Among the most stunning features of Howard Finster’s Paradise Garden in Summerville, Georgia, are its sidewalks. Some bear representational images of buildings, others are abstract aggregations of potsherds. Some bear text messages, others are virtual encyclopedias of Finster’s tools.
These mosaic ribbons threading through the garden are a potent representation of how his creativity found expression in every aspect of the environment around him.
Although several panels have been removed to the High Museum in Atlanta, most of them remain in place, albeit a bit worse for the wear. This gallery includes some photos from around 1990, when Finster was still alive and tending the garden, and others from the fall of 2016, 15 years after his death.
You can find more information about the Garden, and contribute to its well-being, at the Paradise Garden Foundation.