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Thursday, September 2, 2010

It's the Details

 

detail on gravestone

I just love to wander through cemeteries looking at the various gravestones. And I love decorative details on all kinds of objects. These two activities go together really well.

detail on gravestone
Like anything else, the decorations may tell you something about when they were made. The one above looks rather Victorian, while this one is definitely art deco style, as is the one below.
detail on gravestone
detail on gravestoneI like this one a lot, and I don't know that I had noticed it before. These are all from the cemetery next door, where I wander nearly every day. I like how the petal design springs from the mass of uncut stone. I like the textures of the different parts of the design. I really like how the light on the various angles changes the tones. I think it looks like a black and white image, even though it's in color.
detail on gravestone

And of course, there are quite a few of these. The sad ones. Many of the graves of babies are marked with little lambs like this.





9 comments:

RNSANE said...

I find cemeteries very interesting, too. I used to love to visit the old ones when I lived in the Boston area. We always did gravestone rubbings there. Many of the stones were famous, historic folks but even the other headstones were often pre-Revolutionary folks.

rainfield61 said...

It is weird to have visiting cemeteries, at least to a Chinese like me.

I do not like the "atmosphere"..

The Oceanside Animals said...

I've always liked to visit old cemeteries, especially the ones in New England.

Secondary Roads said...

The stone over Sylvia's 2nd great grandmother is so eroded that it is only a smooth rock. Not all rocks are equal.

betchai said...

those are wonderful details, i love these stones too.

Ann said...

I think cemeteries are fascinating. That 4th one does look like a b&w pic. It's very cool. The cemetery that my dad is buried in has some really old markers. I should wander around one of these days and see just what some of the dates are.

Unknown said...

I am not sure that strolling through cemeteries would be my thing...but you are right in that there are some very beautiful headstones~

spinninglovelydays said...

I love graveyards too, the older, the better. :)

Sharkbytes said...

Carmen- Yes, I miss those really old ones. You have to go farther east than I am now to find them.

rainfield- I find it restful... I like to think about what the people's lives were like. Sometimes, whatever possessed their families to put certain epitaphs on the stones, or what might have happened when someone died young.

Dennis- Yup... the old ones are the best. Some of my great-greats are there in NE

Chuck- that's a lot of erosion for only a couple of generations back. Bummer.

betchai- we could have a lot of fun, exploring together

Ann- the oldest one in this cemetery is a death date of 1854. Not really old.

Dorothy- I know that not everyone likes it, but that's ok.

Ivy- you could do some rubbings with Midge