Heads up! Just 2 spots are remaining in our May Natural Building Essentials Workshop during Memorial Day weekend. This one is shaping up nicely! See you there.
I’ve been bouncing around between various projects this winter, but the timber frame “hammock house” has not been forgotten. With the help of a few friends, I installed the decking over the rafters this weekend. We also put some ice & water shield over the decking so that it’s protected against the weather until the metal roofing goes on… which is hopefully soon. Spring is definitely here, so suddenly it feels like there’s a million things to do.
For some reason, I purchased pine for the decking, which is probably my least favorite wood (in terms of appearances, anyway). I guess I wanted to avoid the weight and hassle of working with oak, ha! Next time, though, pine is out. If I’m feeling ambitious, I might actually plaster over the decking — just imagine blackened rafters punctuated by creamy white lime plaster… now there’s an idea.
We’ll be working on this fun little building in our upcoming Natural Building Essentials Workshop. Very excited to continue with the progress on this one.
Shikkui is a type of lime plaster used throughout Japan, with deceptively simple ingredients and a wide range of applications. In use since the 6th century, shikkui is a very thin finish application typically used to protect large uninterrupted wall surfaces on castles and storehouses (or ‘kura’). It can be polished to a high level and because it has a high fiber content and frequently has no aggregate added, it’s flexible, too.
During the week of filming for “Who Wants to Come to Japan?”, I visited a renowned Japanese sakan, Shuhei Hasado and he taught me more about how to make shikkui and apply it.
Now that the episode of “Who Wants to Come to Japan?” (世界ニッポン行きたい人応援団) has aired, I can talk about my experience during the filming week. The first thing I want to share about is my visit to the Sugita family, a very generous family who run a top quality trowel business. Started by Sugita-san senior, the business (Sugita Kogyo) is a small operation and is now mostly handled by the son. During my two day visit, I had the privilege of observing Sugita-san’s process for making a hand-forged jigane trowel.
Plaster, trowel, and tool geeks — read on.
The Sumiya Pleasure House is one of the most lavish examples of traditional Japanese architecture and craftsmanship in Kyoto. It is truly from another time. I was captivated by the incredible carpentry and plaster details while wandering through the building. For anyone interested in high end Japanese craftsmanship, this building is a must-see.
Sumiya is incredibly well-preserved. Amazingly, it’s been managed by the same family for 13 generations. It no longer serves the same purpose that it once did — instead, it’s a rare glimpse into a very specific piece of Japanese culture and a testament to the skill of carpenters, plasterers, and craftsmen of the Edo period. I’m fascinated by the history, but the actual carpentry and plaster details are what really moves me.
In case you haven’t seen it already, our 2019 Natural Building Workshop schedule is up. We’re trying something slightly different with scheduling this year. Each class is happening around a national holiday, so hopefully folks can use fewer vacation days to join us. During Memorial Day weekend, we’re hosting our Natural Building Essentials class. And during the week of 4th of July, we have another 7 day Timber Frame Workshop. Check out the details here and drop a comment with any questions! Hope to see you soon.
I found no shortage of shou-sugi-ban (or more properly, yakisugi) siding in Japan. Since I just recently experimented with charring wood, I appreciated seeing a variety of walls finished with yakisugi siding. Interestingly, it was used in many different contexts, everything from neighborhood houses to temple perimeter walls. I liked that about it. In Kurashiki at least, it seemed to transcend all types of buildings both humble and grandiose.
Here are a few photos of shou-sugi-ban siding I saw out in the wild.
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I’m back home from Japan. I can think of no better word to describe the trip than ‘whirlwind’. It was very full and varied, and it’s taken me over a week to feel settled back into home life and routine. (The jet lag on the way there was almost nonexistent, but it hit me like a sack o’ potatoes on the return trip.)
It’s hard to summarize such a long trip, so I won’t really try. I’ll say this, though — I definitely want to return, and plan on it at some point. My goal right now is to document some of my trip highlights in a series of blog posts. I can’t share much about the first week (yet), so things will have to be out of chronological order. Not that it matters.
Enough jabbering, let’s get on to the good stuff. Here are some pretty pictures of clay walls and kura (storehouses) in the lovely city of Kurashiki, a small historic city I loved exploring.
It’s been one of my biggest dreams for over the last 10+ years — traveling to Japan. Now I’m getting my chance. Recently, I was selected to participate in the filming of a Japanese TV show. The show will have me visiting sakan (plasterers) and touring traditional buildings. It’s for a show called “Who wants to come to Japan”? (Yes, literally. Only aired in Japan.) The premise is that they invite folks with a passion for some specific element of Japanese culture to learn more about their interest.
The world of natural plasters runs deep. Despite the seeming simplicity of plaster, there’s a lot of depth to explore. Materials, recipes, tools, and application can vary widely from project to project, person to person, and place to place. Although there are some good resources on the subject, there haven’t been a lot of in-depth publications focused on plastering in North America specifically.
Luckily, that’s changed with the release of Essential Natural Plasters. This is easily my new favorite resource for natural plaster recipes and techniques. The authors Michael Henry and Tina Therrien (and a host of contributors) shine a bright light on the sometimes mysterious subject of clay and lime finishes.
About The Year of Mud
Hi there, I’m Ziggy. In 2008, I launched The Year of Mud while building my first natural home. This website is a collection of personal stories and experiences building with clay, straw, and wood over the past 15+ years. A few of the things that get me fired up are natural plasters, timber framing, & Japanese architecture. In 2012, we started offering Natural Building Workshops, so you can learn essential hands-on skills to build your own natural home.
