todo masa

Wood-Fired Barrel Oven Video

2011-08-16T11:04:00.000-07:00

This oven project was led by Eva Edleson at the Natural Building Extravaganza!

Learn more about...

The Wood-Fired Barrel Oven

The Outdoor Kitchen Project Featured in this Video

Circular Patio

2010-10-06T08:09:00.002-07:00

Teamed up with my good pal Ethan Rainwater to make this patio in the hills of Eugene, OR.

Woodinville Barrel Oven

2010-10-06T08:09:00.001-07:00

We built this wood fired barrel oven at Hawthorn Farm in Woodinville, WA.

www.firespeaking.com

Earthen Oven

2010-10-06T08:08:00.003-07:00

Cob Cottage Co

2010-10-06T08:08:00.001-07:00

Straw clay retrofit

2010-10-06T08:07:00.003-07:00

Chicken Palace

2010-10-06T08:07:00.001-07:00

Fuddy Plaster

2010-05-04T16:10:00.001-07:00

Last week I made and plastered the exterior of the Fuddy,
the new Pallet Strutcure at Spirit Pine.

Above is a photo inside the Fuddy....
the walls are still awaiting an interior finish plaster.

This structure was built almost completely for free
with locally gathered materials and savvy resourcefulness.

The Playhouse

2010-05-04T16:02:00.001-07:00

Fuddy

2010-04-18T22:28:00.001-07:00

Two shots from inside the Fuddy
This is a 10x15 building I made with my friends out of pallets!

Two views from Fuddy roof
See the Pallet Chicken House above!

Levi and I crafting outside on future Fuddy porch

Pouring the earthen floor in the Fuddy with Max and Betty

Natural Building Courses at Valle Pintado

2010-04-07T18:12:00.000-07:00

A four part series to deepen your experience with natural living crafts

We will be teaching these workshops in Patagonia, Argentina

Naturally Building for Fire
March 3 – 6, 2010

Come see how little wood it takes to warm your home while creating a lovely hearth.

Join us in building a multi-functional and beautiful masonry heater using natural building techniques. Masonry heaters are highly efficient fireplaces which are designed to burn cleanly and and maintain much more of the heat inside your home. They provide a comfortable and environmentally-sound way to heat your home. Our project will use affordable earthen materials while also incorporating traditional European stove design and modern methods used in the United States.

Cost: $400

NATURAL FINISHES: PLASTERS, PAINTS, FRESCOES, ETC.
March 10 – 13, 2010

Come join us as we make and apply a plaster coat on our new community kitchen.

Learn how to use local, natural materials to craft many types of beautiful finishes. This course will include information about various interior and exterior treatments as well as tool and application techniques.

Cost: $400

BioConstruyendo Patagonia

2010-04-07T18:08:00.000-07:00

I was an instructor at BioConstruyendo Patagonia in February, 2010. There were 20 instructors and 120 participants. I taught courses on how to make and apply earthen paints and plasters and created sculpture with earthen material.

Program included:

Introduction to Permaculture
Permaculture and Natural Building
Passive Solar Design
Introduction to Natural Building
Composting Toilets
Solar Water Heating
Grey Water Treatment
Sacred Geometry
Electricity
Green or Living Roofs
Geodesic Domes

Natural Building Techniques Covered:

Adobe Brick
Wattle and Daub
Light Straw-Clay Bricks
Earth Bag Construction
Cob
Natural Plasters
Earthen Sculpture
Tile Mosaic
Natural Paints
Insulating Panels
Cast Floor Panels

Location

CIDEP, which stands for Center for Permaculture Research, Development and Education, is the central location for both hands-on projects and lectures. The center is a 24 acre farm in a beautiful rural area at the foothills of the Andes and 9 miles from the center of the town of El Bolson. Many sustainable systems at various stages of development exist at the center including natural windbreaks, natural buildings, alternative energy generation, passive solar systems, composting toilets, recycling, garden, and nature reserve spaces. The presence of all these systems creates a dynamic environment for participants since they actually live in and experience them.

Fuddy Now

2009-12-27T16:15:00.001-08:00

After we put in all the windows we stuffed the walls with straw clay.

Serena and I are making the mix above.
The Fuddy ceiling is made of corrugated metal.
We put a thick layer of straw clay insulation in the roof.
We sheathed the roof with plywood.
Then we put pond liner on the roof and covered it with a thick mulch.

We completed the 1st coat of exterior plaster.
Above is Fezzo cleaning off the bottles.

The door is on and the stem wall complete!

Bottle installation.

Putting in the drainage layer with Noah.
The wood stove with built in wood block for chopping kindling.
Jur and Natalie putting in the earthen base floor.

This is what it looks like inside the Fuddy right now.
Next I will put in some shelves and do an interior plaster.

Erica Ann and the Bush family came to visit for the holidays and took this photo of us outside the Fuddy! Thanks to Fezzo for the photos for this post.

November Fuddy

2009-11-17T17:32:00.000-08:00

2009-11-12T11:12:00.001-08:00

Beautiful October

2009-10-30T18:06:00.001-07:00

Harvesting pine needles and admiring the pitch.

Music in the courtyard.

Denali comes to visit!!!
And Betty taught us how to make pine needle baskets.
Below is a photo of mine in the making.

Levi and I harvesting at our friends organic farm.

Putting the rafters up and building an extension portal to access the sky observation deck!

The roof has been completed on the Sunburst Earthen Oven!

And of course, no month is more delightful than one where your friends challenge you to a sandcastle competition. See the earthen oven courtyard? How bout the rice terraces following the contours and the lovely drip castle balcony? Cass, Travis, Max and I went to Carpenteria and sculpted this together in front of where Max's grandparents once lived. This was a special afternoon...Eating at The Spot and jumping in the waves. I love swimming in the ocean.

Fuddy Update

2009-10-30T17:47:00.001-07:00

Ahhhh... it is almost November which means time to embark on the Fuddy again! This month I hope to get the roof finished, the windows in, the walls stuffed and the stem wall completed. Above you can see what the structure looks like now. Look at the free windows inside just waiting to become a part of it all! And we acquired enough free pond liner for the Fuddy and the Playhouse. Go Craigslist!
October was such a lovely month with lots of friends and deepening of our friendships. See the Fuddy in the background?

Us putting up the rafters and hurricane ties last month.

Adobe Meditation Studio

2009-10-28T20:03:00.001-07:00

A wonderful opportunity arrived in my life!

I had the pleasure of building an adobe meditation studio in
Santa Barbara with Betty and Max.

First, Betty made about 500 adobe bricks at Spirit Pine!
Tautahcho crafted the beautiful door.

Planning the stem wall.

Two shots after our first day of laying adobes.

After the second day of adobes.

On the third day Serenity joined the team.

Above you can see the building after the fourth day.
The roof is now on as is the door. I hope to post a photo of that soon!

The building process went so incredibly well on this adobe studio.
We worked well as a team and had so much fun.

Pallet Barn and Chicken Church Update

2009-09-27T16:36:00.001-07:00

Building The Fuddy has inspired me to post an update on the other two pallet structures at Spirit Pine.The seven sided structure above is made from pallets and houses our chickens. It was built almost entirely by Candace. I helped plaster it with a straw-clay plaster.

Here is the Pallet Barn pre and post rough plaster which the other ladies at Spirit Pine have been rockin on. A final coat of plaster will be added soon.
Below is me adding some interior windows and stuffing above the shop room door.

Fuddy II

2009-09-27T16:10:00.001-07:00

This week we got all of the walls up on the Fuddy, the ridge beam
and all of the Northern Rafters.

The Fuddy

2009-09-21T18:45:00.001-07:00

Adelaide and I at the site on the first day.

Levi and I inside the foundation trench.
The building will be 10' x 15'.

Watering the hard clay soil so that we could dig.

Ed helps me get urbanite!

The most fabulous, function stacking, foundation digging
Adelaide and Luca (& Zuri!) in the back of the truck on the way to find Serpentine for the retaining wall.

Ratcheting the lag screws into the bottom plate

Fuddy Door!
Yeah!!! The pallets begin to go up!

I am designing and constructing a building at Spirit Pine called the Fuddy.
The term "Fuddy" is used to describe a humble dwelling. This building is made with reclaimed pallets and was inspired by the Pallet Barn we made with Dafyd and Yolanda last spring. (See previous post.) The pallets are later stuffed and plastered with straw clay.

Three people have come to learn and build this September with me. Their names are Adelaide, Luca and Fezzo. I am appreciative of their enthusiasm and motivation.

Everyone at Spirit Pine has been very helpful to the design process,
each bringing wisdom and skill. As the building grows, so do I.

Stay tuned.....

Wedding at Spirit Pine

2009-09-21T17:22:00.000-07:00

Above you can Jenn and I standing in front of a pair of Orchard Toilets. They are the beautiful work of the phenomenal Betty who created them swiftly and with impressive skill using a wire wattle technique. Below, the Wild Oat bouquets Betty made for the ceremony.

Figueroa Mountain was a beautiful place for this wedding.
I made zucchini bread in our earthen oven to share with the guests.

Grandma Jackie's Stairs

2009-09-21T17:17:00.000-07:00

New Staircase at Grandma Jackie's house!

Cooking at The Cob Cottage Company

2009-09-07T19:06:00.001-07:00

The outdoor kitchenBuilding the new kitchen

Participants learn to make cobThe oven I baked inBounty from the gardenCOOKING AND NATURAL BUILDING!
TODO MASA!

Betty painted this wonderful fresco!Linda brings us oyster mushrooms Chioga beetsAwesome ladies making cob!Oh the Oregon blackberries!Nick, gardener and musician,
brought delicious vegetables daily. Ianto Evans, Godfava This August's Complete Cob participants and staff.***
What an amazing opportunity!
A creative culinary adventure!

This was the 2nd summer that I cooked for a Complete Cob Course at the Cob Cottage Company. This year's course helped to build the new kitchen as they learned so many aspects of Natural Building. It was an honor to be back with my friends Linda and Ianto to participate in what they do and the beauty they have created.

My pursuit was to cook 3 meals a day for 10 days, for 32 people! The food is organic and cooked in an outdoor kitchen. I use a wood fired earthen oven for baking and toasting and roasting.

The school is beautiful. The people were all so kind and interesting. The garden there is stunning and majestically full of bounty for every meal. Thank you to my friends, new and treasured for taking part in the adventure with me.

The following info about the course is from their website- www.cobcottage.com ... Check it out!

Complete Cob

August 22-30 2009
The Instructors:
Bernhard Masterson and Max Edleson

Description:

This is the most comprehensive cob course available in North America. In the past 15 years, we've taught almost 200 major cob courses. In 9 intensve days, we'll cover in depth all aspects of cob and the many techniques in building with cob including arches, details, shelving, furniture and earthen floors. In this expanded version of our most popular program ever, we'll take the ground out from under your feet and turn it into a versatile medium to sculpt a whole house. You will learn construction of walls, doors, windows, roofing, foundations, siting, design and artistic details. And you'll leave confident enough to build a cob building of your own!

Earthen Floor with From These Hands

2009-08-16T23:04:00.001-07:00

A beautifully carved doorThese reed mat walls will be plastered. Wool insulation.There is hydronic radiant heating in the floor. A wonderful team!

Underneath the yoga platform.Exterior lime plasterReady to lay down the finish floor!

www.sukita.com This was such a wonderful project to get to be a part of.
I learned so much on this very memorable job. I am grateful.

Sunburst Oven

2009-07-28T17:48:00.001-07:00

Noey's

2009-07-28T17:18:00.000-07:00

This is a cob home being built near where I live at Yes Yes farm.

Betty and I got to help out our awesome friend Noey in the design process. Yesterday I went to help out with her walls which have come along so well!

RUMFORD!
Putting in the Rumford flue.

Cat Palace Update

2009-07-12T11:24:00.000-07:00

Light switch!
Here you can see the battery box for the solar power.

We prepare for plasterAquarium viewing portal above
Up the stone stairs to the second floor.

One of the patios. Still needs a railing.The top deck. Glass mosaic.Applying the earthen plaster.
Mark attaches the recycled roof shingles.I inset some beautiful ceramic tiles.
See a few of the multi-colored LED lights hanging from the kitty's patio roof.
Special details abound! I inset pieces of a broken plate.
See previous post for Initial phase of the Solar Powered Cat Palace!

Five Oaks Farm Oven

2009-06-18T21:31:00.000-07:00

Andre, Jeremy, Asher and Skylar Peven First bake fireFirst pizza bites with CarolGarden harvestView from the gardenBarry rolls out the dough with his sonsOculus!

* * * * *

Five Oaks Farm is a small family farm located on the Henry Wilhelm Estate that was built in 1865 and is a historic landmark. The farm is located just off the Oregon Trail and was originally 160 acres with a house, chicken coop, sheep barn, stable, and black smith. The original outhouse is still hidden in the blackberries. The apple orchard, walnut tree and grape vines continue to fruit like gifts from the pioneers who settled here over 150 years ago.

Carol and Barry knew at first sight that the wonderful and historic Victorian house with a homestead apple orchard, original barns and five towering oak trees was where they wanted to live, grow their pesto business and raise their four boys.

I lead a workshop on how to build a wood fired earthen oven, and designed an outdoor kitchen/gathering place near their vegetable garden. Thanks so much to all of the neighbors and friends that helped!
* * * * *
Some photos of the process:Choosing the site Building the baseSifting clay

Building the domeOpening the oven
Ready for plaster
A tiny celebratory fire

Martha Grace tunes up for orchestra practice as we plaster and finish the roof

The Peven boys make the pizzas The roof structure is stout!

Sauna

2009-06-16T22:55:00.000-07:00

Pedro and Adriana's Cob Temascal Sweat Lodge is one of the wonderful natural buildings near Share-It Square. I had the pleasure of applying an earthen finish plaster and installing a sculpted face within the walls of the building.

The face, sculpted by Lynn, had previously been a part of a Share-It Square Bench. The bench had been deconstructed and re-built. The face, being so beautiful, had been saved...waiting patiently for a new home. I sawed and chiseled off the remaining bulk of the bench and then carved away a place in the sauna's interior to place her.

The experience of angel paring and wall deconstruction furthered my awareness and belief in the strength of cob! So strong and heavy! I am looking forward to a sweat later this week. :)

Above is the sauna. The yellow building in the background is Portland's first code approved straw bale addition. It is so lovely and it is 300 sq ft

I taught paint and plaster classes during the VBC. We made and applied different colored aliz around the windows before the finish plaster was applied.

We also installed an angel face.Two Angel faces! Adriana and Santiago.Annette and Adriana place thoughtful blessings in the wall.

VBC- Solar Powered Cat Palace

2009-06-06T23:38:00.000-07:00

Drawing and design concept by Mark Lakeman

I am currently in Portland, Oregon at The Village Building Convergence. This year I am teaching cob building and we are building a Cat Palace. It is quite a beautiful structure that is emerging!

When Mark called me a few months ago and said "Would you help me build a 24 solar powered cat palace?" Well, of course I said "Yes!"

Yes, it is true. Full of creativity and kitty amenities. There will be a fan roof at the top and it will be a radial photovoltaic structure for powering the palace's lighting and waterfall systems. There will also be passive solar gain for the "Willie The Cat Memorial Catnip Lounge", as well as numerous other feline amenities such as a skyscape viewing platform and a cave-like cat porch, yet to be named.

The Cat Palace is right around the corner from the
Share-It Square Angel Bench and The 24 Tea Station.
What a wonderful neighborhood!
The above photo is of seedum on the living roof of the neighbor's
cob sauna which I will plaster while I am here.
At this moment....still to be completed- final form removed, finish plaster and details, roofing and more shingles on patio roofs, pv system installed, fishtank, etc.

Some Photos from My Life This Week

2009-05-31T19:16:00.001-07:00

Japanese Climbing Cucumbers and Persian Carpet Zinnia!

Our Garden Terraces

Ed with seeds in the cherry and live oak wooden bowls he turned

Can you see the willow trellis? Soon beans will grow on it!

Garden Smiles

Dressed up for Jessie's Quinceañera at Quail Springs Candace is making a pallet palace for the chickens!
Cassie and I are putting windows in the Pallet Barn

And we got to go glean at a nearby farm.
Above is some of the bounty we brought home!

Wind

2009-05-21T16:14:00.001-07:00

Betty and I hold down the carpet in the 60mph Figueroa Mountain winds. Then we all put some sandbags up to hold the liner down until the living roof is completed.

Patio at the King's

2009-05-15T18:35:00.000-07:00

Dawn, Al and Ginger wanted a place to relax outside, have parties and play music. Ed and I worked on this project in between gardening, building and travel during April and May. The total paved space is about 1500 sq ft and we made it with hexagonal cement pavers. There will be more photos later after all the gardening and opening party. :)
Thanks also to Jesse, John Henry, Betty and Diane for your help.

Above you can see photos of the place before the patio.Pruning back bushes to define the patio space
Grading!

There were lizards everywhere during this project.
I love how they do push ups.

Tile saaaaaaaaaaw!

The patio maestros.

Gaviota Coast

2009-05-01T18:21:00.001-07:00

Earthen Renovation Update!

2009-05-01T09:16:00.001-07:00

Back for another session of innovation, beauty and fun. We have added plasters, finish plasters and alizes to the porch, outside walls and in the kitchen. Walking around one sees many earthen elements seamlessly incorporated into this home. There are lovely niches and earthen solar tubes. It is inspiring to be here. I helped to make and trowel on a finish plaster outside this week. Ed and I are repainting the kitchen.
Check the previous post ("Aviation Grade Cob") for project details.

Above- plastering in process

Above- The view from inside the bedroom

The porch bench, wall and chimney we built are plastered!
Looks so good with the ferrocement roof!
The column which you are seeing above is the chimney from the rocket stove downstairs.

Kata and Erica put a luscious earthen plaster the kitchen ceiling bays.
And below, more earth plaster in the kitchen. Wish you could see the mica!

Above you can see a photo of Kata and Erica putting Erica's scrumptious cookies in our rocket stove oven tests. A terra cotta pot has been turned upside down and we experimented with a round piece of granite on the barrel.

Putting the PIZZA in our rocket stove test bake oven!

Yum! Yes it's pizza from the rocket stove!Plastering with 3 of my favorite ladies! (Michelle took this shot. :) )
The outside wall looking good. Great plaster mix Kata!
Earthen Solar Tube!
Michelle's niche with light from the solar tube!

New Cob building at Spirit Pine

2009-04-30T23:25:00.001-07:00

This beautiful cob building is being crafted right now at Spirit Pine Sanctuary.

Orella Ranch- Natural Building Colloquium Update

2009-04-03T16:08:00.000-07:00

Here are some photos from the 2008 NBC project at Orella Ranch.

Many hands and talents went into making these walls a diverse showcase of natural wall system techniques and artistic natural plastering. We used a combination of earthen plaster, lime plaster and aliz.

I have a previous post from the Colloquium (Oct 2008) that show more of the event some of the process.

The last 4 show the project before the final plaster and aliz.

Pallet Barn!

2009-04-03T15:39:00.001-07:00

We are in the process of building a barn with reclaimed pallets that we have infilled with straw and clay. Dafyd and Yolanda Rawlings came to teach and lead us in the process.

I am in now very in love with this building technique. We are so happy to be looking forward to a place to house our tools, creative projects, equipment and animal food.

2009-02-03T16:07:00.000-08:00

S P O O N

2009-02-02T13:38:00.000-08:00

Ed taught me how to make a spoon.

We used local Mulberry wood.

I love this process.

Carving, sanding, oiling and waxing.

Witnessing the shape that exists within the wood.

Seeing the grain manifest.

Me Ed and Todd in the Courtyard.

The spoon on the bottom is the one I made.

Spirit Pine Schedule

2009-01-26T16:24:00.001-08:00

Here is our schedule for the year at Spirit Pine.

We have already completed our Passive Solar Hot Water and our Earth Sculpture course. Still ahead this year is our straw-clay barn raising, an owner builder cob home, greywater systems, ferrocement roof structures, composting toilets and a course on earthen and lime paints and plasters. I hope you will join us!

Please let me know if you want me to email or snail mail you a copy as I am still trying to figure out how to post this so that you can read all the text! Any web designers out there who want to barter for a course in craft or natural building?

My New Hip Gear

2009-01-26T14:58:00.000-08:00

Betty taught me how to make this awesome leather bag. It holds my knife, phone, salve, etc.

Earth Sculpture at Spirit Pine

2009-01-15T15:25:00.000-08:00

On January 10th and 11th we hosted an Earth Sculpture workshop at Spirit Pine Sanctuary. Patra Loundsberry came to assist us in the process of sculpting with earth. We created animals, totems, spirit houses, and candle holders. A variety of techniques were used, many of us began our pieces by making armatures with metal and wood. We explored embedding treasures, seeds and found objects. The workshop taught about how these techniques could be applied when building an earthen home. Betty and I made and shared info about natural paints and finishes and we used them on our pieces. Here are some photos from our sculpture weekend!

Patra creating an armature outside of
Grandma Jackie's house, my current abode

We began the weekend with a walk in the Chumash wilderness, our backyard, gathering inspiration. The experience was nurturing and our creations brought us joy.

Everyone brought something to share

Cassie created delicious meals for us

I made a shelf to hang on the wall.
It holds a candle and is made with cob
and decorated with broken mirror.

2008-12-24T21:12:00.001-08:00

Aviation Grade Cob

2008-12-22T22:51:00.001-08:00

I spent last week helping with a multifaceted project. A beautiful and innovative home renovation. The family has built a rocket stove in their downstairs, which was once a tiny crawl space. The stove's chimney travels up through an earthen bench on their upstairs porch. When I arrived, I helped build the wall that connects the bench and chimney to the lovely ferrocement roof. This curved shell wall, made with wire wattle and a super efficient light weight cob mix, will be the new exterior wall to their now expanded bedroom. Kata Polano was the project manager of this Autumn's natural building activation. We also applied an earthen plaster on the side of the house that now it has a functional straw clay insulation. I will update with photos once we have applied a finish plaster to the wall and bench in January.

Cal-Earth!

2008-12-12T12:48:00.000-08:00

I have wanted to go to Cal-Earth for the last 15 years. While taking a passive solar design class in college, I saw Nader Khalili's book "Ceramic Houses and Earth Architecture" sitting on a desk. It was the first natural building book I had come across and I was entranced. I was concurrently taking a clay sculpture class and the idea of creating a ceramic house to live in fulfilled so much of what I had been searching for. Also, my mom has exposed me to some of Nader's translations of Rumi poetry and his book "Racing Alone", which I love. Last week my friend Ed and I joined Wes and Marge of the Santa Barbara Permaculture Guild on their yearly trek to visit Cal-Earth.
I have posted many of my photos here. Enjoy!

Wes and Iliona Khalili

The bag and wire set up for construction

Arches!

These earth balls provide shade and cooling for the building

Didn't expect to see this kind of construction but was pleased. An earth bag house constructed with double garage doors! The next two photos are of the interior of this house. Modern possibilities.

Here you can see an intelligent way to cool a building.
The "scoop" on the left (above) gathers wind into the building, wind goes into a channel and enters the house through the shutter-like doors pictured below. It cools the building and leaves through the "scoop" on the right.

You can see the contrast above of Cal-Earth's location
and the encroaching suburban development.

I can't get over how wonderful this idea is. Ceramic window forms!
This is definitely going on the list for a must have in my house.

Awesome collection of arch forms

Some talented potters live on-site

Many beautiful models

And now for a part I am very, very excited about....
A video of Mike, one of the on-site potters, explaining the process of firing a structure.

The photos that follow should help to clarify some of what he is talking about.

The "clay pegs" to be used in the firing process

Hopefully a helpful diagram above. Here, the inner dome is the structure, the "t" shapes are the "clay pegs" and the outer line represents the insulative firing fabric he describes.

Mike shows me an earth oven he is building

At the end of the day Iliona Khalili taught me about the procedure and flavor of Iranian tea.
Truly delicious.

Meditation Studio at Sunburst

2008-12-12T12:16:00.000-08:00

These are photos of us doing an earthen
finish plaster at Michelle's meditation studio.

The rough plaster

Me and Cassie having a ball!

Doing the bench.
We will later apply a coat of linseed oil to the bench and do an earthen floor.

A beautiful bas-relief lotus by Betty.

Ferrocement Fountain at Family School

2008-12-12T11:04:00.000-08:00

This month we are working with Paul Kemnitzer to build a ferrocement water fountain. Paul led the cistern workshop at Spirit Pine and is a joy to work with.

The Family School is a neat place where Betty has previously done multiple projects- including a playhouse, an earthen bench and a greenhouse. Below are photos of the fountain making process. As usual, I was thrilled to learn about helpful tools for working with metal during the process. (Oh the hours I have spent cutting and twisting with the wrong tools!)

Cuts and bends!

Bends!

Twists wire!

Twists wire REALLY good!

Hog Ring Pliers

Super Hog Ring Pliers

Off to the school!

The fountain space prepared

Dobies!

Levi and friends on the earthen bench

Inside the cob greenhouse

Betty talks with the students about design

Paul trowels on the cement

Betty and Serena looking adorable

Ed does the brush coat

We will be putting on the finish coat next week. I will upload more photos of the finished project when it is complete.

Spirit Pine Sanctuary

2008-12-10T17:27:00.001-08:00

This is where I am at these days. The Chumash Wilderness. We have jobs making water fountains and earthen plaster. We are making Prickly Pear Syrup and Jelly Palm Fruit Jelly. More soon!

The Natural Building Colloquium

2008-10-31T15:42:00.000-07:00

This October I attended the Natural Building Colloquium on the Gaviota Coast in California and it was truly one of the highlights of my existence. 80 builders from around the world! Yes! Thank you Natural Building Network! http://www.naturalbuildingnetwork.org/ The experience was so supportive and affirming of the work I do. I had a meaningful realization about how natural building is both a physical and a spiritual practice. The Colloquium is always a great time to learn and share techniques. We worked together to create bathroom stalls at Orella Ranch which enabled us to learn and teach different approaches to wall systems- including wattle and daub, straw clay, cob, wire wattle and pajareque. Great presentations, food, beauty and friends. Inspiring conversations about approaches to so many aspects of the movement. Erica has a great blog about this time so please check out her blog as well as Kelly Hart's- http://dayonedesign.blogspot.com/ and http://www.greenhomebuilding.com/weblog/2008/11/natural-building-colloquium-2008.htm
This photo, taken by Erin Condo, is of the bathroom stalls before we worked on the walls. I will be visiting Orella Ranch again within the week and will post some updated photos soon.

Beautiful friends

Wire wattle

Fashionable cob mustaches by Ed
Erica is a skilled stained glass artist and used her creativity to incorporate beauty into the walls. Check out more of her work- http://www.saturnstainedglass.com/

Later at Art's, ukuleles unite!

Erica hanging her clothes washed with water collected from Art Ludwig's beautiful cistern below.

Penny Livingston plays as the sunsets and good friends sit in the old Oak tree.

Riverfront Farm Eco-House

2008-09-23T09:22:00.000-07:00

The rafters in place.

Opening the oven!

Attaching the metal roof.

Spokane is Ready for GREEN JOBS NOW!

Using local materials and our creativity, we made an earthen oven at Riverfront Farm in Spokane, Washington. The project was a part of "Green Jobs Now: National Day of Action to Build the New Economy", in which we joined with 700 communities and 50,000 people across the North America. The workshop was organized by Community Minded Enterprises . The oven will be part of a bigger outdoor kitchen and bandshell and will used by the neighborhood and by “Project HOPE” toward the development of youth micro enterprise projects.

What a lucky oven to be in a bountiful garden and with such kind people living around it!

http://events.greenjobsnow.com/greenforall/reports/7790
http://www.spokanegardens.com/riverfrontfarm/index.htm

These photos were just sent to me by Garbriel of the most recent oven party at the farm! 2/10/09 :)

On a Red Full Moon

2008-09-16T20:41:00.000-07:00

I worked with Kiko Denzer this week, helping to roof a beautiful earthen garden wall he built. There is a Rumford fireplace shown here and a cozy bench on the other side.

I also visited new friends, Aaron and Autumn, at the future site of The Oregon Folk School. Yes! They are creating something amazing!
They showed me how to use a bow and arrow. Ha, ha, I see from the photo Autumn took that I need to work on my form but look! I got a good shot my second try. :)

Back at Hannah and Kikos,
a smaller, handmade version of the crocks I love.

Ben, Kai, Isaac and Eban singing.

The dreamy valley.

Together with the ladies in the garden.

Hannah's bread, Karen's cornbread, potatoes mandoline,
elk, lasagna, flax crackers, bacon, soup stock.
A varitable smorgasbord of deliciousness
came continually out of this oven!

Great design and gorgeous details abound.

A red sunset followed the next day. I am back in Portland now preparing for an upcoming oven job in Spokane.
Today I am going to make oven tools.

2008-09-14T22:05:00.000-07:00

Apple slices. Blackberries. Raspberries.
Peaches with bourbon soaked vanilla beans in honey.
Pears with cardamom pods and honey. Mixed vegetable pickle.

Ms. Yumsford

2008-09-12T16:47:00.000-07:00

A beautiful Rumford fireplace built by Max & Nathan
in The Castle. The heat is truly enjoyable & there is a nice mantle.

The dances of happy plasterers.

The sweetness of friends.

Later that night we had a closing dinner at Linda's and headed up to The Castle with our Lanterno Chilenos for a firing.
So warm and lovely.

The Bedrock

2008-09-10T00:28:00.000-07:00

In Coquille, OR is the Cob Cottage Company's North American Retreat Center for Natural Building. This years 10 week apprentice group created an incredible structure called "The Bedrock." You can see that they graciously and rather ingeniously incorporated an onsite rock into their design. A mattress fits atop the rock. There is shelving, storage and a beautiful desk in the building along with a window seat, small niches and a time capsule. :) A successful building with character was born with joy! I was fortunate to teach earthen plasters and natural finishes there with Linda Smiley as part of the closing week.

Here is the building pre-plaster.

A beginning shot of the roof from Jim Keuer.

Before plaster. Note the fabulous pocket rocket stove.

We made plaster sample boards.
And played with design.

Here's mine above with my fun new palette knives.
We plastered the outside first.

Oh yeah.

Linda shows us the pajareque technique to create a bench.

Time to plaster the interior!
All plasterers in The Bedrock.

Beautiful earthen floor, burl shelves and door!

Crafts in the garden!

All soil is sacred.

Our time capsule celebration party!

Thank you Linda, Nathan, Paul, Greg, Mike, Kevin, Jo, Diane, Ofra, Jim and Max for a truly wonderful experience.

Masonry Stove Part II - Earthen Plaster

2008-08-24T20:48:00.000-07:00

∞ Camera Obscura 1 - Infinity ∞

2008-08-13T20:47:00.000-07:00

Not to long ago I was involved in a collaborative project sponsored by Gallerie Merid, in Stuttgart, Germany. The project “Camera Obscura” is comprised of photographs taken by individuals from around the world using only a basic pinhole camera.

The cameras are shared by two people in different locations. Once the first person has exposed their half of the film it is then their responsibility to send it to the next pinhole operator who then exposes his side of the camera and forwards it back the the gallery.

The possibilities are endless as images overlap and in some strange way seem to connect to one another without any preconceived plan. I find this like a global quilting project.

Above on the left is pinhole 137 by me, and on the right 138 by Roland Sander of Berlin, Germany. I exposed my half on a beautiful Portland day under the Saint John's Bridge.

Many people also decorate their half of the camera cover. The middle photo shows the box I shared with Roland. Mine is a colored collage of birds sharing a seeds across the globe. The bottom photo is what they sent me in the mail. Yeah!

At the time of this posting the website is having troubles but you can usually check out the project online at www.galerie-merid.com. My photo is displayed at http://www.galerie-merid.com/html/pinhole_129-160.html

Paul, Sabrina and Paultje's Earthen Oven

2008-07-24T07:47:00.000-07:00

In a quiet urban backyard something is growing out of the Earth.
A space is now being created for fire to blossom within.
Soon we will harvest pizza, soups, cakes and loaves of bread.

This oven's foundation is made from urbanite we recycled from a neighbor. The clay is dug up from a nearby elementary school where they are creating a playground.

Here are some images of the oven in process for you to enjoy!

Drake's Estero

2008-07-17T08:20:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we went on a kayaking adventure. Soooooo fun! The photo below shows our fearless crew. From left to right: Mary Jane, Max, Mark, Alex, Brian, our guide Patrick and me. We explored Drake's Estero, a protected wilderness area near the Point Reyes Seashore which amazed and renewed us. We saw Blue Herons, Egrets, Black Cormorants, Nudebranchs, Osprey, Harbor Seals, Seaguls, Seaweed, Oysters, Leopard Sharks, Bat Rays and beauty.

You can see on the map that Drakes Estero resembles a human hand.
The last image is a video of a bat ray.

The image above is a video!

so many functions- a masonry stove story

2008-07-10T22:59:00.000-07:00

It gets pretty cold in Trout Lake during the winter. Last winter was the worst in 20 years. Jack, Nina and Kya use wood heat and were hoping for a warmer and more efficient way to heat their home. They found out about Al Bauch and the wonderful Finnish masonry stoves he builds. We went to visit Al last summer on the coast, saw the great work he does, and Jack asked Al to build a beautiful one in their home.

Masonry stoves originated in Northern Europe and Asia about 400 years ago. These stoves are commonly referred to as Russian, Swedish or Finnish stoves. They all share the same concept: burn wood cleanly (more smoke and gases are combusted,) and capture its heat energy in a mass of masonry that will radiate heat for an extended period of time. It seems most woodstoves (iron stoves) and fireplaces in North America lose a large percentage of their heat out of the chimney and emit significant particulate emissions, which contribute to poor air quality. We have made improvements in reducing these emissions and heat loss through chimneys, but the results do not compare to a well-designed masonry heater. Check out this chart-

Stove Type	Particulate Emissions (g/kg)	Carbon Monoxide (g/kg)
Conventional Woodstove	15.3	115
Phase II Pellet Woodstove (most efficient)	2.1	20
Heat-Kit-22 Masonry Heater w/bake oven	0.68	18

Above is Jack last February feeling cold and feeding the stove they had been using for years. They do have ventilation grates in the ceiling above his head to let the heat up but they found they were only really satisfying the experience of quick heat below and not the sustained, low-effort, low fuel heating they were after. You can see the cinder block foundation for the new masonry stove behind him.

In the photo below you can see Al working his magic up stairs, facing the new stove with rock. The door you see on the stove is an oven to bake in. And lots of rock.

So, ha ha ha. As if it weren't awesome enough to create a structure that uses way less wood and energy to heat their home, bakes yummy food and looks beautiful.... They decided to put a shower downstairs WITHIN the foundation for the stove. Yes, a shower.

This June, my rad friend Max and I tiled the inside of it. Below are some photos of the process. (Note that you can click on the images to see them larger.)

As we mosaic tiled the shower space the family would bring us treasures and momentos to put in the wall. If you go see it someday you will find obsidian, shells, marbles, a piece of Jack's favorite ceramic drum ever, glass that Kya found, and Grandma's old plate. There is even a slate chalkboard outside and there might even be a prayer or two behind the lava mountain. The tile we used for the mosaic was all purchased from recycled building supply stores and tile seconds sales.

The masonry stove is almost complete. It is fully functioning- creating beauty and warmth and pizzas and hearth and a place for renewing showers. We've had some great food and music sharing around it and there is so much life within each rock to slowly notice and appreciate. The last step of its creation is to plaster the outside of the foundation part that you see in the photo above.

And look at how gorgeous it turned out! And all with found rock! (I think the photo below is one to click on!) Oh yeah, and ha ha ha. There is yet ANOTHER wonderful function of this stove: Jack also insited that Al intentionally provide a space for a custom made stainless steel water jacket! The photo on the bottom left corner of the following collage shows where the copper tank will sit that holds the water which will be heated by the fire and used for bathing and dishes. Amazing.

Update! Here is the copper tank upstairs.

The last time we saw Jack he was having summer fun and cleaning out their pond with family.
Kya was connecting with fairies and Nina was learning the language of her wild Mustangs in the field. Awesome project y'all.

Earthen Plaster and Paint

2008-05-12T13:16:00.000-07:00

Here are some of the earthen plaster and painting projects I worked on in Argentina. I used locally found materials and I made and applied the products by hand, trowel and brush.

Bicycle Mill

2008-03-24T07:24:00.000-07:00

This is a human powered bicycle mill that Max and Simón made.
Very appropriate, sustainable, and fun. I have also had delicious smoothies made by a pedal powered blender, seen clothes washed this way and movies and laptops powered.

And YES! The bread & cookies made from this mill taste better!

Above is a little video of me taking a 1st test run.
Ahhhhh...the independence!

Cousins in New York

2008-03-22T22:51:00.000-07:00

Mmmmanzanillon!

2008-03-14T23:04:00.000-07:00

Moments to cherish.

This is at Claudio and Rosalind's home in Golondrinas, Argentina.
Max, Alex, Elena and I are harvesting Manzanillon.

moving spirit

2008-03-03T14:45:00.000-08:00

These photos are from Trout Lake, Washington....
my dear friends Abby and Kya
and the bed and breakfast we designed and built using ecological materials. Here you can see some earthen plasters, healthy paints, sustainably harvested and recycled wood, organic cotton, etc.

Horneada 2

2008-02-23T20:56:00.002-08:00

Our second firing in Golondrinas.

Amazing things happen with glaze.

:) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :)

The next day, a pizza party.

tandil in january

2008-01-09T16:41:00.000-08:00

grain harvest.

songs in the field.

folk life.

real life.

plaster

2008-01-02T15:32:00.000-08:00

Here are some photos of the rough plaster at Mauri and Gilda´s house. You can see an image of the outside of their house in the first blog I posted.

Horneada

2007-12-21T05:12:00.001-08:00

These images are from our first ceramic firing in the horno Max and Claudio made in Golandrinas! We gather the clay from a nearby mountain. I am in awe of the transformation that happens when the pieces are fired.

RAKU

2007-12-21T04:48:00.000-08:00

raku is so incredible....the colors dance freely on the pieces, forever leaving a memory of the fire.