Yet it remains elusive—hard to define, hard to pin down. Why do we feel wonder? What evokes it in us? These questions guided April DeConick as she created the exuberant works in this exhibition. DeConick is a multidisciplinary artist and professor of the study of Religion at Rice University.

As an artist, DeConick works in clay, fiber, and paint, treating her materials not as tools but as collaborators. Her pieces emerge through an intuitive, physical process, shaped by curiosity, improvisation, and the joy of discovery. “I was like a child sticking my thumbs in clay, dashing glaze with abandon, tearing fabric randomly, and enjoying the wonder of what will happen if…” The exhibition features hooked weavings, vessels, furniture, and wall compositions. Each piece explores the intersection of the haptic and the aesthetic, using the tactility of fiber and the textured surfaces of clay to engage the senses and evoke wonder. Her sustainable artworks, crafted from wool and earth, invite reflection on how we shape ourselves—and are shaped—through making, becoming, and caring for one another and the planet we share.