Nature’s Fragile Clock

Time moves differently in the wild. It is not measured in hours or minutes but in the cycles of growth, decay, and renewal. Nature’s Fragile Clock, a poignant moment within The Living Canvas exhibit, captures the delicate transition between life and dispersal, between presence and memory.

The subject, a withering seed head, stands as a silent timekeeper in the vast prairie. Its intricate structure, once a vibrant bloom, now carries the whispers of the wind, preparing to scatter its seeds across the landscape. Each feathery filament is a second hand ticking toward the next season, a fleeting moment before the inevitable release.

As part of The Living Canvas, Nature’s Fragile Clock asks the viewer to consider the ephemeral beauty of nature’s design. It is a meditation on impermanence, on the graceful surrender to time’s flow, and on the quiet artistry that unfolds in the spaces between bloom and decay. This moment, captured before the wind carries it away, reminds us that nature does not simply exist—it is always becoming.