THE ART OF SPRING

Good artists entertain. Great artists show us what we’re missing. They crack open our perspectives to reveal the details, angles, and colors we hadn’t noticed before. One could spend their whole life in Texas, for example, and never spot the false dayflower, which thrives in wooded and shady areas in Central Texas. But seen through the eyes of Austin photographer Chris Carson, the false dayflower’s translucent lavender petals gaze back alertly, almost human.

Through photography, painting, collage, textiles, and sculpture, artists from across the state reveal floral wonders we might otherwise miss. And when we see these treasures with fresh eyes, the natural response is joy.

ConsiderAustinite Elizabeth Chapin’s outrageous mega magnolia sconces. Many of us have admired the magnolia tree bloom’s soft white petals and sweet perfume. But Chapin’s in-your-face versions—with their velvet pink stamens and beaded cone tucked inside a nest of petals—make a bold statement. Crafted of acrylic paint on canvas, fabric, thread,