Reflection is an interesting term. We can SEE a reflection of light and its evidence surrounding us. We can also internally CONSIDER ideas, feelings, and memories. Many artworks that Sharon and I spend the longest time enjoying together in galleries feature some form of reflection. Eyes, mirrors, bowls, and water can provide the emphasized re-imaging of reality from curved and shiny surfaces.

Even recently, in a produce section in groceries, I found simple joy in everyday life. A young girl, with a cultural head covering for modesty and the weather, was confronted with her alternate self in the curved, convex shine of the bowl of a weighing scale. I watched as she played with comical faces to see how her counterpart reacted. Her headcover became a prop for different poses. The girl changed her angle and distance to produce a personal little ‘television’ show as she gazed at her animated self.

Snippets of memory came to mind of my own reflected childhood adventures before her even younger brother noticed her melodrama and disrupted the moment.

On a recent hike, Sharon and I found the sky reflected through trees at a familiar spring-fed pond. We have come here many times, finding that it changes every time. This day, the water surface played with the reflected tree trunks and branches. Light and variable winds made the glassy-to-rippled waves kiss the woodland and the background cloud cover in a slow, carefree reinterpretation facing us.

Sharon took the photo after watching through the viewfinder for minutes, as the light dance changed subtly. She found just the right moment for her sensibilities. The image now holds memories of a brief and special time we shared.