This the artist statement attached to the work I featured in my Senior Exhibition at Houghton University in 2025. We move through life often oblivious to the beauty right in front of us. Time never stops slipping through our fingers, and memories fade just as quickly. I photograph because I want to remember—to hold onto the fleetingness of this life because it feels like everything could disappear in an instant.
With millions of things happening around us, it’s difficult to slow down and truly see. If only time would stop for just a moment—long enough to take it all in. Life is poetic, but not just in the grand, romanticized moments. It is poetic in the mundane, in the unnoticed.
Before studying art, I saw the world the way I imagine most people do. A gloomy winter day felt dreary, unremarkable. However, at some point I began to see differently. I noticed how shadows formed beautiful, temporary compositions and how overcast days produce the most beautiful light on their subject. The ordinary had transformed into something that sparked both joy and revealed a deep longing. We long for eternity because it is what we were made for. The beauty on this earth is just a glimpse of eternity, a reflection of an incredibly skilled Creator.
Just as a sailboat slowly fades on the horizon, so too will this world and our memories. We are mere blips in the vastness of time, yet the light we leave behind lingers in ways we may not see. These quiet moments show that even the smallest presence can leave a lasting impact. Sometimes, they appear as grand as the sun aligning perfectly with the tip of a pine tree. Other times, it’s as simple as how colors and light appear, reflecting off dirty silverware. This beauty points to something that will never fade.
Even when hope feels distant—like looking through a rain-streaked window—we know that what’s behind the glass did not disappear, and there is an even greater beauty that we will one day see. “Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely.” 1 Cor 13:12
