Thinking of the many times I've been surprised, learning that a friend, acquaintance or even a family member has a creative life that exists outside the realm of daily contact. Secret gardeners, poets, makers, musicians and more, they breathe in to their craft when or where others might not witness it regularly. What happens when we make the assumption that people come equipped with this capacity for making beauty in the world, when we don't predetermine the value someone brings by virtue of the job or role they appear to inhabit? What happens when we open ourselves to seeing, hearing, feeling, experiencing those treasures that are part-obscured?
Treasure, installation at Lo-Fi, Smoke Farm, Arlington, WA, 2011, photo by Timothy Firth