"Every block of stone has a statue inside it and it is the task of the sculptor to discover it."
— Michelangelo
Echoes Through the Mission Wall, Carmel, CA, 2017
The Angel’s Trumpets at Carmel Mission do not bloom quietly. They glow like lanterns suspended against centuries-old stone, their pale forms radiating through shadows, casting whispers of light across the darkened garden. In this image, the flowers are not merely blossoms. They are apparitions, guardians of memory rising through the weathered wall.
The photograph speaks in layers. At first, the viewer sees only softness, sepia tones, muted shadows, and the blush of faint blossoms climbing into the frame. But then the architecture reveals itself: the faint arch of a barred window, the suggestion of stone worn by time. I wanted the interplay between the living and the eternal, the transient bloom and the enduring wall, to create a dialogue that is both visual and philosophical.
For fine art collectors and curators, this piece might resonate in its balance of beauty and mystery. It evokes the weight of history while holding space for fragility. The Angel’s Trumpets here are no longer just flowers; they are voices, singing against stone, echoing the prayers, silence, and secrets of the Mission’s long passage through time.
The muted palette intensifies this mood. The warm sepia cast suggests an old fresco or forgotten memory unearthed, while the soft pink blossoms offer a breath of renewal. It is an image of dualities, light and shadow, endurance and impermanence, sacred and earthly, all coexisting within a single frame.
This is why the photograph lingers: it doesn’t give itself away but instead opens a door into meditation, a pause in which the viewer becomes part of the story.
Artist’s Statement
The Carmel Mission holds centuries within its walls—prayers, silence, and the marks of time. When I encountered the Angel’s Trumpets glowing in its wall, I was struck by their duality: fragile and fleeting, yet luminous against the stone that endures. In this work, I sought not simply to record the scene but to translate its essence, the way blossoms seemed to carry memory and light across centuries. This image is about listening to what walls and flowers whisper to one another, and to us.