It's so interesting to me that many of the same people who think government should stay out of their lives believe government should have a bigger role in the lives of others (The Lives of Others, a very good movie, by the way). Like say, legislating where we can give birth and who can attend that birth. And, they don't even choose the side with the best outcomes. Very odd, don't you think?
This is not to be a political rant but we are in danger of losing a very basic right and it makes me happy when I see things like this: Marshall University Nurse Midwifery Emphasis added to MSN Program. I come from that neck of the woods and this is a boon to the area. Hopefully many will stay and serve the population.
I never know where this blog will take me, kind of like life. On the heels of my plaster post last week, this week Rick (the spousal unit), worked with the National Park Service in helping to preserve buildings in the Fort Lowell Historic Neighborhood (see more about Ft Lowell here). These are adobe buildings from the 1860's that are melting away. Adobe is a wonderful for building but it must be maintained, when it isn't, it quickly deteriorates. One of these structures was inhabited until 2006 but in our climate, with its torrential summer rains, adobe can quickly return to its base materials. The intent of this project is to preserve what's remaining, not restore to original. Some photos of the area and the work being done.
Our hearth brown clay paint, wall a lighter (perhaps Lincoln clay) paint.
Looking at the photo of the mirror in the previous post my eye is drawn to the texture of the wall behind the mirror. That is clay paint, sometimes called alis. Homemade clay paint. Homemade by me (and him).
Strawbale building in a nutshell: outer walls-stacked strawbales with roof tied to foundation by steel that runs through the bales. Inner walls-some folks do some creative and labor intensive things such as wattle and daub, or cob but we chose the old standby of frame and drywall. However, I didn't want latex on drywall as the finish; too flat, too boring, too smelly.
Two slightly different clays.
After attending a workshop with Bill and Athena Steen at the Canelo Project, I decided to earthen plaster the drywall. You can buy earthen or clay plaster but it was out of our budget range and, we had lots of clay.
But that's clay paint on the walls. So what happened to the plaster? We had already plastered the outside and the interior strawbales walls and we got tired. There comes a point when building a house that you just have to finish and we had reached that point. Lets just get this done! So we bailed on the plaster and went to clay paint. Clay paint recipe: finely sifted clay (I used the more typical brown for some walls, but purchased very fine ceramic clay, like Kaolin, for others), fine sand, finely chopped straw (or mica), water and flour paste. We also added a small amount of powdered milk to ours. The milk acts as a binder as in old-fashioned milk paint. You mix the first 5 ingredients and then slowly add the milk until it starts to thicken to the consistency of heavy cream. Then take the biggest brush you can handle and start slathering it on the walls. It's a messy process but worth it. The walls have a nice texture and the clay and sand add a small bit to the thermal mass of the house.It did what we needed it to do.
That being said, I will plaster the walls some day as that's the look I wanted from the getgo.
I needed a mirror for above the washstand that sits in our quasi-entryway. The washstand came from my great-grandmother and had for many years lived in a garage as a workbench. Talk about patina! My dad lovingly brought it back to life for me and I've had it since the spousal unit and I were married. Previously the watercolor that I wrote about here, hung above it but in a small space mirrors and light are your friend and a mirror hung above the stand would reflect light and the outdoors from a window on the opposite wall.
Now, I don't know when you last purchased a mirror but holy, moly they are pricey, especially the larger ones. And I knew I wanted a substantial frame so, I put on my scavenger cap and went on a hunt. While thrifting one day I found an old white painted (looked like latex) frame that was about the size I had envisioned. Then on another day I happened on a mirror in a 1-inch fakewood frame for a couple of bucks. The mirror would not fit perfectly into the frame but I thought I could make it work and I did.
Which got me thinking and brought back this memory:
I almost lactate when I hear these songs. I'm taken back to a quiet room, in the middle of the night with a baby at the breast, dreaming dreams of the future.
Yes, I know, I've said it before but then another one pops up and I just can't help it. My heart just melts.
Patricia Kerns has been building for a long time. I remember emailing her for advice when we were planning our first home in the mid '90s. I had my heart set on a round house and wanted to know more about the roof structures on round or almost round houses. She very generously answered my questions but then we found out that in Pima Co the code only spoke to conventional square of rectangular buildings. In order to build anything else we would have to get all sorts of expensive reviews so we gave up that idea-foiled by the man again!
I followed her progress for a time but then we got caught up in our own projects and I lost touch with her site. It was great to see it pop-up on the Tiny House Blogand see the work she's done. Her little house reminds me a bit of my studio at our previous strawbale home. I miss that place. Life moves on but I am still hooked on small. See what others are Hooked On.
I'm taking a color theory class and am I ever learning a lot. I can now actually mix colors and know what the result will be (well, sort of). The class is online with Judy Coates Perez and is basic, but just what I need. Judy uses color fearlessly in her work with beautiful results. I first became fascinated with the magic of color when painting/decorating our first strawbale house. While looking for inspiration, I found the book Color: Natural Palettes for Painted Rooms. What a great resource this turned out to be. I didn't know you could learn this stuff; I had labored under the mistaken idea that you had to born with an eye for it. I then found another great book, Color Magic for Quilters which opened up a whole new world and since that time, I've wanted to take a color theory class. And, now I am. I may just paint color wheels for the rest of my life and be perfectly happy! (and, yes you can wear blue with green as they are analogous colors!)
I like pretty things, I like cool things, I like recycled things. I like to make those pretty, cool, recycled things.
Mom of 2 amazing young men.
Wife to 1 husband.
RN at a Birth Center.
Artist, builder, healer.
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