I love your perspective — thank you for sharing it. Slow traveling through Europe stops me in my tracks often.
I’ll find myself in places of staggering natural beauty, but staying in accommodations that are stripped down to the point of feeling… hollow. Not unbearable, just a strange absence I can’t quite name.
Reading your words helps me see it more clearly — it’s the missing detail, the lack of texture that leaves the space flat instead of alive.
I lived for a year in an apartment partitioned off in the parlor and drawing room of a turn-of-the-century house. The pocket door separating the two rooms, as well as the door to the side porch, still had the original hardware, which looked quite a bit like that last picture. That and the original woodwork in my apartment made it an especially pleasant place to come home to, and I made more music in my year there than I have made in any year since. It was expensive to heat in the winter, and there was no auditory privacy, but I believe it was the visual atmosphere that helped creative output.
I lived in a glorious apartment very much like that in Philadelphia off of Rittenhouse Square. It was so very beautiful! The woodwork was all in place, high ceilings, a small outdoor space with a water feature. I wish I had taken more photos while there.
Yes to all of this. I had so much culture shock the first time I left the United States and saw the detail that went into a doorknob or traffic light. And if you’re going to be minimalist, at least use humanist design principals instead of uglifying every utilitarian object. Form & function can coexist, especially with modern technology.
This really resonate with me. I am a detail lover. A detail person . I always look for the small often overseen things. Doorknobs. Ornaments. Patterns. Since I am a nature woman I especically look for The details in The forest, The sea. Small fungi, flowers, leaves. You just have to look around you and beauty is everywhere around us. It’s a shame that much of The Grand architecture Get lost. So much beautiful handcraft, furniture etc that is so much more in my taste. They have a huge impressiv impact on me. That is What our ancestors should be honored for. Today’s modern minimalism is a joke in comparsion.
I too am a small detail lover who recently moved to a small village surrounded by the forest and during my hikes am fascinated by the smallest of details in the flora.
My father in law talks about God’s design philosophy as it relates to blades of grass. It would have been so easy and so normal to make them all identical and yet he made every single one unique. With that level of obsessive detail about even the tiniest of things that most will never notice, perhaps we gain an insight into the creator.
It reminds me of what Steve Jobs’ father told him when he was designing a circuit box or something, and Jobs Sr looked at the back and said, ‘what’s this.’ Or something to that extent. Steve said no one will see it. Senior said, but you’ll know it’s there. From isaacson’s bio Steve Jobs.
This is so different and very lovely…I may well subscribe fully. I tend to read a bit more about a writer and their work before I subscribe. Are you a published author and if so, where might I find your work? All the best .. thanks
Everything that you've written and illustrated resonates with me... I am an artist, a designer, and a writer who has surrounded myself with handmade objects of beauty that I've collected in my travels, on my walks, or that were made by artists and crafts makers who are dear friends. I believe that art and design enriches our lives immeasurably.
Thank you. You remind me of a story I heard years ago: when asked by a passerby why he took such care in creating exquisite details on a gargoyle statue slated for the rooftop off a Cathedral of St. John the Cathedral Divine (NYC).
The passerby said, “Why go to all this trouble for something where no one will see?”
I love your perspective — thank you for sharing it. Slow traveling through Europe stops me in my tracks often.
I’ll find myself in places of staggering natural beauty, but staying in accommodations that are stripped down to the point of feeling… hollow. Not unbearable, just a strange absence I can’t quite name.
Reading your words helps me see it more clearly — it’s the missing detail, the lack of texture that leaves the space flat instead of alive.
Love this. Thank you so much!
Ah how beautiful! It takes the eye of the soul to see these things as it did to create them. Thank you!
Thank you Sheri 🙏🏻
James, I love everything you do and have recommended your site on my own.
I lived for a year in an apartment partitioned off in the parlor and drawing room of a turn-of-the-century house. The pocket door separating the two rooms, as well as the door to the side porch, still had the original hardware, which looked quite a bit like that last picture. That and the original woodwork in my apartment made it an especially pleasant place to come home to, and I made more music in my year there than I have made in any year since. It was expensive to heat in the winter, and there was no auditory privacy, but I believe it was the visual atmosphere that helped creative output.
I lived in a glorious apartment very much like that in Philadelphia off of Rittenhouse Square. It was so very beautiful! The woodwork was all in place, high ceilings, a small outdoor space with a water feature. I wish I had taken more photos while there.
Yes to all of this. I had so much culture shock the first time I left the United States and saw the detail that went into a doorknob or traffic light. And if you’re going to be minimalist, at least use humanist design principals instead of uglifying every utilitarian object. Form & function can coexist, especially with modern technology.
This really resonate with me. I am a detail lover. A detail person . I always look for the small often overseen things. Doorknobs. Ornaments. Patterns. Since I am a nature woman I especically look for The details in The forest, The sea. Small fungi, flowers, leaves. You just have to look around you and beauty is everywhere around us. It’s a shame that much of The Grand architecture Get lost. So much beautiful handcraft, furniture etc that is so much more in my taste. They have a huge impressiv impact on me. That is What our ancestors should be honored for. Today’s modern minimalism is a joke in comparsion.
I too am a small detail lover who recently moved to a small village surrounded by the forest and during my hikes am fascinated by the smallest of details in the flora.
My father in law talks about God’s design philosophy as it relates to blades of grass. It would have been so easy and so normal to make them all identical and yet he made every single one unique. With that level of obsessive detail about even the tiniest of things that most will never notice, perhaps we gain an insight into the creator.
Everything is exquisitely beautiful!😍
I love these small details!
It reminds me of what Steve Jobs’ father told him when he was designing a circuit box or something, and Jobs Sr looked at the back and said, ‘what’s this.’ Or something to that extent. Steve said no one will see it. Senior said, but you’ll know it’s there. From isaacson’s bio Steve Jobs.
This is so different and very lovely…I may well subscribe fully. I tend to read a bit more about a writer and their work before I subscribe. Are you a published author and if so, where might I find your work? All the best .. thanks
Thank you so much! You can find my entire archive of articles and essays here on Substack.
Oh great to hear from you! Thank you so much…. Will look into it….👍
Grazie Mille! La bellezza nutre l’anima. (Thank you very much! Beauty nourishes the soul.)
Like discovering oxygen after years under water…
Everything that you've written and illustrated resonates with me... I am an artist, a designer, and a writer who has surrounded myself with handmade objects of beauty that I've collected in my travels, on my walks, or that were made by artists and crafts makers who are dear friends. I believe that art and design enriches our lives immeasurably.
Thank you. You remind me of a story I heard years ago: when asked by a passerby why he took such care in creating exquisite details on a gargoyle statue slated for the rooftop off a Cathedral of St. John the Cathedral Divine (NYC).
The passerby said, “Why go to all this trouble for something where no one will see?”
The sculptor replied, “God will see.”
Your lovely photos energize my soul🥰🌈❤️😇🙏🦋
Amazing artifacts.