Monthly Archives

September 2013

Can’t Get Enough of those Curvy Beams: Minka

By Traditional Building
Minka: Traditional Japanese Farmhouse

A minka, or traditional Japanese farmhouse with massive, curvy beams on display

For some reason or another, ever since I was young, I’ve been drawn like a magnet to the various products of Japanese culture. What those products are have changed throughout time, whether it was films, or food, etc. Lately, I have been somewhat secretly obsessing over minka, or traditional Japanese farmhouse architecture, with its signature massive beams, wood joinery, huge thatch roofs, sliding shoji doors… Beautiful buildings that seem impossibly well-crafted by long-gone builders with nothing but hand tools and human muscle at their disposal.

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Like Icing on a Cake: Applying Finish Clay Plaster

By Cob Oven, Clay Plaster
Cob Oven - Clay Plaster

Applying the finish clay plaster to our cob oven

Busy busy busy. It seems like the story of our lives doesn’t change very much. I have lots of catching up to do. But as I sit here and avoid work for a mere moment, let me share this recent photo of our finish clay plaster application to our outdoor cob oven. Smooth clay plaster looks amazing, but I think it looks its finest right after it goes on. It’s like literally putting icing on your walls (or oven, or whatever you happen to be plastering). Love it. One day, I’d love to get some more serious training on how to do clay plaster on an expert level.

I hope to have a brandy new outdoor cob oven how-to written up soon, not to mention make a few updates about the state of Strawtron, our straw bale house we’ve been chugging away on. We also have other big news coming down the pipes. Keep posted, as always.

Our Inaugural Cob Oven Workshop: Mud, Fire, and Fun!

By Natural Building Workshops, Cob Oven
Cob Oven Bread

Baked bread fresh from the cob oven

A few short days ago, our first Cob Oven Workshop came to an end. The workshop was filled with mud, fire, and a whole lot of fun. Thankfully, our participants agreed! Folks got down and dirty as we built an oven from the hearth upwards. We learned all about how to make a good batch of cob, using natural and recycled materials effectively, plastering, how to fire an oven and make good use of the ample heat it provides, and lots more. We sure did eat extremely well, too.

Here are a few nice testimonials from just a couple of our lovely people from the inaugural workshop:

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This is What Security Looks Like

By Living Electricity-free
Homemade Beeswax Candles

Our very freshly made 100% beeswax candles

Security is… a freshly made batch of beeswax candles. Their smell is intoxicating, and they provide beautiful light for us year-round. We have been making them for about five years now, and 3 days of candlemaking work a year is all it takes to provide light for the other 362 days. Not bad.

We use way fewer in high summer, when the days are long, and when we can cook without them, but in winter, we use significantly more because it’s dark by 5:00 p.m. We also use more when we have guests, because they create such a great mood, ya know?

Twenty Pizzas Later…

By Cob Oven
Outdoor Pizza Oven

The first fire in our new outdoor cob oven

In preparation for our Cob Oven Workshops, we did a “test” pizza party over the weekend. Over 20+ pizzas, 4 loaves of bread, 2 pans of zucchini bread, 2 cookie loafs, 1 pan of brownies, and 1 roast duck (homegrown!) later… I’d say it was a success. The oven was still holding over 200° 18 hours later! Wowzers. This is why I love outdoor cob ovens: they are extremely easy and cheap to build, you can take serious advantage of lots of heat to cook delicious food, and it’s an awesome social experience to gather around the oven while pizzas are flying out. An outdoor oven has all the right ingredients.

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Roundwood Timber Framers Unite: More Timber Frame Workshop Photos

By Natural Building Workshops, Photos, Timber Framing
Roundwood Timber Frame Workshop Group Shot

The fearless band of roundwood timber framers

Our most excellent group of students have disbanded for now, as our 2013 Timber Frame Workshop has come to an end. The group took on the challenge of working with roundwood to construct a traditional mortise and tenon style timber frame, and I must say — they did a great job given the lack of previous experience. Check out a few images of them hard at work below!

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