EXPLORATION #11 Differences

Collect multiples of one thing (such as leaves, stones, shells,seeds,etc.) Lay them out in front of you . Observe them in detail using the "object log" list the differences you see. Try to document at least twenty five things.

I have always had a thing for buttons. My grandmother had a round gold metal box with raised black swirls on the lid. The tin contained her special stash of buttons that had been lost or removed from old clothing. She believed in recycling to save money. Nothing was wasted. Whenever she would bring out the gold box I would sit for hours and rummage through the box asking her tons of questions. I wondered where the buttons came from, how old they were, what king of garment they were used on etc. I must have drove her mad with questions. If I did she never let on. She would satisfy my curiosity and sometimes I think she "elaborated" on things to peak my interest even more. It has been a long time since I have played with buttons. My daughter has taken up sewing and to my surprise she too has a love and fascination for buttons. When we are out together we keep our eyes peeled for different buttons and randomly buy bargain bins of buttons just to see what treasures lie within.

My collection reflects a very tiny sample of the buttons we have collected. I had a very hard time picking the buttons I would use in my comparison.

I think you will agree most of the differences are quite obvious. They are different in size and color. They are made of many different types of materials which include glass, plastic, & metal. Many of the buttons have a different texture. Some are smooth, bumpy, soft, silky, and even prickly. They also come in many different shapes. Most people probably have the word round pop in their head when they think of button shapes, but as you can see... we have all kinds of shapes. We have footballs, ladybugs, palm trees, words, curly Q's, flowers, round, square and dog bone just to name a few.