Day 82 of 365 - The Beauty in the Details
I've been going to my friend's house to feed her cats while she is away a few days for the holidays. She enjoys decorating in the traditional style. In her home is a very large natural Christmas tree covered in colored lights and many, many glass ornaments.
While I am petting the cats, I like to have the tree lights on and slowly look over the tree and all the beautiful ornaments hanging from the branches. They are so pretty, especially with the light reflecting from the glass.
Over the years, she has also collected quite a variety of seasonal decorative items, which are displayed around her home. Some might be passed on from family and many are finds from antique or vintage shops.
There is a hand painted wooden Santa in his sleigh, a painted woodcut angel. On garlands of beads hang little wooden ornaments along with ones handmade by her son as a child. On a kitchen shelf she has several different types of decorated candy or cookie tins, each one a different pattern. And there is more.
Ceramic holiday figurines are displayed. Different sizes of decorative Christmas boxes are stacked in various places. Each year, she gives me some of her delicious baked goods in a box like that, tied with a lovely wide ribbon.
Each day that I have gone over, I notice something which I hadn't before. And they are all a delight.
What strikes me about all those traditionally styled items is the detail in the art work.
Nowadays, with our modern manufacturing methods and technology, it is easy to take for granted the mass produced items which we see all the time. But, somebody took a lot of time in the designing phase to draw, paint, and model that item. In the past, it would have been done by hand. Now it may be mostly done on computer, but would still be a time consuming creative process.
Similarly, my friend Nicole's Christmas artwork, designed for cards, is a long creative process of many stages. It is the minute details in her paintings along with the layering of brush work, which create the magical and whimsical presentation. That's why I have saved her cards as art to display.
Nieces of mine also lovingly display traditional Christmas items passed on from my mother or my sister, such as a lighted ceramic table top tree.
Having my attention drawn to these lovingly created handiworks makes me grateful for the artists, craftsmen and artisans who brought them to market. It's part of what makes Christmas a special time for me. Take a moment or two today to notice the beauty in the details, and to give thanks.
While I am petting the cats, I like to have the tree lights on and slowly look over the tree and all the beautiful ornaments hanging from the branches. They are so pretty, especially with the light reflecting from the glass.
Over the years, she has also collected quite a variety of seasonal decorative items, which are displayed around her home. Some might be passed on from family and many are finds from antique or vintage shops.
There is a hand painted wooden Santa in his sleigh, a painted woodcut angel. On garlands of beads hang little wooden ornaments along with ones handmade by her son as a child. On a kitchen shelf she has several different types of decorated candy or cookie tins, each one a different pattern. And there is more.
Ceramic holiday figurines are displayed. Different sizes of decorative Christmas boxes are stacked in various places. Each year, she gives me some of her delicious baked goods in a box like that, tied with a lovely wide ribbon.
Each day that I have gone over, I notice something which I hadn't before. And they are all a delight.
What strikes me about all those traditionally styled items is the detail in the art work.
Nowadays, with our modern manufacturing methods and technology, it is easy to take for granted the mass produced items which we see all the time. But, somebody took a lot of time in the designing phase to draw, paint, and model that item. In the past, it would have been done by hand. Now it may be mostly done on computer, but would still be a time consuming creative process.
Similarly, my friend Nicole's Christmas artwork, designed for cards, is a long creative process of many stages. It is the minute details in her paintings along with the layering of brush work, which create the magical and whimsical presentation. That's why I have saved her cards as art to display.
Nieces of mine also lovingly display traditional Christmas items passed on from my mother or my sister, such as a lighted ceramic table top tree.
Having my attention drawn to these lovingly created handiworks makes me grateful for the artists, craftsmen and artisans who brought them to market. It's part of what makes Christmas a special time for me. Take a moment or two today to notice the beauty in the details, and to give thanks.
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