Here's the lovely, two-tier yurt that Bill Coperthwaite helped us build in October of '09. (And here are my followup explorations that adapted the design by going back to traditional sticks and basket as well as incorporating earthen plasters -- simpler to build, and better performance and comfort in wetter climates.) It's on the grounds of the Ancient Arts Center near Alsea, just a long leap over a couple of ridges, into the next drainage south of us (the Alsea River). We finished the woven willow and mud walls in May of '09. If you want to come help, we'll be having more workshops . . .
A Work of Art: Rediscovering a Way of Working for Beauty
Stories and lessons learned about the hows and whys of living by a traditional understanding of art — not as object, but as activity, as a way of life. Included are essays about principles of design, measure, and proportion, as well as social and economic aspects of working as an artist -- earning money, working for community, teaching, learning.... You can read it in it's entirety below, and download it free or buy a paper copy ($20, full color, w/photos) through the bookstore. There's also a forum at theworkofart.org. The ideas aren't new but, like seeds, they must be adapted to each . . .
stix ‘n mud can make a hug
A new charter school in Corvallis commissioned this mud project as the initial step in creating an "outdoor classroom." All 60 kids, K-5, participated in 2 days of playdough brainstorming and design, and six days of mud. Parents and neighbors contributed random prunings of willow, fruitwood, and forsythia that we wove into a rough hut; the mud came up out of a hole in the ground, and we ended up making a lovely cob bench and this "hug hut." Â The hut is intended to be temporary. It will probably "last" for at least one winter, but my hope is that teachers and parents will replace or . . .