Mother Earth News has a nice little article about how to go about doing wattle and daub walls. The first step when building a wattle and daub wall is to construct the wooden frame that the wattle will be attached to. This needs to be securely attached to the rest of the building. The next … Read more
This is my final post about my recent sculpting projects, which will bring you up to the present. I decided to sculpt something that would have practical value, like a piece of furniture. What emerged in my mind was a glass table top supported by arms and hands carved from various wood species, giving the … Read more
One thing I am enjoying about sculpting wood is how totally absorbing it can be, engaging the imagination, aesthetic sensitivities, knowledge of the properties of wood and manual craftiness. On a tip from a friend that she had seen some downed wild cherry trees near a campground in our local forest, I gathered a truckload … Read more
To continue with my previous post, I want to describe more of the evolution of my recent sculpting career… well, not exactly a career, but at least a pastime. It is something that is giving me much pleasure, and some physical exercise. After the doggie sculptures, I played with other nature-inspired pieces. One is called … Read more
I have worked with wood all of my life. I can remember helping my father with his construction projects and eventually being hired by him to help create wooden products that became parts of remodeled pianos (legs, lyres, benches, etc.). When I was still in grade school I made my own croquet set on our … Read more
I just got a nice update on what Ed Konderla has been up to in Ecuador, first building an earthbag house and then a guest house: The location is in the Andes Mountains, Southern Ecuador… very seismically active which necessitated a robust construction technique. The earthbag construction has been the way to go for me. … Read more