My "Ticky Tacky" House

my childhood house as it looks today

Last year I posted about artist Leah Giberson and the wonderful mixed-media paintings she creates of suburban and urban landscapes.

some of Leah's Westlake paintings

One of the subjects Leah paints are mid century homes located in the small suburb of Daly City, about 10 miles south of San Francisco. When I was 4, my parents bought our first house in the Westlake district of Daly City. The Westlake homes are kind of "Mid-Century Modern cool."

Malvina Reynolds' song "Little Boxes" was based on a drive she took through Daly City in 1962, and became a hit for folk singer Pete Seeger in 1964.

"Little boxes on the hillside, Little boxes made of ticky tacky,
Little boxes on the hillside, little boxes all the same,
There's a green one and a pink one and a blue one and a yellow one,
And they're all made out of ticky tacky and they all look just the same."

When I met Leah and saw her work I thought I must commission her to do a painting of my old ticky tacky house! So, voila!

The painting

Leah's embroidered paintings are built up of layers of paper with contrasting textures that are stitched together in some spots. I love how the subject runs over the sides; the telephone wires are exaggerated, the house sits alone. Fabulous.

To view or purchase Leah's fabulous work, you can visit her website, blog, flickr series and etsy shop. Also included are her upcoming gallery exhibits. {Oh, and Leah sells prints of her paintings as well!}


Leah also has a wonderful 2011 calendar available which is stunning in person. It features 13 selected images of her paintings and are on nice heavyweight paper. You can purchase one here on Etsy.

Love my painting Leah!

The "Little Box" I Grew Up In...

photography; Thomas Hawk

Ahh... Daly City. The small suburb about 10 miles south of San Francisco. When I was 4, my parents bought our first house in the Westlake district of Daly City.

Malvina Reynolds' song "Little Boxes" was based on a drive she took through Daly City in 1962, and became a hit for folk singer Pete Seeger in 1964:

"Little boxes on the hillside, Little boxes made of ticky tacky,
Little boxes on the hillside, little boxes all the same,
There's a green one and a pink one and a blue one and a yellow one,
And they're all made out of ticky tacky and they all look just the same."

photography; Adrian Hayes

Now these houses above are big two-story "boxes."

Here is the "little box" that I was raised in. I just took a drive by --the first time in decades. It's now mint green...

I actually think Westlake homes, designed by developer Henry Doelger, are "Mid-Century Modern cool." The only bad thing about growing up in Daly City was the climate. Foggy summers...just like San Francisco.

Leah Giberson

You may be asking, what prompted me to do this post? Her name is Leah Giberson. I met her last week at the Pinterest meet-up held in the shop, Rare Device in San Francisco. They had a gallery of Leah's work. I nearly flipped when I saw her renderings of Westlake homes!

Leah Giberson

Leah's work is inspired by "photographs of seemingly ordinary and mundane scenes, which she then paints directly upon them to reveal the visually poignant moments that exist all around us, but are usually overlooked."

Leah Giberson

This "Westlake Green" painting (above) began with a photograph she found on Flickr taken by Adrian Hayes in a series of photos he shot of Westlake homes. (I had the pleasure of meeting him too.) Notice the brilliant detail...the house looks real.

The is the original photograph by Adrian Hayes

Leah Giberson

Not only does Leah have series on homes, she works with varieties of subject matter including her airstream series (above.)

So... now my latest "must have" is a "Westlake" painting by Leah. Possibly commission her to paint the "ticky tacky" house I grew up in. Now wouldn't that be cute?

To view or purchase Leah's fabulous work, you can visit her website, blog, flickr series and etsy shop. Also included are her upcoming gallery exhibits. {Oh, and Leah sells prints of her paintings as well!}

And for more history on Westlake, visit this website!