House No. 174: Little Found Object House

House No. 174: Little Found Object House
found plastic game pieces and repurposed card stock on found wood scrap
2 in. x 2 in. x 2.5 in.
174/365; 06/23/11

I found this block of scrap wood in the street in front of my office building and the plastic game pieces in a closet that I was cleaning out in my parents’ old house. The card stock is another piece from my paper samples collection.

 

If anyone knows what game these pieces belong to, please let me know. I am very curious. I suspect it is some type of triangular dominoes.

House No. 115: City Apartment

House No. 115: City Apartment
ink, watercolor pencil, and metallic ink on repurposed card stock
2 in. x 4.25 in.
115/365; 04/25/11


Another city house today. I loved drawing the fire escapes on this one. Fire escapes and cisterns atop apartment buildings are two of my favorite things about city architecture.

House No. 114: City at Sunset

House No. 114: City at Sunset
ink and watercolor pencil on repurposed card stock
2 in. x 4.25 in.
114/365; 04/24/11

Colorful skyscrapers.

House No. 113: Pink House with Cherry Tree

House No. 113: Pink House with Cherry Tree
ink and watercolor pencil on repurposed card stock
2.25 in. x 2.33 in.
113/365; 04/23/11

Happy spring weekend!

House No. 112: Farnsworth House

House No. 112: Farnsworth House
ink and watercolor pencil on repurposed card stock
4.25 in. x 2 in.
112/365; 04/22/11

And now for something entirely different ...

It took 112 houses for me to reproduce an actual house. I never had the desire previously to do it, but I wanted to experiment with some Modern Architecture and kept thinking about the Farnsworth House and Mies van der Rohe.

The Farnsworth House is an example of the International Style. Designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, the Farnsworth House was built to be a weekend retreat/country house for Dr. Edith Farnsworth, so it wasn't a place someone would live all the time.

It’s a bit impractical. It’s not a place to have “stuff.” It is not terribly private, either. (Remember, those who live in Mies van der Rohe houses shouldn’t throw stones.)

My head loves this design, but my heart doesn’t. What do you think?

House No. 111: Igloo

House No. 111: Igloo

ink and watercolor pencil on repurposed card stock
4.25 in. x 2 in.
111/365; 04/21/11

Igloos have been made to be sort of silly. We see them in media with fur-hooded Eskimos and penguins (wrong continent), and advertising ice cream or bagged ice. Igloos are simplified and misunderstood, quite like the tipi. Igloos are, in reality, amazing snow structures of the Inuit people of the arctic, themselves a very complicated culture that is diverse and spans portions of Alaska, Canada, Greenland, and Russia.

Igloos are an example of ingenuity and make-do. I love how homes reflect culture and available resources. For me, igloos are proof that people make comfortable, homey retreats out of whatever is available wherever people find themselves.

What is home exactly? I think that beyond shelter, containment, and safety, there is an element of comfort required to make someplace home. We make homes for those we love, and we think of home as someplace comforting. I think food is inseparable from home, as are smells. What are your requirements for home?

House No. 110: Yurts

House No. 110: Yurts
ink and watercolor pencil on repurposed card stock
4.25 in. x 2 in.
110/365; 04/20/11

You know I love some tents. I really do.

I'm still working out some troubadour-style nomadic homes in 3D materials, but I have some ideas that are cooking. I love the patterns on some Mongolian gers, and so I wanted to play with that for today's houses. I like the white is set off against the background. I imagine the interiors are lush.

House No. 109: Petit Château

House No. 109: Petit Château 
ink and watercolor pencil on repurposed card stock
2.75 in. x 2.75 in.
109/365; 04/19/11

This little illustration is drawn on the back of another sheet from my matchbook calendar that I have mentioned before. The paper is just yummy. Very thick with just the right amount of tooth to it.

It’s funny because the photos of the drawing are so much larger than they are in life, and the details are so much easier to see. I like making these tiny drawings and am thinking about what I should do with them all. Perhaps mount them all together? What do you think?

House No. 108: Gothic House

House No. 108: Gothic House
ink and watercolor pencil on repurposed card stock
2.45 in. x 1.85 in.
108/365; 04/18/11

Today’s house is a diminutive illustration of a high Victorian style home with iron work and dark colors. I took a lot of liberties with the architecture (again) because I got going and just NEEDED to draw quoins and arches and symmetry.

I imagine that this house is dark and musty inside and has things like dress forms and wooden trunks in the attic, doilies on the furniture, and those tiny foot stools that were supposed to alleviate gout. And a silver samovar with a highly ornate repoussé coffee service. And frosted sugar cubes and nonpareils.

House No. 107: Foil House

House No. 107: Foil House
collage of repurposed card stock and foiled paper
3.5 in. x 3.75 in.
107/365; 04/17/11

It’s not apparent in this photo, but this house is very thick and sturdy and has a bit of dimension. It's quite satisfying, really. Once again, the metallic scrap is from my bottomless magpie nest, and everything but the glue is upcycled.
I pulled out the colors that I used on this house because when I saw them next to one another they looked very seventies color palette. I thought I would have a go. I especially like the maroon foil and thought it would make lovely shutters.

House No. 106: Dutch Row Houses

House No. 106: Dutch Row Houses

ink and watercolor pencil on repurposed card stock
3 in. x 1.6 in.
106/365; 04/16/11

I still have Dutch things on my mind. I think that yesterday's house left me wanting for something more Dutch-y. (And I still have pancakes on my mind too, but I digress.) These are stripped-down Dutch row houses, and I am rather partial to their stepped-gabled facades and bright colors. They are perky and reflect Holland’s ubiquitous tulips. I think simple was the way to go with these.  I do enjoy making something into an icon, and that is probably why I enjoy designing logos so much.

House No. 105: Dutch Colonial

House No. 105: Dutch Colonial

ink and watercolor pencil on repurposed card stock
2.5 in. x 1.75 in.
105/365; 04/15/11

I didn’t mean for my Dutch colonial revival house to look like it was on acid. It just happened. It's all dayglo and listing to one side, and I took a lot of liberties with the architecture because, hey, I can make it way more fun and also slightly cage-y looking.

I think that if I lived in a Dutch colonial revival house, I would feel trapped, though that barred appearance was really more of an accident than a statement. I have never been a fan of the style, and I am not entirely sure why I decided to draw it.

I think that I had Dutch things in my head because I was reading A Homemade Life by Molly Wizenberg, and she gives a recipe for Dutch Baby Pancakes, and I have sort of been obsessed with the thought. Although, I think that Dutch Babies are really German. I have had pannekoek when I was in the Netherlands, and those are also amazing. I think that I really need pancakes. Stat.

House No. 104: Little House in the Big Woods

House No. 104: Little House in the Big Woods
ink and watercolor pencil on repurposed card stock
4.25 in. x 2 in.
104/365; 04/14/11

Did you ever read the Little House books? In fourth grade, I was obsessed with them and read each book several times until about sixth grade when I first read A Wrinkle in Time and my obsession with Madeline L’Engle began. I think I loved books in which children had to be resourceful. Before Laura, it was The Boxcar Children (Only the first one. After that, the books become forced.) and Z for Zachariah.

Today’s house, Laura’s Little House in the Big Woods is inspired by The Wilder Life by Wendy McClure, a favorite author and blogger of mine. The book is being released today, and I cannot wait to read it. In fact, it has me wanting to reread the Little House books. If you are into such things, check out HalfPintIngalls on the Twittergraph. Hilarious.

House No. 103: Tents

House No. 103: Tents
ink and metallic marker on repurposed card stock
3.45 in. x 3.45 in.
103/365; 04/13/11

I think these are tents for carnies or circus folk. Or for medieval troubadours. I fluctuate on their story. Nonetheless, I am fascinated by nomadic life and impermanent structures. I love gers and yurts and the tents in Harry Potter.

For today’s house I revisited the Tiny Tent that I made last month. I think that I would like to make a whole caravan of tents, and I am sort of working them out in my head right now: how and out of what will I make them? What colors and size should they be? What is their story?

House No. 102: Metallic Colonial

House No. 102: Metallic Colonial

collage of repurposed card stock and foiled paper
3.5 in. x 2.85 in.
102/365; 04/12/11

Some more shiny paper and other scraps fished from my magpie nest were the materials for this simplified colonial style house. I often like to do very detailed work, but I also like to occasionally break a houses down to its barest elements, an icon or symbol for “house.” And today, I also broke down “tree.” Or green lollipop. It can go either way.

House No. 101: Silver House

House No. 101: Silver House

watercolor on repurposed paper, card stock, and foiled paper
8.25 in. x 5.85 in.
101/365; 04/11/11

I dove back into my magpie collection and fished out most of the silver foiled paper to make today's house. It took forever to dry because the foiled paper is largely not porous and did not let air get to the adhesive.

I like the contrast of the painted matte paper against the shiny silver and the movement created by all the scraps and angles of cut paper. This house felt like play.

House No. 84: Tomte Hüs

House No. 84: Tomte Hüs*

card stock and glue

10 in. x 10 in.

084/365; 03/25/11

I continue to be inspired by Scandinavian design this week. Behold, a little box! Another container for holding goodies!  The door opens for filling and emptying. Or for entry for a wee gnome (in Swedish, tomte).

I think that this house would be a sweet party favor. A village of these would make an adorable count-down calendar for your favorite holiday. Please send me photos if you try out the template!

I plan on revisiting this house in fabric as well. How cute would this be with a button closure on the door? When I do, I'll post a pattern for you.

*Yes, the umlaut is superfluous. I can't help myself. Maybe it's exposure to eighties hair bands. I also have the urge to give this house a first name.