The things we don't see

I've walked past the display for months now. I helped, a little, in setting it up. I have my favorite pieces - the mask with the enormous beak, the woven rugs.

But I never saw this one before.

Forced to go and take more photos of the Charis: boundary crossing exhibit for a project I'm working on, my eyes were suddenly opened to the simple beauty of one piece - tucked away in a corner, its neutral tones almost blending into the wall behind it. Perhaps it was the spilling rice that caught my eye. Or the rose petals. Maybe just the brown paper, so different than the garish gold, green, and red typical of this season.

I don't know why I saw it this time. But I love it.

Oblation, 2008

by Jo-Ann VanReeuwyk, United States, Canadian

Fiber; variable size installation