Monthly Archives

July 2014

Jul 29
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Cob Building Workshop is Just Around the Corner!

By Cob Building, Natural Building Workshops

Dancing In CobJust when I thought things might be quiet for a while, I look at the calendar and take note that we are just a little more than a month away from our Cob Building Workshop. Yow!

Our 3 day Cob Building Workshop takes place from September 5-7 here outside Berea, Kentucky. There are still three spaces remaining, so if you’ve been waiting to register, I suggest you go ahead and do that soon, because the spaces are certain to fill up. You can also save a bit on the registration fee if you register within the week.

I’m personally very excited to get my hands (and feet) back in the mud, at what will no doubt be a beautiful time of year. If you want to get your cobbing on with us, go ahead and register today.

Jul 26
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It’s Party Time…

By Cob Oven
Pizza party time

Our first pizzas ready for the hungry masses

Amidst all of our timber framing work, we have been chipping away at our cob oven construction. In fact, we deemed it ready enough for a big ol’ pizza party this past week. The oven needs some finish plaster, but why wait? It proved to be a real workhorse, as April and I churned out about 50 pizzas (really, we lost count) for a big group of 40 people at the Clear Creek Festival grounds.

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Jul 23
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Book Review & Giveaway: Just Enough

By Media
Just Enough Book: Azby Brown

Read ahead to enter your name in a giveaway for this book

Here is part one of our book review and giveaway series, in collaboration with Tuttle Publishing. In this post, you’ll find my review of the fascinating book, Just Enough, and details for how you can enter to win your own copy. It’s quite simple… read ahead for more!

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Jul 20
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Giveaway Update: How to Win One of these Sweet Books

By Media
Japanese Carpenty Book, Tuttle Books

Soon you’ll have the chance to win one of these books

I’m happy to announce that Tuttle Publishing has kindly donated two very sweet books to The Year of Mud, and a couple of lucky readers will have the chance to get a copy of their own in the coming two weeks. I’ve got sitting beside me here a copy of The Genius of Japanese Carpentry: Secrets of an Ancient Craft and Just Enough: Lessons in Living Green From Traditional Japan, two excellent book titles. The first explores the incredible craft and history of temple building in Japan, and the second is a portrayal of life in Edo Japan, when Japanese society learned to cope with ecological limits and live in better balance in all aspects of daily life.

Click ahead to find out how you can win a copy of either of these books!

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Jul 18
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Frame Raising!

By Timber Framing
Timber Frame Barn Raising

The first bent goes into position in our new timber frame pavilion

We did it… our new timber frame pavilion has been successfully raised. All worries were put to rest once we had our rigging ready and the first bent went up as smooth as butter. Cutting a frame with a whole bunch of hand tools is fun, but seeing your work raise high into the sky is hard to beat on the excitement scale. Yow!

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Jul 12
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Exciting Free Giveaways Coming Soon

By Resources
Japanese woodworking

We’ve got some giveaways coming up… can you guess what?

I’m very pleased to announce that The Year of Mud will be having a few very sweet giveaways in the near future. If you’re a fan of Japanese woodworking and history, we’ll be giving away a couple of items that will be right up your alley. No details yet, just a little teaser for you… including this photo hint above.

Keep on coming back, and sign up for our newsletter to stay in the loop of things. Yea!

Jul 10
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Timber Frame Workshop 2014 Slideshow

By Timber Framing, Natural Building Workshops, Photos

Hewing Hatchet

Here’s one last round of photos of our 2014 Timber Frame Workshop that ended a couple short weeks ago. If you’re interested in getting a firsthand look at our finished pavilion, the building will be up and in use during the Clear Creek Festival from August 29-31. We’ll likely be making pizza during that same festival out of our new cob oven, too… so look out. Anyway, click ahead for the slideshow.

Photos of the completed structure should be up soon, too!

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Jul 06
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The Modern Seaweed House

By Traditional Building, Video
Modern Seaweed House Exterior

The modern seaweed house of Læsø, Denmark

Ever since I saw photos of the seaweed thatch homes of Denmark in the book Built by Hand, I’ve been captivated and wanting to learn more about these unnusual structures. Recently, I was disappointed to learn that there are only about 19 traditional seaweed homes left standing on the island of Læsø. But, my disappointment turned to enthusiasm when I learned that some architects and builders are once again rejuvenating interest in the use of seaweed in construction. In fact, there’s been one successful newly built seaweed house, inspired by a competition organized by Realdania Byg. The results are very cool.

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