‘His Mind’s Eye’ is the focal point of Shakespeare’s New Place. Sculptor Jill Berelowitz has brought an evocative story of Shakespeare’s creative genius to life through an astonishing combination of elements. An almost bare bronze tree stands nearly fives metres high and six metres across in canopy. The structure is partly made of sections of a specially selected hawthorn tree from Box Hill, a National Trust property in Surrey. Its branches are swept to the side with the force of Shakespeare’s genius. Under the tree sits a sphere, massive and elemental. One half shines miraculously bright, reflecting Shakespeare’s lambent vision, while the other remains in shadow, still rough and pitted like an asteroid.

Jill herself comments:

“The sweeping His Mind’s Eye tree, in a contemporary landscape setting, reflects Shakespeare's enormous power and irresistible force.  Even though it is 4.5 meters, windblown to 5.5 meters, the roots are exposed but still anchor it to the earth.

“The bark of the tree trunk has the distinctive texture of the aged hawthorn tree which evolves off into the main boughs leaning over the Sphere, dark on the far side, polished by Shakespeare’s energy on the near.  The tree tapers to the thinner branches to create twisted dance-like rhythms, spreading to the delicate feather branches around the edges. 200 gold leaves are scattered on the higher bare branches left over from the autumn.

“We chose the hawthorn tree as it’s typically English.  Over the past nine months I have added to and reinterpreted the original Box Hill Tree by collecting hawthorn branches and twigs from across the country.  Some I have moulded and others burnt out using the lost wax process, and these are now cast in bronze.  We then clad a stainless steel armature, weighing almost a tonne, piece by piece with the bronze bark and branches creating, jigsaw like, the final interpretation.

“Although we have taken our inspiration for His Mind’s Eye from a living tree, this is no counterfeit, but a representation; a brazen monument to Shakespeare’s creativity and genius, a tree metaphorically bent by the gale force of his creative power.  The design has been conceived to honour his unique insight and the enduring power of his words.”

It was made out of bronze and is amazing

His Mind's Eye at New Place is by Jill Berelowitz. I didn't know what New Place was before and His Mind's Eye was better than I could ever imagine.

The first sculpture is called the Mind's Eye it was made because of one his plays. The tree is bent becasue everybody thinks His Minds Eye is very good. The creator of this is called Jill.

It looks as if it is blown away by Shakespeare's words

My favourite part of the New Place gardens is the His Mind's Eye sculpture because if Shakespeare had actually sat in the chair his imagination would have been powerful enough to blow the tree over and smooth one side of the orb.

His Mind's Eye [was created] by Jill Berelowitz in conjunction with the Morris Singer Foundry. A lot of the bronze trees are based of apple branches. One side is smooth and the other one is for ideas and other is creativity.

The bronze tree has been shaped by Shakespeare's creative force.

This is my favourite because they made this Hawthorn tree out of bronze and it is very realistic.

They are my favourite because they are made out of bronze and the tree is slanted

I like how the tree is bent.

There was so much detail in the sculpture of His Mind's Eye. It was amazing.

His Mind's Eye at New Place was amazing. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw the tree it looked so real.

This was created out of bronze by Jill Berelowitz.

The Mind's Eye has to be my favourite sculpture because it has a lot of detail in it. The orb has a smooth side and a bumpy side. I like the way that the smooth side of the orb is smooth because that is the side where Shakespeare's marvellous imagination hit it. I love the tree. It looks so real. At first I actually believed that it was a real tree. It is made from bronze and so is the orb.

The tree isnt actually a tree. It is made out of bronze and felt like a real tree. The orb was really big and I was shocked.

The mind's eye has got a smooth side and a unsmooth side. The smooth side represents the imagination, and the rough side represents fear. 

The Morris Singer Foundry in 1848 known for their casting. Jill has also created very fascinating things including a diving girl and a pair oak. She always does sculptures of trees and always used brzone. One side of the Mind's Eye is rough and one side is smooth becasue it was Jill's imagination.

This is my favourite because it is unique and modern. It is really special. It is not a painting it is 3D so I can touch it. One side of the orb is smooth and the other is crumpled. 

It is sculpted out of bronze. It is surrounded by hornbeam trees. It was unveiled on 30th of June 2016 and is 4.5m to 5.5m and it weighs around 3 tonnes.

The tree and orb are cool and exciting.

I like the orb and tree because they are made from bronze. I also like the way the tree slants over the orb.

The tree and orb are made out of bronze and I like the tree because it is slanting.

I like this because it shows the power of Shakespeare. 

This is my favourite because it is 3D and I can touch it. It is made from bronze and so detailed.

I guided here and one side of the orb is smooth.

The first sculpture is called the Minds Eye it was made because of one his plays. The tree is bent becasue everybody thinks His Minds Eye is very good. The creator of this is called Jill.

It is my favourite item because it looks as though it has been shaped by the wind.

The tree is bronze it looks like a real tree but it's not it's metal it was by Jill Berelowitz. It was the same with the circle shaped sculpture. The tree was called His Mind's Eye from Jill Berelowitz in conjunction with the Morris Singer Foundry. His Mind's Eye tree one side of it was smooth and the other side of it was rough. His Mind's Eye is at New Place in Stratford upon Avon. People would of thought it would be a real tree but it is made out of bronze metal. The Morris Singer foundry which dates back to 1848 are well known for casting work and recognised as the oldest fine art foundry in the world.

The mind's tree is being created by Jill Berelowitz. It was created with bronze metal. She was funded by the Morris [Singer Foundry]

This Mind's Eye is a realistic tree which is made of bronze. There are over 100 gold leaves on it. The tree is on the other side because it is showing the power of Shakespeare's writing.

This is my favourite because it is really artistic and creative and was made with time and effort.

It was my favourite because it was outside in the garden.

We are imagining that our bronze tree has been shaped by the power of Shakespeare’s creativity. Mouldings were taken from a real hawthorn tree to get the texture of the bark. The sculptor took months twisting the branches. One side of the orb was smooth and shiny as if it has been smoothed by Shakespeare’s touch. Hawthorn and the circle of hornbeams around are the sort of trees Shakespeare would have seen in the Warwickshire countryside.

The Mind's Eye was created by Jill Berelowitz. It is made out of metal bronze. Jill also designed and created many exciting and memorable sculptures for her previous commissions. There was a ball under the branches. One side is smooth and the other is rough. One side is creativity and one side is ideas.