The Turquoise Trail Sculpture Garden (TTSG) located on a scenic byway south of Santa Fe, New Mexico, is the home and sculpture garden of Artists Jennifer and Kevin Box. It is also the permanent studio home of Origami in the Garden, an outdoor sculpture exhibition developed for public gardens and outdoor museums.

Each sculpture is inspired by a blank piece of paper that has been transformed into museum-quality metal and tells the story of creativity and the art of making something out of nothing.

The collection was created by Artist Kevin Box and includes his own compositions as well as collaborative works with his wife Jennifer and origami masters Beth Johnson, Michael G. LaFosse, Te Jui Fu, Tim Armijo and Robert J. Lang.

‘Folding Planes’ tells the story of a piece of paper dreaming of flying. The composition begins with a blank page at the bottom and proceeds through seven simple folds towards the top where the aeroplane takes flight. A perfect example of making something out of nothing, each fold symbolises a choice or action taken to transform dreams into reality. It takes seven folds to make a piece of paper fly but the first step begins with setting a goal and then following through to the finish.

‘Painted Ponies’ is the first collaboration between Kevin Box and Chinese Origami Artist, Te Jui Fu. The ponies display the colourful papers that are often used in origami, as well as another Japanese paper-folding technique called kirigami, which means cutting paper.

Here, scissors are used to make four cuts in the paper square to more easily achieve the details of the pony’s legs and ears. The symbol on the back of the large pony is a collaborative signature. The Chinese character of Te Jui’s last name, Fu, means teacher, and the box that encloses the character represents Kevin’s last name.

The Turquoise Trail Sculpture Garden is a private residence nestled in the Little Garden of the Gods on Highway 14, a National Scenic Byway. With towering rock formations encompassing the three-acre sculpture garden, visitors meander through a distinct southwest landscape discovering sculpture along the way. In Virginia, visitors can explore an oasis of colours, agriculture and peaceful trails leading through the garden giving an opportunity to seek each sculpture on an intimate level. The Minnesota Landscape Arboretum is a great place to experience larger than life trees, open spaces and a variety of different gardens to explore the sculptures that are within them.