And it Continues

A week ago, I had the chance to teach kaleidophotos to a group of Girl Scout leaders, in a three-hour session. I brought along copies of the regular and reverse images of pictures that a friend of mine had taken; six copies of each for each person. I also brought along a gallery of kaleiophotos that I had made from my own pictures. The participants were given the choice of learning how to use the kaleidophotos first, and how to make them second, or vice versa. They chose the arts and crafts part to be first. (I'm going to abbreviate: "kp" means "kaleidophoto."

In about an hour and a half, each person was able to cut their picture apart, and tape the slices together to form a kp. They were just short of amazed at the difference between the two completed pieces, one from each side of a diagonal cut.

The second part of the session used the gallery that I'd brought along. Each person selected one kp from the set. They were asked to reflect on a "problem, challenge, or decision" that they were facing. Then to describe that problem. Then to let the kp they'd chosen become a metaphor for the problem, and complete the statement, "This picture represents my problem because..." The final reflection was to use the same kp, but complete the statement, "This picture also represents the solution to my problem because..."

The large group was divided into groups of three. Each person in the triplet presented her problem, the reason the picture represented the problem, and how the picture also represented the solution. Then the picture was passed to the right. The second person took on the problem and the picture of the first person, and then, using "I," "me" and "my" described her interpretation of the metaphor of the problem and the solution. Then the picture was passed to the third person in the triplet, and the reflection continued. The whole process was repeated for each of the other two people in the triplet, so everyone had a chance to present a problem and hear two reflections on it.

Caution: if you do this, emphasize that persons two and three in each round must stay in the first person (I, me, my). If someone slips into "You" and "Your," any further comments will be interpreted as being judgemental, and quite possibly harsh.

Let me know if you'd like to get further instructions in how to make and use kaleidophotos.

How it all works

Three of us attended CPSI this year: Jane, Missy, and me (Hank). We each took a different course for the main part of the week. In one of the “extending sessions,” we teamed up and gave a presentation together. And I was able to help a friend give her day-long presentation on a technique she developed, called kaleidophotos.

In essence, this technique combines the idea of a kaleidoscope (mirrors in a tube) with photography, building an abstract design from a picture and its reflection.

A stack of chairs becomes …

The resulting kaleidophoto is used as a tool for quiet reflection. It becomes a stimulus for thinking in new ways, providing new insights toward the solution of problems.

This class in June was not my first experience with kaleidophotos. Two years ago, we used photos that the leader had made, to reflect on problems we were trying to solve. The second class I attended, last year, included a time for reflections, and also gave us a chance to take our own pictures and convert them to kaleidophotos. After I took that class, I experimented with the PhotoShop software program, and learned how to create kaleidophotos entirely on the computer. In that respect, I went beyond what the teacher had taught. I’ll be continuing my education this fall, when I become the teacher and present the technique on my own.