Part of our recent haul of ash for the workbench projec
This is probably some of the nicest wood I’ve ever owned, hands down. We really got lucky here with this rough sawn ash lumber for the workbench we’re on our way to building. It’s stunning stuff, immaculately sawn and largely free of flaws. Part of me feels strangely guilty. But the other part of me knows we’ll put it to excellent use, as I expect this workbench we’re about to build is going to last many, many years.
Towering timber frames and hot pizza pie… oh my! (Sorry, that was a weak attempt at poetry.) But hopefully it paints a colorful picture of our upcoming natural building courses this year in 2014. Our full schedule is up, and we’ve added a Timber Frame Workshop and Cob Oven Workshop to our offerings. Both of these classes are in our new and beautiful location of Berea, Kentucky. Specifically, these two workshops are being hosted at the Clear Creek Festival grounds, home to an incredible arts & music festival and a developing off-grid homestead.
Perhaps you’ll join us this summer in raising an old school timber frame pavilion? Or building an outdoor oven with cob?
On left: the pavilion we will soon help build in Texas
In just over a week, The Year of Mud crew (April, Jacob, and I) will all be headed to Texas. I never thought I would have reason to say I’m going to Texas, but here we are: Texas beckons, and we are heeding the call. More specifically, the Timber Framers Guild beckons, as they are hosting a week-long workshop to build a large outdoor pavilion in the historic town of Nacogdoches. Interestingly, this will be the first workshop I attend that is not our own, and I’m excited for the opportunity to purely participate in some one else’s event. Since our timber frame instructor Tom Cundiff first worked with us in 2011, I have been very excited by the possibility of attending a TFG event, and the stars have aligned.
Come dance in the mud with us, September 2014!
We are pleased to announce that the details are finally settled for our first natural building workshop in our new home location of Berea, Kentucky — this September, we’re hosting a Cob Building Workshop at Forest Retreats homestead!
The recent carved spoons of winter 2013-14
This winter has been a cold one. With a chopping block and my shaving horse set up inside, it’s allowed me to do a good bit of woodworking and carving work despite the cold, and without taking up much space in our new transitional home. I’ve had more time to finally dive a little more deeply into carving spoons, and it’s been thoroughly enjoyable. Above are some recent examples my carved spoons.
Carving a giant dough bowl, a current side project
All of a sudden, things are getting really busy around here. Springtime is coming on fast. This week has been so busy I don’t even have time to write a proper update here, but I promise I will quite soon. We have a lot of exciting projects in the works, and some of which may involve you. There’s a couple natural building workshops we’re currently planning — these are the first workshops we’ll be offering in our new home location of Berea, Kentucky! Oh, let’s not forget to mention the full-on straw bale cabin we are helping a couple to build this year up in the woods, too. Things are rolling along.
This week has been so full that I haven’t had even a minute to continue work on some of my recent carving projects, including a huge dough bowl, pictured above. I’m excited to get back to this once I have a moment. And then there’s building that workbench, too. We’ve got the wood, and now it’s a question of finding a way to mill some of it up.
Anyway, you should expect to see some exciting updates here quite soon detailing our newest natural building workshops this summer. Keep posted. Exciting times are ahead.
Bill Coperthwaite’s yurt home in Maine
“The main thrust of my work is not simple living, not yurt design, not social change, although each of these is important and receives large blocks of my time. But they are not central. My central concern is encouragement – encouraging people to seek, experiment, to plan, to create, and to dream. If enough people do this we will find a better way.”
This is a quote from Bill Coperthwaite, whose book A Handmade Life: In Search of Simplicity I have just recently finished reading. The book is, for lack of a more creative word, an interesting one, sprinkled full of a life’s worth of knowledge and insights, yet strangely lacking in what I thought would be the obvious subject — living a handmade lifestyle. The book is both idiosyncratic and universal, simple yet dense, and encouraging yet only pointing in a general direction.
Things are about to get serious. Very serious. Ever since spending time with Greg in his workshop in Tennessee last winter, I’ve realized just how critical it is to have an appropriate space to work on projects. In this case, woodworking projects. Greg has a big 6′ long maple workbench — it’s heavy, solid, and outfitted with extremely useful (and well-made) vises and clamping devices. Using his shop and bench really put the bug in my head that I would like to build my own bench at some point, when space, time, and other factors allowed.
And now I’m graced with having a bit of available time on my hands, and soon, at least some temporary space to set up a workbench. The time has come to build a heavy duty workbench in the traditional style.
The very artful John Neeman Goosewing Broad Axe
I’ll admit, I spend perhaps an inordinate amount of time looking at images of axes. There’s just something about them. I think it’s their timeless functionality and dashingly good looks. Over the hundreds of thousands of years they have been in use by humankind, any number of styles, shapes, and sizes have been made to perform a variety of splitting, chopping, carving, and shaping work. It’s the sheer variety and the craftsmanship that I’m most attracted to, I think. Of course I love using them, too, probably more than any other hand tool.
To celebrate the axe and the people who continue to make them, here is a selection of 26 modern day hand forged axes made by a variety of blacksmiths that are beautiful, functional, and swoon-worthy.
As I enter a new phase in life with the goal of obtaining raw land to create my own slice of homesteading delight, my appetite for books and stories about permaculture, especially of a more personal account is ever greater. This is a fortunate time, as the number of books over the past decade have only been increasing as people have had more time to take permaculture principles to the field, garden, and home with new results to share. Landowners and prospective owners should consider themselves lucky to not have to go in quite as blind as before with books like Paradise Lot, by Eric Toensmeier and Jonathan Bates.
Actually, in this case a landowner could mean anyone with even a tiny backyard to their name, as this dynamic duo have created an unbelievable patch of perennial goodness on a mere 1/10th of an acre. Their experiment and book are a testament to the idea that even supremely ravaged land in suburban deserts can be transformed into thriving ecosystems, providing an abundance of soil, food, habitat, and ultimately reward.
Hi there, I’m Ziggy. In 2008, I launched The Year of Mud while building my first natural home. This blog 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. Since 2012, we’ve been hosting Natural Building Workshops so you can learn essential skills to build your own natural home.
