House No. 171: Huguenot House

House No. 171: Huguenot House
colored pencil on paper
9 in. x 12 in.
171/365; 06/20/11

Today’s house is a little stone dwelling like those built by the French Calvanists in the Hudson River Valley during the eighteenth century. Drawn with waxy woodless colored pencils on heavy paper.

House No. 71: Tagged Houses

House No. 71: Tagged Houses
repurposed tags, ink, and colored pencil on card stock

8 in. x 10 in.
071/365; 03/12/11

A collaged neighborhood.

House No. 70: Zayat

House No. 70: Zayat
ink, colored pencil, and watercolor on paper, digital layout

8.5 in. x 11 in.
070/365; 03/11/11

In Burma, nearly every village has a zayat, a building used as a shelter for travelers, religious celebration, and civic assemblies. Buddhist monks live in zayats during intensified practice on sabbath days. 

And so ends my series of alphabet houses. I almost feel a little sad that I have finished them, I enjoyed them so much, but I have so many ideas to play out and some collaborations coming up. I can't wait to share them with you.

House No. 69: Yaodong

House No. 69: Yaodong
ink, colored pencil, and watercolor on paper, digital layout

8.5 in. x 11 in.
069/365; 03/10/11

Yaodong are humanly-excavated caves that have been constructed and used for centuries in China, particularly in the Loess Plateau. Once again, these ancient building techniques are innovative sustainable housing. I'm beginning to see a trend here.

House No. 68: Xerxes Palace

House No. 68: Xerxes Palace

ink, colored pencil, and watercolor on paper, digital layout

8.5 in. x 11 in.
068/365; 03/09/11

Xerxes, the great king, the king of kings,
the son of king Darius, an Achaemenid.

Persepolis, the Greek name for the City of Persians (Persēs polis: "Persian city"), was the ceremonial capital of the Achaemenid Empire (ca. 550-330 BCE), which is now Iran.

The palace of King Xerxes was sacked by the troops of Alexander the Great with particular fervor in revenge for the attack on Athens by Xerxes.

On a barely related note: have you seen the movie Persepolis? It is fantastic.

House No. 64: Wigwam

House No. 64: Wigwam
ink, colored pencil, and watercolor on paper, digital layout

8.5 in. x 11 in.
064/365; 03/05/11

While working on this illustration of a wigwam used by the indigenous people of North America  — I based mine on the wigwams made of bark by the Algonquin —I felt like an elementary school child working on a presentation for class. I seem to remember drawing all sorts of Native American housing for school reports: wigwams, tipis, longhouses ... again, some things never change.

House No. 62: Villa

 

House No. 62: Villa
ink, colored pencil, and watercolor on paper, digital layout

8.5 in. x 11 in.
062/365; 03/03/11

The word villa comes from Italian by way of Latin: Roman villas were the country houses of the upper class, and the Tuscan countryside of Italy are still dotted with generations of these estates that make up the quintessential picture of the villa.

I always think of villas being flanked by rows of tall, pencil-thin cypress trees and overlooking rolling hills of vineyards. Sigh. I could use a stay at a villa right about now.

House No. 61: House Dressing

 

House No. 61: House Dressing
ink and colored pencil on cardstock

3 in. x 5 in.
061/365; 03/02/11

House haute couture.

House No. 59: Unity House

House No. 59: Unity House
ink, colored pencil, and watercolor on paper, digital layout

8.5 in. x 11 in.
059/365; 02/28/11

Following the Second World War, Britain had an urgent need for housing, and traditional building materials and skilled labor were in short supply. In order for inexpensive and easily erected properties to be installed, component parts made of cast concrete were produced in factories and then sent out to be erected by labor who were untrained in traditional construction skills.

One style of house was called Unity housing.

About 15,000 Unity homes were built in the 1950's, mostly as semi detached and terraced houses.  They were factory produced and assembled on site with precast reinforced concrete columns. They had pre-fabricated kitchens and bathrooms and were situated in excellent locations with roomy accommodations and sizable yards.

This type of structure makes me think of Number 4 Privet Drive and the Bucket residence (Chez Bouquet).

House No. 58: Trulli

House No. 58: Trulli
ink, colored pencil, and watercolor on paper, digital layout

8.5 in. x 11 in.
058/365; 02/27/11

A trullo is a traditional Apulian stone dwelling of the Italian Itria Valley. Similar to the French orri in their dry-stone conical roof structure, trulli traditionally were built without any mortar.

In addition to its unique architecture, the Itria Valley is famous for its annual summer opera festival. Where do I sign up?

House No. 57: Sámi House

 

House No. 57: Sámi House
ink, colored pencil, and watercolor on paper, digital layout

8.5 in. x 11 in.
057/365; 02/26/11

Let me get one thing out of the way at the start: there are a lot of different houses built and used by the Sámi people, who are a culturally connected people spread across many different political lines in far northern Europe.  The Sámi live in the northernmost parts of the countries of Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Russia.

In fact, you may notice some similarities between house number fifty-seven, here, and house number forty-three, Russian Izba, particularly in the izba from the story of Baba Yaga, a Chicken-Legged Izba. (Isn't that a lovely depiction of Baba Yaga's house by fantasy illustrator Reuben C. Dodd?)

I illustrated a Sámi house traditionally found in Sweden for this house because I love the house's supports, but there are many, many fascinating Sámi dwellings that could take up their own sub-project, and believe me, I'm thinking about it.

I am really fascinated by the Sámi, and I want to learn loads more about them. I will keep you posted!

House No. 56: Rondavel

House No. 56: Rondavel
ink, colored pencil, and watercolor on paper, digital layout
8.5 in. x 11 in.
056/365; 02/25/11

Rondavels are found throughout southern Africa including South Africa, Lesotho, Swaziland, and Botswana.

The structure of a rondavel is pretty amazing because the roof has no struts or beams supporting it and is built without internal braces. There are no seams, joists, or rafters up there, like there are in a gabled roof.


Radial poles, called principals in architecture lingo, are supported by circular purlins, which are concentric ring-shaped supports that form the conical shape of the roof. It's kind of like a giant hoop skirt, but without a person holding it up from the inside. (see image below)

The roof is thatched over wooden poles made of tree limbs and sewn with grass rope.

Traditionally, the floors and walls of these roundhouses are fortified with a processed mortar made of earth, sand, and dung that strengthens the earthen floor and stone walls with a firm and smooth coating.

The houses are not just green and sustainable, they are beautiful too. The exterior of the walls are oftentimes decorated with carvings, paintings, and mosaics.

Verified information of rondavels is not as prevalent as other house types that I have been researching, but the essay by Gerald Steyn, The Indigenous Rondavel – a Case for Conservation, has an excellent bibliography that got me started.

House No. 55: Quinzhee

House No. 55: Quinzhee
ink, colored pencil, and watercolor on paper, digital layout
8.5 in. x 11 in.
055/365; 02/24/11

A quinzhee, for those who are unfamiliar, is also known as a snow hut, cave, or shelter. "What is the difference between a quinzhee and an igloo?" you might ask. (I know I did.) The answer is that a quinzhee is carved out of snow while an igloo is built from blocks of it.

While igloos are a tradition of the Inuit, and are crafted in a specific manner, quinzhee are built and used in many places.

Quinzee were even built in Princeton, New Jersey in the eighties. I remember my mom building them with me when I was wee. She would carve out a snow drift to make me a snow house and a snow couch and a snow bed ... The making was the fun part.

What can I say? I liked making houses. Well, some things never change, do they?

House No. 54: Pueblo

House No. 54: Pueblo
ink, colored pencil, and watercolor on paper, digital layout
8.5 in. x 11 in.
054/365; 02/23/11

Native American Pueblo house complexes are modular, multiple story houses built out of adobe by the Pueblo Indians of the Southwest. (I, too, used Adobe products to lay out the design of this house, but my Adobe is software and not bricks made of baked clay and straw.) Each unit of these structures is similar to an apartment. Many times an extended clan live together in the Pueblo structure, and homes are passed on for many generations.

I love the way the doors of the Pueblo houses are often painted to match the sky. The combination of the colors of the sky and clay are exquisite.

House No. 53: Orri

House No. 53: Orri

ink, colored pencil, and watercolor on paper, digital layout
8.5 in. x 11 in.
053/365; 02/22/11

During the summer months in the Ariège region of France, shepherds in the Pyrénées mountains would practice transhumance, the leading of livestock to the high mountains, or estives, to support their herds on the pastures. While in the estives, the shepherds camped in stone cabins called orris.

The orris were built by hand without mortar and were generally furnished only with a bench for sleeping. It is amazing how long these huts have lasted in the Pyrénées. Many are still standing today.

I think that orris must have been Peyo's inspiration for les maisons des Schtroumpfs, n'est-ce pas?

House No. 52: Nipa Hut

 

House No. 52: Nipa Hut

ink, colored pencil, and watercolor on paper, digital layout
8.5 in. x 11 in.
052/365; 02/21/11

The Nipa hut, a pile dwelling structure constructed of bamboo, is the indigenous house of the Philippines. The stilts protect the house from flooding and animals, and they are often built over the water. The bamboo is naturally water resistant as well as prolific, making it easy and inexpensive to repair the houses.

House No. 51: Mudhif

 

House No. 51: Mudhif

ink, colored pencil, and watercolor on paper, digital layout
8.5 in. x 11 in.
051/365; 02/20/11

The Maʿdan, Shīʿite living in the Amara marshes in southern Iraq, build Mudhifs, houses intended for communal activities and as housing for guests and travelers. The buildings are constructed of giant reeds on a reed platform that provides structure above the waters of the marsh.

House No. 50: Viking Långhus

House No. 50: Viking Långhus

ink, colored pencil, and watercolor on paper, digital layout
8.5 in. x 11 in.
050/365; 02/19/11

Viking houses were as rough and tumble as one might imagine.

Generally, the longhouses were constructed as one large room. The structure was constructed of wood or peat blocks with wooden planks placed on the inside of the walls. Oftentimes the roof of the longhouse was covered with turf. Furs and skins lined the room to keep it warm. Frequently, one end of the structure was used as a barn.

I think the structure resembles an overturned viking ship. Perhaps that is the way the building evolved. Or maybe the structure worked so well as a watertight vessel that it would be only natural to invert it to keep out the elements. Or maybe the building technique was just what they were used to. What do you think?

House No. 49: Turkish Konak

House No. 49: Turkish Konak

ink, colored pencil, and watercolor on paper, digital layout
8.5 in. x 11 in.
049/365; 02/18/11

Konaks are sprawling houses in Turkey built during the rule of the former Ottoman Empire.

Konaks are known for their extended, wooden soffits with dramatic woodwork, bay windows, painted ceilings, wooden domes centered on the roofs, and slit fenestration.

House No. 47: City Living

House No. 47: City Living

collage, ink, and colored pencil on upcycled cardstock
6 in. x 4 in.
047/365; 02/16/11

Yesterday, I received a mail art piece from my friend Mim. I was so excited! I was even more excited when I found out that Mim is also doing an alphabet series for her 365 project and started on nearly the same day that I did. So cool.

I so enjoyed receiving art in the mail. I decided that my house today would be mail art to send back to Mim. Well, I decided to make mail art for Mim, and it took so much time that I had to use it as today's house. I was just so into it.

And I cannot believe that I had not used collage yet for a house. It's one of my favorite things to do.

This card is made from a reused manila folder, a page from a Mexican calendar that I received with an order from Rancho Gordo, and lots of scribbling.

So, I have been detouring a bit from my alphabet, but I will be getting back to it soon. I just have a million ideas, and I cannot seem to stick to just one concept.