Bootsie Weiss Children’s Garden

A special place on Fleisher’s campus, the Bootsie Weiss Children’s Garden, has provided young artists with an inspiring creative space to learn and grow for more than a decade. The garden was the vision of Beverly “Bootsie” Weiss, a celebrated artist and dedicated Fleisher board member, who passed away in 2009.

Bootsie led the fundraising efforts to make the garden possible and shared her vision of a garden that “would open up a world of opportunities for Fleisher’s programs and for the children who benefit from them.” Following her passing, Fleisher, with the support of generous contributors, carried out her vision and named the garden in her honor.

The garden was dedicated in 2008, with friends and supporters gathered in the vibrant space adjacent to Palumbo Park. The garden includes colorful mosaics, reminiscent of Bootsie’s own acclaimed work, as well as a beautiful iron gate by sculptor Warren Holzman.

Bootsie Weiss was a Pennsylvania-based artist specializing in mosaics made from tiles and pieces of ordinary objects that she broke and reassembled into artworks on walls. From the 1990s until 2006, Mrs. Weiss was on Fleisher Art Memorial’s Board of Directors and also served as a Board member of the Clay Studio. While serving on Fleisher’s Board, it was her vision to activate Fleisher’s garden in a way that celebrated the innate creativity of children in our community. Leading up to the completion of the garden, she worked with youth students to create mosaic art that could be displayed on the walls of the outdoors space.

In carrying on Bootsie’s legacy and love for mosaics, the Weiss family committed to a multi-year gift to bring mosaics to Fleisher’s popular Saturday Young Artists Program. Since 2021, the Weiss family has supported free, quality mosaics programming for our youngest mosaic artists.

We welcome ongoing support for the Bootsie Weiss Children’s Garden, please consider making a gift. If you have questions, please contact Catherine Lee, Director of Development, at clee@fleisher.org.