Tag Archive: clay

Warren, Vermont

Instructor Jacob Deva Racusin, Ace McArleton

http://www.yestermorrow.org/courses/detail/natural-plasters-and-finishes?StartDate=&SortColumn=&SortDir=&Search=plaster

Henry Beston noted how the hand-made thing has the mark of the living soul. This course will teach you how to create and apply beautiful hand finished plasters and paints on many wall surfaces. People around the world have been using clay, gypsum, and lime as plasters and paints for millenia, and these materials have shown a timeless aesthetic and utility. The course will cover at a basic level three principle plaster and paint mediums: clay, lime, and gypsum, and finish with plaster coats, paints, and washes of clay, lime, casein, wheat paste, mica, pigments, and other natural ingredients. Students will leave this course with practical experience mixing and applying a wide variety of finishes on various wall systems, from rough straw bale to finished gypsum wall board. Emphasis will be given on learning the working properties of the materials and developing critical thinking skills to apply the knowledge in real-world situations, rather than on specific recipes for specific conditions.

Custer, Wisconsin

Instructor Mark Morgan and Vincent Miresse

http://www.the-mrea.org

Tuition $110.00

Natural Building? Think three little pigs. Straw, Wood, Stone. Building with natural materials has been happening since the dawn of humankind. Come to the Midwest Renewable Energy Association (MREA) to learn about different types and styles of alternative construction and to learn about sustainable building and decision making. The purpose of this class is for people to reconnect with the materials that surround them and regain the knowledge about local, healthy, natural material use and selection and appropriate regional wall systems. Topics to be discussed: site and design considerations; foundations; local material – wood, clay, sand, stone, straw, etc.; wall systems – straw bale, light straw-clay, monolithic adobe (cob), cordwood, earth bag, rammed earth and rammed tire; earthen floors and plasters; stick framing, post and beam, and timber frame; and steel and living roofs.

Please register in advance.

Alsea, OR

Instructor Kiko Denzer, Margaret Mathewson

http://ancientartscenter.com

Tuition /$50/day

May 1-2- Weave Willow Walls for a Bill Coperthwaite Yurt

Part 1: May 1-2- This continues a project begun last October with Yurt Master William Coperthwaite, who led the frame and roof raising of the beautiful, two-tiered wood yurt. Now we start weaving the willow wattle walls, so that later in May we can apply mud to weatherproof and insulate. View our living willow fences, arches and get ideas for your own willow structures. This is an ongoing project with Mud Builder Kiko Denzer

Part 2: May 29-31- Mud Building- Learn about giving any kind of structure a mud “skin.” We’ll identify types of mud for various uses – plaster for covering existing walls and buildings; sculptural mud for shaping and decorative ornaments; natural (fireproof!) insulating mud; mud for natural colors and paints; and cob or adobe mud for walls, ovens hearths and entire homes. We’ll apply plasters to woven will panels on the yurt. Kiko Denzer will the the Guest Instructor.

These two classes are offered by Margaret Mathewson, of the Ancient Arts Center, ancientartscenter.com, Lobster Valley Rd., Alsea OR 97324, (541) 486-4311, margaret@peak.org

FEE: $50 per day plus materials- Look on line for materials fees and photos of the projects , or inquire directly.

Warren, Vermont

Instructor: Ace McArleton, Jacob Racusin

http://www.yestermorrow.org

Tuition:$750

Have you always wondered about strawbale construction? Heard it is only for hot and dry climates? Think again! With their combination of insulation and thermal mass, plastered strawbale walls can be perfect for cold – and even wet – climates if they are designed and built according to a set of time tested principles. This course balances sessions in the classroom and on a demonstration project so you will learn to think your way through a bale house while gaining a feel for the nature of straw, clay and lime as building materials.

Warren, Vermont

Instructor: Yestermorrow Design/Build School, multiple instructors

http://www.yestermorrow.org

Tuition:$6200

The Natural Building Intensive is a unique course of study that brings together a collaborative group of experienced and enthusiastic instructors with students in an in-depth, hands-on experience in natural building, from the design and planning stages through the finishing touches.

Students enrolled in the Summer 2010 program will help design and build a complete structure from start to finish – a building handcrafted from natural stone, straw, timber, and clay just down the road from Yestermorrow in Warren, Vermont. This program provides the opportunity to develop a range of natural building skills for owner-builders and aspiring professional natural builders alike. Additionally, the Natural Building Intensive will incorporate natural building methods with more commonly utilized building techniques, emphasizing an inte-grated approach to natural building systems for a northern climate.

There are no prerequisites for entering the program. Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis through May 3, 2010.

Program Dates: May 30-August 20, 2010

The Natural Building Intensive includes all of the courses listed here (some adjustments may occur depending on the final project design), plus an additional 4 weeks of tutorials in between the classes covering all aspects of the building process. Tuition is $6,200 plus food and lodging.

O.U.R.Ecovillage,Shawnigan Lake, Vancouver Island Canada

Instructor: Cindy Walker and Elke Cole

www.ourecovillage.org

Tuition: $500 CAN

Make your home a natural beauty! Plasters can be applied to earthen walls, over base layers onto Straw bale and Light clay infill as well as drywall. This can be a do-it-yourself method for improving your indoor climate: clay plasters absorb humidity from the air and release it when the conditions are very dry. They also absorb odors. Colors are added to taste and other effects can be achieved by using different finishing techniques.

Natural plasters are made from clay, sand and fine fibre with the addition of other ingredients. They are available pre-mixed from natural home building suppliers but can easily be mixed from scratch. Learn recipes, mixing and application methods for plasters and natural paints, and save by doing it yourself.

Cindy Walker, http://www.naturalplasters.ca/, has apprenticed with North America’s best natural plasterers and has finished several natural homes. She brings her professional experience and generously shares her knowledge.
visit www.ourecovillage.org to register

Ojai, California

Learn to build and sculpt with stone, sand, straw and clay as we begin an urban cob garden wall and bench over the course of two days. Hands-on portion will cover Foundations and Drainage; Soil Mixes for Walls, Floors, and Plasters; Use of urbanite and stone in cob wall systems; Building and Sculpting with Earth; Lecture and demo will include Windows, Doorways, Arches & Niches; Roof systems, including living roofs; Passive solar design; permaculture principles, and addressing local issues around natural building. $40 per day or $75 for both days. 10% discount for friends/family coming together. Instructors: Jack Stephens, co-founder of Natural Building Network and instructor with Cob Cottage Company, and Carolyn Marie, principal partner at Wild Earth Village Builders. Call 805-312-2002 for details and directions.

Whidbey Island, Wa

Be part of history!This will be the FIRST code approved and permitted cob structure in Island County to date.
Spend 9 days in a beautiful location learning one of the simplest building methods on the planet. In this workshop, participants will learn the art of building with the earth and will leave with the confidence to build their own natural home or shelter. Mornings will be packed with hands on building, and afternoons will be a mix of more building, tours and relaxing. In the evenings there will be presentations and time to enjoy good food, music and the exploration of ideas with new friends. We will be building an 80-100 square foot cob vegetable stand from the ground up using a variety of techniques from foundation to roof. In this way, everyone will gain a sense of integrating the materials of sand, clay, soil and straw into the whole building process. We will be using local, abundant materials and discussing how to find these materials in most any location. We will also emphasize using human powered building techniques so participants will know what to do when oil and gas are scarce.We will work as a community team, taking care of our bodies and having fun.This workshop will be a key component in a world with fewer fossil fuels. Through this experience, participants will walk away with a sense of empowerment to build in a natural way.

Cost  $850

$25.00 discount if paid in full by June 15.
$25.OO if two or more people sign up together. (Each person receives discount.) Total possible discount $50.00 per person.

Teens 12-18 $400.00

Children 5-11 $150.00

Questions?Please email: ancientearth@whidbey.com or call: 360-331-7621