10 Spaces

1.

I love to be absolutely steeped in detail. This is one of my favorite antique stores to visit with my mum, because it's arranged like an old house full of treasures; things are just in corners, layered under tables, stacked on stacked- you can't possibly see everything if you don't open drawers and move things out of the way.

2.

  

I consider each of these little compartments spaces in their own right, and then they all come together as one. Top left and right are a vintage hardware and thread spool organizer, respectively. Bottom left is an image mum sent from my favorite bead store in Oak Park (I am also a fan of the unfinished old bricks), and bottom right is one drawer out of my big chest-of-lots-of-little-drawers back home. Again, these things absolutely engulf you in detail, and you absolutely have to rifle through them, (respectfully). 

3.

 

I started thinking of these photos as a pair while I was building this post. On the left is an old doorway in Oxford with great little fawn guys looking down at you, and on the right is the top corner of my closet that I accidentally banished some shoes to, last term. In both cases, you have to look all around you (/at details) to get a feel for the character of the space. Also within these two photos is an example of the everyday being self-contained and engaging. 

4.

  

I have some extremely adventurous cats, and I am always curious about their perspective of our house, yard, neighborhood, etc. Spaces hold such different meaning to them. That's the chimney of a pizza oven that my dad and his friend burnt down, accidentally; and a bit of extra space halfway up the main stairs, at home. 

5.

In comparison to Mabel the cat, who enjoys hiding away for a moment by getting into unlikely and tall places, I prefer to crawl under the table. It is very centering, and unexpected by coworkers.  

6.

This is one of my favorite baby photos of myself. Again, the difference in perspective is so fun to think about because, to little me, that bathtub was my secret room. Nobody else knew about it because they were too tall to easily see past its bathtub-ness, I thought.

7.

A series of large, and very old, doorways/gateways in Puerto Rico and Bath.  Walking through them was like being wrapped up in (the details of) passing time, and I love how they stay their ground in the midst of new buildings, streets, and towns. 

8.

 

The top two are the results of sticking a phone into a hole in a tree, and the bottom photo is of a loose floor board I found under the carpet at an AirBNB in Bath. Underneath/inside it, I could see the old electric tubing, which made me think of all the hidden, empty spaces in houses- and how those are a lot like the hidden spaces in trees, I guess? Similarly full of little worlds that are teaming with things like dust and moss.

9.

I love the textures of the places in these photos, I think it would be wonderful to be surrounded by them. My family jokes that I will live in a strange little house sort of like these places, but I am entirely serious about making this happen.

10.

I was trying to find three pictures of doors that I've passed/drawn, but I came across the photo at the left first, and I think that whole little grey building has a door-like quality to it. I don't remember where in England it was, but something about how it is wedged there as an afterthought is very inviting, like a door usually is. That whole building is a detail in that town, and it is full of its own tiny details.