Lockdown local (and a long story about Olive and the Westographer!)

Melbourne’s currently in week 1,000 of COVID lockdown (or at least that’s how it feels sometimes), which means most of us can’t travel more than 5km from our homes. While that can feel extremely limiting, especially if your friends and family are local but more than 5km away, I’m trying to focus on the positive things. One big positive - it means I’m slowly discovering every little green section of my zone, and I’m going on lots of walks in my neighbourhood.

One house that I walk past all the time used to have the sweetest garden, tended by its owner, an elderly lady named Olive. I met Olive briefly one day a few years ago, when I was walking by just as local legend photographer the Westographer, aka Warren Kirk, was photographing Olive and her house. Sadly Olive moved on not long after that and since then, the house has fallen into a state of decay. I was lamenting this recently, on a local lockdown walk, but then I realised I could bring the house back to its former state of glory by drawing it as it was, based on the Westographer’s photo. So that’s what I did. Above is a shot of the pen and ink drawing in my notebook, and below is how it looks after it’s been digitised and coloured (and yes, I take liberties here - Olive did not have a pink house :) Nothing like a good old lockdown to get you looking closely at what’s around you!

If you like it, West Footscray House is now available as a fine art print, in A4 and A3 sizes.

The finished art print, after the illustration has been coloured and printed.

Thanks to Warren Kirk, AKA the Westographer, for permission to reference his photo. Warren is a photographer who captures a world that is quickly disappearing, and is the author of multiple books, including Westography (2016), Suburbia (2018) and Northside (due out late September 2020). He also shares his shots on Flickr.

Radical - a new range of gift cards (and there's a new milk bar print)

New things in the shop this week - gift cards that are full of colour and pattern. The RADICAL set features five cards, which you can buy individually or as a pack. They’re printed in Australia, on 100% recycled card stock, and come with a kraft envelope. Send one to a mate to let them know you miss them (thanks COVID) and you’ll brighten their day!

And there’s a brand new milk bar art print. This one’s in West Footscray and is still around, selling mixed lollies (and phone cards). My favourite thing about this illustration? All the bricks and tiles. Totally worth the RSI :)

New Yallourn House print & a bit of history

OK, so I *may* have an addiction to drawing houses. Often pastel coloured, wonky houses. Some are houses I go past all the time and some are houses I used to live near but the latest fits neither of those categories - not only have I never seen this house, I can't see it because it doesn't exist anymore*. In fact, the town it's from doesn't exist anymore either.

So what is this place and why did I draw it? It's from a town called Yallourn, which was built by Victoria's State Electricity Commission to house the workers of Victoria's open-cut brown coal mines in East Gippsland. It's also the town that my dad grew up in and it looked to be a wonderland of green spaces with a vibrant, engaged community. But it's a town I never got to see because it was all but gone by the early 1980s. You see as the mine expanded, it swallowed up the whole area, and all of Yallourn. You can read a bit more about it here on the new house print's shop listing page here.

So that's the story with the latest house drawing. And even without knowing the background story, I still think it's just a very cute little house and I do hope you like it. 

X Susan

* When I say the house doesn't exist anymore that may not actually be the case. A lot of the houses from Yallourn were simple constructions - a timber frame with weatherboard cladding - and were removed and relocated to towns nearby and also far away. So if you're ever in the Latrobe Valley region keep a look out and you might just see this house, or one like it. How cool is that?

Dots and flowers

The making of new continues! So some more new things have been posted in the shop, including Dots Mugs (to go with the dotty milk jugs) and a new print called Slow Down, which is A4/8x10" and is printed on textured canvas paper. Happy Friday to you.

New things

Just a quick post to share some new things I've been working on! The brand new tea towel, Fishes, is my first proper two-colour screen printed design and I'm so happy with it (and not just because I'm a Piscean). It's based on drawings I did earlier this year and certainly has a Scandi vibe and printed on 100% pure white European line. A limited number are now available in my shop and the Etsy shop.

Also new is an art print called Fish, which features more hand drawn...fish! It's printed onto the most lovely textured paper and fits A4/8x10" frames. It's in both this shop and Etsy too.

There will be shop updates each day this week, so keep an eye out for more new things. These one-off plates will be online tomorrow!

Oh, and in non-Spin Spin news, I've started *another* Instagram account, this time in my own name. So if you want to see what else I take photos of (mainly houses that are falling apart, sausage dogs, old buildings, old signage and plants) go forth and follow.

New papergoods

It's nearly September...what?! To celebrate entering the ninth month of the year, all September orders will receive a little Hei Hey Hallo Hi! screen printed postcard. Cute! I'm also working on a little card idea using some multi-coloured designs I've created lately.

Also coming soon - some more art prints, on the best textured paper ever. It's taken me years to find a stock that I like and this is it (below). Hope you like too. Watch this space.

X Susan