A photograph I recently made has started me thinking again about the artist experience, perception, and why and how we create.

The picture, spotted during a rural drive, offers a remarkable juxtaposition of elements. There’s a broken crevice in a fractured road sign that reads ‘Valley,’ and the letter ‘V’ happens to be filled nearly perfectly by the rift. Amazing.

It makes me wonder about all the other fleeting coincidences we pass every day - sometimes at highway speed - most not. I really think the world is full of wondrous, rare moments, just waiting for our eyes to perceive them. Distractions abound - devices, agendas, obligations. Our routines sometimes quell our discovery.

A little further up the road from the ‘Valley’ sign, I passed another for a Rainbow Road. The conditions were nearly perfect, broken skies, a little sun and a light rain. At least that day, the convergence wasn’t in the cards. But I was aware, and that’s really the first step.