by Noelle Backer
| PROFILE IN SUCCESS |
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Cozy Baker: Promoting Kaleidoscopes with a Message of Hope
by Noelle Backer |
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BEFORE I INTERVIEWED COZY BAKER, I WAS ALREADY IMPRESSED WITH HER CAREER. SHE FOUNDED THE FIRST AND ONLY KALEIDOSCOPE SOCIETY, SHE OWNS THE WORLD'S LARGEST COLLECTION OF KALEIDOSCOPES, SHE HAS WRITTEN MOST OF THE AVAILABLE BOOKS ON THE SUBJECT, AND SHE IS KNOWN AND RESPECTED BY PROBABLY EVERY KALEIDOSCOPE ARTIST IN THE COUNTRY, IF NOT THE WORLD.
But after I interviewed her, I was more than impressed. Her story is one of those rare awe-inspiring tales that truly illustrates the effect a handmade object can have on someone's spirit, and how one person's passion can create an international community.
 Cozy Baker. Photo by Adam Peiperl |
BEAUTY BORN FROM TRAGEDY
Often referred to as the "First Lady of American Kaleidoscopes" or as the "patron saint of kaleidoscopes," Baker could also be called a "wonder of wonders," which, coincidentally, reflects the name of her fifth book on kaleidoscopes. Baker not only survived one of the worst tragedies someone could experience, but she gathered strength from it, and used it to help others. In 1981, Baker's youngest son, Randall, was killed by a drunk driver. Overcome by the need to find a way to survive such a severe loss, she decided it was essential to find something of beauty to help balance out the tragedy. For her, that thing of beauty was a kaleidoscope.
"There is a spiritual, almost sacred connection when looking into a kaleidoscope," says Baker. "It is like a message of hope as you see each new image formed from the pieces that break apart from what came before. It is almost like a divine order." Baker became so fascinated with kaleidoscopes, she says, that she now "lives and breathes them."
But before Baker took her first steps toward changing the kaleidoscope field forever, she wrote a book, "Love Beyond Life," about how to triumph over tragedy. The book was so well-received that she was invited to speak at Unity church services and at hospice groups around the country. "One of the tips I gave people was to find a new interest, and I decided to take my own advice," says Baker.
And she did. In fact, she pursued her new interest with such passion that within a year she was seeking out kaleidoscope artists in every corner of the country. "There was an article in Smithsonian Magazine about kaleidoscope artists, but it only included seven artists," says Baker. "So, I did a little detective work to find more. ... I [began to] seek them out, and then all of a sudden, they started to find me!"
 (Above, from left) Glass scopes by Allen Crandell, Debra Davis, Gordon and Analeise Redmond, Sue Ross, Carmen and Stephen Colley, and Greg Hanks. |
FROM HER FIRST BOOK TO THE WORLD'S FIRST KALEIDOSCOPE ORGANIZATION
During Baker's search for more information on kaleidoscopes, she had gone to the Library of Congress, where she found a number of books with the word "kaleidoscope" in the title, but no books on the subject. She would soon change that.
When she was conceiving the idea for the first-ever book on kaleidoscopes, she says, "I had been wondering if I should do a newsletter instead." Then one month after the book was out, she says, "I was asked to curate an exhibition. I knew all of the artists, and most of them came [from many different parts of the country] to the exhibition. Someone there said, 'You have to put something out to let us know where and when the next [exhibitions] will be.' One year later," says Baker, "I started the newsletter."
The newsletter quickly spawned an organization joining collectors and artists, which was Baker's intention despite some debate about whether the concept would work. "People kept saying, 'You can't have an organization for both the people who are buying and the people who are selling.' But, we did it, and have been going for 15 years strong."
For those 15 years, Baker ran the now 700-plus-member international organization, called the Brewster Society (after kaleidoscope inventor Sir David Brewster), single-handedly from her home in Bethesda, Md. She recently took on a partner to help her manage the newsletter, and the three-day kaleidoscope convention that the society runs. The convention includes an evening devoted to artists, which only wholesale buyers can attend. "The wholesale night is also the unveiling of new scopes," says Baker, "and there are about 50 or 60 artists."
THE WORLD'S LARGEST COLLECTION
It can certainly not be said that Baker does not take her work home with her -- she recently converted her home into a house/museum for Brewster Society members. It is the only place in the world where you can find scopes from every era and every technical variation, from original Brewster scopes to every style of scopes made today. The museum also houses videos, books and projection scopes -- "everything kaleidoscope-related," says Baker, including quilts and light sculptures. "They are in every room, even the bathroom."
And it won't stop there. Although Baker tries to limit her purchases to new artists, she says, "Of course, I have to have something with every mirror system, and every innovation." As a result, she says, "There is never a week where I don't get one to three new kaleidoscopes. Sometimes I wish [the artists] would all take a year sabbatical!"
Surprisingly, Baker is not yet running out of space for her ever-increasing collection. "Well, I have them in 10 rooms," she says. "But, it's funny how each one I get seems to have its own special place waiting for it, and there are now several outdoor scopes!"
FOR MORE INFORMATION |
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Cozy Baker The Brewster Society Box 1073 Bethesda, MD 20817 cozybaker1@aol.com Kaleidoscopes: Wonders of Wonder (Photos are from "Kaleidoscopes: Wonders of Wonder.") |
AN IMPACT OF IMMEASURABLE SCOPE
Baker's efforts in the kaleidoscope field have literally changed the market, and they have hardly gone unnoticed. Every kaleidoscope artist I have met credits her with providing them access to a world-wide market. One kaleidoscope artist, David Sugich, even wrote a song called "Kaleidoscope" dedicated to her, which has since been adopted as the Brewster Society's official anthem. She has been featured in Art & Antiques magazine, and was most recently named in Niche magazine's list of "20 Who Made a Difference" in the crafts field, among such names as Gustav Stickley, Harvey Littleton, Lloyd Herman, Aileen Osborn Webb and TCR's founding editor, Michael Scott.
In addition to fostering the development of and documenting the kaleidoscope field, the Brewster Society also donates kaleidoscopes to children with AIDS, children's hospitals, the Salvation Army, the International Eye Foundation, cancer clinics, hospice groups, the homeless and other organizations. This effort reflects Baker's belief that the kaleidoscope can have many benefits to people in desperate situations. "One of my favorite aspects of the kaleidoscope is its meditative and therapeutic healing dimension," she says.
Baker isn't the only one who believes in this aspect. "Dr. Hirotomo Ochi in Japan is conducting scientific studies on the number of times the eye blinks while looking at a kaleidoscope, the number of breaths a person takes, and [studying its effects on] stress," explains Baker. Considering the healing power these geometric works had on Baker, the effect certainly seems to be great, at least for some.
Her success has definitely been heartened by her passion for kaleidoscopes and for the artists who create them. Baker's devotion to kaleidoscopes wasn't really a choice, though, she says. It was a revelation of sorts. "You would be very hard-pressed to look through a kaleidoscope and find any negativity. It is pure joy."
Noelle Backer is editor of The Crafts Report.
Copyright© 2001
JANUARY 2001: TABLE OF CONTENTS