Tag Archive: earth plaster

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

Cynthia Grier of EcoLogic Life, and Carolyn Marie and Jack Stephens of Wild Earth Village Builders, are providing a FREE educational presentation on these environmentally safe and healthy options for home and office remodels, renovations and new building projects. Natural plasters protect walls from wind, rain and fire. They provide a beautiful, durable and non-toxic finish for interiors and exteriors that revive old world traditions from Tuscany to Tokyo.

Learn how these ancient methods have been continued in modern Europe and Asia. Discover how limestone comes from the earth, is transformed into plasters, applied on walls and turns back into limestone. Learn how clays from our own soils can be transformed into finishes with beautiful colors and rich, sensuous textures. Lime and clay plasters can even be sculpted or carved to enhance artistic expression. Earthen plasters are easy and fun to work with, easy to clean up, simple to repair and are completely recyclable too!

This presentation will be held on Thursday, August 13, 2009, 5:30-7:00pm at the EcoLogic Life at 109 S. Montgomery St. in Ojai. This event is FREE to the public. The following Saturday, August 15^th, the three presenters will be teaching a hands-on workshop in Meiners Oaks (http://nbnetwork.org/2800).

CONTACT: Cynthia Grier: info@ecologiclife.com or 805.272.8098

Glen Ellen, CA

Instructor: Tracy Thieriot (Vogel) and Kathy Gregor

http://www.tactileinc.com

Tuition: $250

Join us at a beautiful site in Glenn Ellen for CASBA’s annual earth plaster workshop. In a previous workshop the structure was built and straw bales stacked. Over the 2 day workshop you will learn the basics of identifying and processing site soils, learning to make strong plaster mixes and the basics of application over straw bales. The basics of final and fine finishes will also be covered. For more information contact CJ Cavet at 530-559-6275 or cjbwpv@sbcglobal.net. To register go to www.strawbuilding.org.

Oakland, CA

Instructor: Tracy Thieriot (Vogel)

http://www.tactileinc.com

Tuition: $60-80

NATURAL BUILDING at the Institute for Urban Homesteading.
Just in the way that there is a growing movement of “beyond organic” farmers whose practices exceed the national standards for healthy and balanced farming, Natural Building exceeds what is called Green Building in employing materials and processes which work in concert with the earth. While most of us are not in the position to build a home from the ground up using natural materials, we do have the option to use natural paints, plasters and finshes inside our homes to enhance the look and feel of our environment, while stopping the flow of toxic chemicals.

This August we have the opportunity to learn from one of natural buildings’ premier innovaters.
Tracy Theriot of Tactile Interiors has been developing natural finishes since the mid 90s and is a leader in the field. If you have any doubt about the elegance, warmth and beauty of these processes, check out the photos below. There are many more at http://www.tactileinc.com/portoc.php. Tracy has worked on a wide variety of projects including restoration, interior and exterior finishing and building structures from natural materials through the entire design and construction process. The class will include a survey of projects that are possible in the city — both permitted and unpermitted — and a hands-on section where we learn to mix and apply our own plasters. We are offering this day long course at a price unparralleled in the natural building world–Please join us for this rare opportunity!