Framing

I examine a completed canvas in my art teacher's studio, surprised to see what happens when she holds a frame around it. Covering the four sides, instead of enclosing the scene, gives the illusion that this is a moment of a larger view. Imagination tells us the field, the flowers, the hills and trees in the distances are real, part of something living beyond the compass of our eyes.

This is why a cut camellia on the judge's table of prize winners will be seen only for its singularity, remarkable to the observer's mind like a queen elegantly gowned but without a cathedra, or scepter.

The same blossom sitting on the throne of its branch, the branch on its trunk, and the whole flowering bush, will always bring a catch to the breath. Because the heart has heard a companion rhythm, the soul of the flower's beauty part of something bigger, a living reminder of all creation.