Loving The Details

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One of the things I love most about making jewelry (and one of the things that can be the most frustrating) is how a small change can make a huge difference.

Move this bead from *here* to *there* and a clunky design suddenly looks perfect. Change the color of a seed bead you're using and the design pops.

So, I try to appreciate visual details and figure out how they enhance the things that they decorate. Over the past few days when the weather has warmed up enough to walk outside without turning into a popsicle, I've played hometown tourist, ignoring the stares of those around me when I whip out my camera to take pictures of some of the details I've encountered.

Coming from a meeting in an 1891 building, I found a well-worn doorplate:

In that same building, an intricate tile floor - imagine how much time and care it took to place each mosaic tile! The tiles themselves are less than a half-inch each. Even as a seed beader, this level of intricacy boggles my mind.

And walking home from the train, I noticed two beautiful bronze ornaments on the exterior of another building, this one built around 1930 - the pictures are just details of much larger decorations: 

The building would have looked perfectly fine without them, but I imagine the architect and his team deciding that they needed these extra touches to make their building a truly special addition to the city. And I appreciate the artists' vision and craftsmanship.

So, are you a detail spotter like me? What's one of your favorite discoveries around your town?