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Health & Fitness

Walter Wick: A Creative Genius

How does he do it? Walter Wick, the author of the I Spy series clues us in at the Bruce Museum in Greenwich.

I spy the artwork of a brilliant man; can you guess whose it is? I know I can!

The renowned photographs of Walter Wick are now on display at the 's exhibit titled Walter Wick: Games, Gizmos and Toys in the Attic. Now everyone can enjoy the illusions and imagination of Walter Wick until April 22, 2012.

I was very honored to be invited to the opening of this amazing exhibit and was able to have a tour of the display by the remarkable man himself. When our group of columnists started the tour, Wick started to tell us about his inspiration, work, and his life.

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Wick grew up in Connecticut and always had a huge imagination. As he got older he started to become interested in painting and drawing and then his brother introduced him to photography. Later, Wick studied photography at Paier College of Art in Hamden, CT. After graduating in 1973, Wick went to New York and started his own studio. Wick started to play with light, shadow, and various props. These photographs of odds and ends were what jump started his career. Wick proceeded to create photographic puzzles for Games Magazine. Wick’s intriguing photographs caught the eye of Jean Marzollo, which led to their collaboration on I Spy: A Book of Picture Riddles. Now, Wick and Marzollo have created over 20 I Spy books and Wick has created his own series called Can You See What I See?, Walter Wick’s Optical Tricks, and A Drop of Water: A Book of Science and Wonder. Wick’s picture puzzle books are fun for children of all ages and it was such a privilege to meet the man behind the magic! 

I am one of the many kids to have grown up with the I Spy books and it was absolutely incredible to be able to have a tour of these illusions by Walter Wick. I was able to talk with and ask him about how he created each illusion and how he created ideas for each of his stories. I asked him how he came up with the elaborate ideas for each story and how he created the photographs to compliment the narratives, since all of his books astounded me. Wick told me that he sketches each scene out before building and finding odd props and backdrops to go along with them. Some scenes take 2-3 days to complete while others take 4-8 weeks. His amount of skill, patience, and originality amazes me; I would probably lose my mind if I was working on a photograph for more than a few weeks! Nevertheless, being able to meet and talk with Walter Wick will always be a moment I cherish.

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I hope that everyone has a chance to see the magnificent artwork of Walter Wick at the Bruce Museum.

Bruce Museum
1 Museum Drive, 
Greenwich, CT 06830

Phone: (203) 869-0376

Museum Hours
Tuesday - Saturday: 10 am - 5 pm
Sunday: 1 pm - 5 pm
Last admission: 4:30 pm 

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