kaleidoscope and the Scopelens™, a kaleidoscopic attachment for a 35 mm camera. (now obsolete thanks to cell phones).
Published by Workman Publishing in 1994, Carolyn’s Kids’ Book of Kaleidoscopes sold over 175,000 copies. A complete re-write and redesign of the Kid’s Book of Kaleidoscopes was published by Workman in 2012 and is still available in major bookstores.
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Her designs and contributions to the kaleidoscope and art community have been recognized with many awards. She is proudest of the Cozette Award. Presented in 2018, it is the highest award the Brewster Kaleidoscope Society bestows.
See her complete kaleidoscope site here:
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And then along came ChainBow™!
It began a few years ago. Carolyn bought a bunch of chains and played around with them making magnet games and little art collages. The colors and the sensuous feel began to captivate her. One chain led to another.
Because her mind never strays too far from the Kaleidoscopic she began to use the chain to decorate her kaleidoscope bodies and saw that the possibilities for this kind of surface decoration are endless. It is calming and rewarding to do. It's Fast and neat! Good for a wide age range.
And she wants to share that with you!
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