Mar 18, 2016

Twelve years ago when Bob Benson saw a single strand of mirrors in a friend’s yard blowing in the breeze, he remembers thinking, “Boy, that has possibilities.”

: Mirror artist Bob Benson is reflected in one of the mirrors of the tree he created in his yard. Fellow artist and welder Rick Ames created the metal structure for the tree. (Algerina Perna/Baltimore Sun)

: This “Ringed Oscillum” made by Bob Benson reflects the surrounding trees in his yard. Plastic cut into rings is the base onto which mirrors are glued on each side. (Algerina Perna/Baltimore Sun)

: Mirrors decorated with smaller pieces of colored mirrors are part of the The Mirror Tapestry hung in Encantada restaurant at the American Visionary Art Museum. This artwork of three 50-foot rows of 4-foot long “flashies” was made with the assistance of students who are now mirror artists, including Susan Colligan, Sam School, Alvin Schenk and Sy Kotler. (Algerina Perna/Baltimore Sun)

: Bob Benson is pictured in his living room, with finished mirror art and pieces of cut mirror, the building blocks of his art. Behind him a tree of colored mirrors snakes up the wall. (Algerina Perna/Baltimore Sun)

: Bob Benson looks at a limb of one of two man-made “trees” in his yard he made of mirrors. The structure for the tree was made by welder and artist Rick Ames. Benson is wearing a tie he made from colored mirrors. (Algerina Perna/Baltimore Sun)

: “Flashies” hang in one of Bob Benson’s workshop windows. Benson who coined the work, “flashies,” are “simple strands of double mirrors hanging on a (40-pound) fishing filament.” (Algerina Perna/Baltimore Sun)

: Using a Glastar Circle cutter on a board, Bob Benson scores a sheet of mirror. After seeing a strand of mirrors blowing in the wind twelve years ago, he researched tools online and taught himself how to make mirror art. (Algerina Perna/Baltimore Sun)

: Once the mirror is scored, it breaks easily with a pair of convex pliers. (Algerina Perna/Baltimore Sun)

: Once mirror is cut into varying geometrical shapes, Bob Benson sandwiches 40 lb. fishing filament with Household goop between the geometric pieces of mirror. (Algerina Perna/Baltimore Sun)

: “From Outer Space,” made with one-inch-square mirrors on a plastic base, sways from a tree limb in Bob Benson’s yard. (Algerina Perna/Baltimore Sun)

: Dripping like icicles, mirrors from one-half to four inches long glued back-to-back dangle from the metal branches in Bob Benson’s yard, and clink like a chorus of crystal glasses. (Algerina Perna/Baltimore Sun)

: Sally Cuccineillo, who was visiting Baltimore with her husband, Dan, from Deerfield Beach, FL, takes a video of The Mirror Tapestry in Encantada restaurant in the American Visionary Art Museum. (Algerina Perna/Baltimore Sun)

: Bob Benson holds one of his “mirrorages” in his living room. Plexiglass is used as a base onto which mirrors are glued flat against its surface. Additional colored and uncolored mirrors are added to make a 3-D design. (Algerina Perna/Baltimore Sun)

: This infinity mirror just one and one-half inches deep and made with a one-way mirror and a regular mirror with lights sandwiched in between creates the illusion of much greater depth. (Algerina Perna/Baltimore Sun)

: Bob Benson holds an oscillum up to the window box in his dining room. He explains that his design originates from oscilla that Greeks and Romans hung in their vineyards to bring a good harvest. Bacchus, the Roman god of wine was usually depicted on one side of the disc. (Algerina Perna/Baltimore Sun)

: Mirror art comes in all shapes and sizes such as this garland of one-inch-squares. (Algerina Perna/Baltimore Sun)

: The metal structure for one of Bob Benson’s mirror trees in his yard was made by welder and artist Rick Ames. (Algerina Perna/Baltimore Sun)

: The Blinged-Out Universal Tree of Life at the American Visionary Art Museum is decorated with thousands of pieces of mirrors. It’s a popular subject for photo students and tourists. At 21 feet, it is part of the museum’s permanent collection. The tree is a collaboration between mirror artist Bob Benson and artist and welder, Rick Ames, who created the metal structure or “branches” from which the mirrors are hung. (Algerina Perna/Baltimore Sun)

: The Blinged-Out Universal Tree of Life at the American Visionary Art Museum is decorated with thousands of pieces of mirrors. At 21 feet, it is part of the museum’s permanent collection. The tree is a collaboration between mirror artist Bob Benson and artist and welder, Rick Ames, who created the metal structure or “branches” from which the mirrors are hung. (Algerina Perna/Baltimore Sun)

: In the foreground is the “Star of David.” As it turns, one can see the star at one point; a rectangle at another, and 3 triangles at another. A mirrored wind chime hanging behind it is framed in the Star. (Algerina Perna/Baltimore Sun)

: Robert Benson and Richard Ames created a permanent artwork, “Oceanus,” for the American Visionary Art Museum. The “ocean” complements a moving sculpture of “Black Icarus,” by Andrew Logan. (Algerina Perna/Baltimore Sun)

Since then, Benson has turned those possibilities into mirrored creations of all shapes and sizes, from jewelry as small as a locket to the 21-foot mirror tree outside the Visionary Art Museum where more of his artwork is on display with artist collaborator Rick Ames.

Benson’s home sparkles in a kaleidoscope of colors. “Mirrorages,” a combination of paint and colored mirrors on a plexiglass base, adorn his living room along with several other designs. In other rooms, two infinity mirrors one and one-half inches deep create the illusion of much greater depth. Outside, two mirrored trees made with rows of one-half- to four-inch-long mirrors glued back-to-back dangle in varying lengths from the metal branches and jingle like a chorus of crystal glasses. The basic building blocks for Benson’s work include a cutting board, a glass cutter, a pair of convex pliers, quarter-inch thick mirror, 40 lb. fishing filament and a highly adhesive glue.

Benson is passionate about his art and shares his self-taught technique by giving workshops at his home and at the Visionary Art Museum. “Many people who come to the workshop say they don’t have creative ability. They find out they’re wrong; they create beautiful things & they can see how easy it is to do it.” For more information, go to his website, ShinyHappyThings.net.

Bob Benson, mirror artist

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