Inside 'Inside Spaces'

As readers of this blog (all three of you) know, I use these posts to showcase the work of people I admire. Often, these are artists whose work I have come across in a museum, a magazine, or some other public venue, people I don't know or have any connection to. But when I think about my friends and acquaintances, I am always amazed at the creative things they are doing. I find myself surrounded by a wonderful community of musicians, artists, film makers, chefs, etc., most of whom are following their passion and drive to create in the few remaining hours of the day not occupied by a "real job." They are creating because they are drawn to it, not because they are making their living from it.

Today, I'd like to introduce you to a blog called Inside Spaces. Run by Adie Reed, this site brings you into a space and shares it with you through Adie's eyes. In the interest of full disclosure, I know Adie. She is, in fact, my best friend of over 16 years. We met when we had a class together while pursuing undergraduate degrees. The science major and the English major, helping each other through a French for reading class. Since then, our friendship has survived a couple of cross country moves, letter writing, emails, yearly visits, and the occasional (but uncomfortably common) near disasters in the wilderness. She has been a constant source of encouragement for me in my endeavors, and I try to do the same for her in hers.

Adie highlights different types of spaces- mostly homes, but also businesses and museums- and shows you the things about those spaces she finds interesting. Beautiful details that might be overlooked, or certainly not noticed in a few photos of an entire room, are showcased. She brings the owner to life through the things they've collected and put on display in their personal spaces.

It would be fair to draw a comparison between what Adie does with that of The Selby, but I find some distinct differences. I'll save most of my opinions on Selby for some other time, but I will say that I know people who LOVE his work, and people who HATE it. (You know who you are.) I fall somewhere closer to indifferent, with a slight distaste for it. What I prefer about Adie's work is that rather than focusing on the owners in their spaces (though she includes a portrait or two), she concentrates on details and lets them define the owner. I find Selby seems to let the owner define themselves, which often comes across as a bit of a staged version of that person. When looking at Selby's blog I find myself rolling my eyes and thinking, 'How does this person take him/herself seriously?' while with Inside Spaces, I often think, 'Man, I'd really like to hang out with this person.’

And that's the difference. Selby brings you into the homes of the famous and the beautiful. Artists. Designers. People who stage their homes deliberately, based on some idea of what they want to be, and who have the resources to do so. Adie brings you into the homes of real people. Normal people. People who do what they can with what they have, and make it work.

Check out some of my favorite Inside Spaces posts- Adie's visit to my house, our visit to the Ogden Museum in New Orleans (the same visit where I fell in love with Jack Spencer's photography), her visit to my friends Gwen's and Allison's houses, and her visit to Scott's boat!