trompe l'oeil...

I awakened in the middle of the night thinking about pebble candy and why we love things that look like other things. Years ago, I watched a cake competition on TV in which a contestant made a Japanese doll out of spun sugar. I was delighted and so was the studio audience and I began to wonder why. What is it about sugar that looks like porcelain, marzipan that looks like fruit, and mushrooms made of meringue that captures our imagination?  I love making glass that looks like rocks. If I knew how, I'm sure I would enjoy making rocks look like glass.

My mother used to tease the grandchildren by putting peas and carrot candies on their dinner plates and insisting they eat their vegetables. We love for our 'l'oeil' to be tromped and human hearts skip a beat when something 'looks so real.'  It occurred to me that one message that resonates with us is: "things are not as they seem." 

Last night I  with awakened with a thought, I grabbed a Sharpie on my night stand and scrawled on a yellow legal pad: "Things are not as they seem, they are better, and they are deeply good."