A U.S. Marine veteran with a penchant for precision and a sense of sentimentality stays busy in his rural Onalaska art studio creating kaleidoscopes of intricate process, color and form.
“If after 20 years in the Marines anyone thinks I can’t make something shiny, they’re wrong,” Erik Hansen said.
Following his military career as a jet engine mechanic, Hansen served as an Arizona state highway patrolman for 17 years. During these many years, he spent time off working on his land near Onalaska, where he and his wife, Julie Harrell, have built a home.
At loose ends after retirement, about 10 years ago Hansen was encouraged by Julie to join her in a kaleidoscope building workshop at the Nelly Bly art gallery and studio in Jerome, Arizona. Established in 1988, Nelly Bly bills itself as the largest kaleidoscope gallery in the world.
“That workshop changed everything,” Hansen said. “We were spinning machines and using fire. I was hooked.”
Hansen returns to the gallery each year for kaleidoscope workshops to continue to build his skills and network with other artists. This year, he also plans to serve as a workshop instructor.
The symmetry and alchemy of kaleidoscopes include the meticulous design of a mathematically calculated system of tiny reflective mirrors placed at certain angles, and then the precise cutting of each mirror to fit tightly together.
Miniature shards of stained and textured glass merge, overlap and cascade within the mirrored reflections. These components may be left dry or suspended in oil or glycerin within the cell component, which is the container for these pieces.
Finally, a form of wood or other materials of a certain width and length, depending on the size and components of the cell, must be designed and built to hold the kaleidoscope comfortably while providing optimal visual and spatial imagery. Cells are usually less than an inch deep, otherwise the images’ periphery can disappear during viewing.
“The key is that the angles of each mirror must total 180 degrees,” Hansen said, adding that he creates equilateral, isosceles and other triangular formations of varied measurement and complexity using specialty mirrors.
“If the mirrors are perfect, you can follow each angle with a straight line and everything else follows,” he said.
Using a micrometer, mirror measurements can reach down to a 100th of a millimeter. Hansen has used strings from his mandolin to measure mirror placement.
Kaleidoscope builders also have to take the transmission of side or end light into account while balancing the textures of glass and palette of colors. Hansen said he especially enjoys doing lampwork in his home studio as the torch allows him to stretch and pull the shards of glass.
“I’m chasing perfection,” Hansen said, “to have the image as bright and clear as possible.”
Hansen is an active member of the Brewster Society, an international association of kaleidoscope artists, galleries that sell kaleidoscopes, collectors and museums. He attends its national convention each year and hopes to bring next year’s gathering to the Pacific Northwest.
The society is named for Sir David Brewster, a Scottish optics scientist who invented the kaleidoscope in 1816. The popularity of the kaleidoscope and its joyful movement of color caught on quickly with 200,000 sold in London and Paris within the following year, when a patent was obtained. The name comes from ancient Greek words meaning “observation of beautiful forms.”
Brewster’s work in the physical laws of light absorption and polarization also led directly to the discovery of light-stabs of brilliance that could pierce far into the night, resulting in the lighthouse as we know it today.
In addition to hand-held kaleidoscopes from a few inches to over a foot in length, Hansen also creates specialty ones, such as box scopes and parlor scopes where the scope leans over a permanent base which holds a rotating dish with colorful items such as jewelry placed on it for viewing.
For his daughter’s wedding, he created a double end-to-end kaleidoscope that enables two people to view the same cell simultaneously while each sees two different moving patterns of color and light.
Hansen creates the barrels and cells of his cylinder kaleidoscopes by woodturning specialty pieces of wood such as walnut. He said woodworking palm nuts can result in a cell that resembles buttery antiqued ivory.
Other barrels are from copper on which decorative designs are laser printed and then etched, using images he has collected over the years or by finding images that hold meaning for him or for others. Layers of acid are applied to have the images raised slightly above the surface.
While reading a book recently written by ex-Marine Josh Amos, a Northwest author with whom Hansen served in the military, he was moved by the family story and setting and later etched a delicate scene of the aunt’s garden and gazebo on a copper kaleidoscope.
“With images, I can create custom kaleidoscopes and help keep memories alive,” Hansen said. “It’s up to anyone’s desire or imagination, really.”
He recollected giving a kaleidoscope recently to an autistic child which resulted in a highly treasured gift. Several Japanese studies indicate looking through a kaleidoscope can help lower stress and induce a sense of calmness and are used often as a tool during meditative practice.
“This makes me feel like I’m doing something worthwhile,” Hansen said. “Making kaleidoscopes is my artistic expression and I love doing it.”
Hansen’s creations are sold at the Nelly Bly store and at a handful of art galleries across the country, including the Rectangle Gallery in Centralia. When attending the gallery’s First Friday evening openings, he wears one of his two-inch kaleidoscopes strung on a cord.
See hansenharrellcreations on Instagram.com to learn more.
