A story from Art in Cupboard and Drawers
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| A colourful flower-petal collage with lucky clovers, created by my daughter and later revealing hidden marks beneath the drying petals. |
For a few weeks, the most beautiful piece of art in the whole house hung in my daughter’s room.
She had picked fresh flower petals and glued them onto an old piece of cardboard, pretending it was a canvas. Pink, red, deep burgundy, yellow, and orange petals were arranged among small clover leaves, creating a colourful little summer garden.
Small lucky clovers were hidden among the flowers. My daughter was so proud of her creation that I couldn’t help stopping to admire it whenever I walked into her room. It reminded me of the smile at the corner of her mouth—and of a summer that was quickly coming to an end.
Then something surprising happened.
As the fresh petals dried, the artwork began to change. The colours softened, the petals curled, and the clover leaves slowly lost their freshness. What had started as a bright flower collage became a quiet record of summer passing.
Months later, I looked at it again and noticed something I had never seen before. The dried petals had become almost transparent, revealing faint marks and colours beneath them.
The artwork had not only preserved the flowers—it had preserved a secret.
My daughter had unknowingly turned an ordinary scrap of cardboard into a tiny time capsule. We had been admiring the flowers all along, without realising that another picture was waiting underneath.
