why rising earth?

The title of this blog draws from my time as an apprentice at the Cob Cottage Company in costal Oregon. If you spend time with natural building folk, you'll eventually find yourself around a fire, sing silly songs about cob and natural building. Folks usually refer to these oftentimes improvised tunes as "cobsongs". I often sang..."There is a house in old coquille, they call the rising earth, it's been the work of many hands, and you know what that's worth..."

Saturday, May 10, 2014

Thea Alvin @ Duke

I had the good fortune to work with master stone mason Thea Alvin this winter on her installation at Duke University's Nicholas School of the Environment in Durham, NC. Thea is a remarkable mason, laying stone in striking and often whimsical forms that inspire me to reconsider the limits of basic natural materials.  Her work on the front lawn of Environment Hall will serve as a contrast to the new building's LEED Platinum concrete, steel, and glass facade. I'm thrilled to have Thea's work so near to me in Durham, and look forward to visiting this lovely piece on my occasional trips to campus. You can learn more about Thea and her work at www.myearthwork.com




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