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?

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Hanging around home, part I

I've been hanging my house A LOT this year. Like all day, every day. I'm working full-time from home at the moment, which is new for me but I'm kind of loving it (except when I hate it, because I miss non-dog company.) And having a home-based studio suits me for now - although it's sometimes a bit squishy, I like being able to sit in the backyard, in the sun to eat lunch or work really early or really late and not have to worry about commuting in the dark.

Because I'm addicted to photography and haven't had time for any fun projects, yesterday I took some quick snaps around the place in the lovely afternoon light. Funnily enough, there is a plant in (or just out of) every frame!