100 Days of Homes
By Michael Bridgeman
Emily Balsley is an illustrator who lives in Madison and enjoys a challenge. In 2017, she accepted a challenge to draw 100 houses in 100 days.
A four square in Madison (click images to enlarge)
“The official 100 Day Project challenge has been happening for 6 years, I have participated—and completed—four full 100-day projects!,” Emily said. “100 Days of Homes was my second 100-day project.”
To make the project interactive, Emily used social media to invite people to submit photos of the fronts of their houses; she ended up with about 150 submissions. “Once I received the photo, I wrote the name and info down and added it to a jar with all the participants. Every day I pulled one name out of the jar, and that's whose home I drew!” she said, adding that she started on day one by drawing her own home.
A ranch house in Madison
The resulting collection is charming. These are not architectural renderings, but loosely drawn home portraits with house and viewer directly facing each other. The houses are Craftsman, Tudor Revival, ranch, four square, modern, Mediterranean, and more. There are several cottages and one condo building. There’s even a small camping trailer. If you’re interested in seeing these wonderful drawings in person, 65 of the illustrations are on display at Madison’s Central Library in the second floor gallery through January (on the Mifflin street side of the 2nd floor). You can also view the full collection of images online at 100 Days of Homes.
View 65 of the illustrations, which are on display at Madison’s Central Library through January 2020.
An attached house in London, England
Most of the homes Emily drew are from the Madison area reflecting where her social media followers live. “Once the project got rolling, word started to spread, and submissions started coming in from elsewhere,” she said “At the completion of the project, I had drawn homes from 18 U.S. states, three from England, and one from Nicaragua.”
If you visit Emily’s website at emilybalsley.com you’ll see that her freelance clients include American Girl, Highlights Magazine, the UW Memorial Union, Food Fight Restaurant Group, and Madison Magazine. In 2019, she was an artist-in-residence at the Bubbler in Madison’s Central Library. Emily has also done a mural for the new Pinney Branch library due to open in early 2020.
A modern home in Madison
“After scrutinizing peoples' homes for this project, I did start noticing little details I had never seen before: things like different-sized windows, symmetry, even brick patterns,” Emily said. “Usually my artistic style is much more graphic and simplified; but this challenge forced me to create with a more realistic eye. Now, as I walk around our neighborhood, I definitely have a fresh appreciation for the houses I recognize from my project.”
Emily sells giclée prints of any of the drawings from her 100 Days of Homes project. To inquire, contact her directly through her website.
A Craftsman bungalow in Madison
Exhibit ends January 31, 2020. See below for exhibit information:
Madison Public Library | Central
Second Floor Gallery
201 W. Mifflin St.
Madison, WI 53703
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