RE: Building with Nature in Mind | Musing on Natural Building
Beautiful post! I loved everything you shared here. The buildings you have designed and created are all truly beautiful.
We've always avoided mortgages and debt, our vehicles and homes always modest. A simpler home requires far less of everything which means we are doing less harm and taking fewer natural resources to live. We also get to focus on the joys of living instead of living to work.
We bought our log cabin for it's simplicity and natural construction. I can look at the knots and rings in the wood and I appreciate this home. It breathes and I feel healthy living inside of it.
The wood that we use for out buildings comes from a local man who is very respectful of the forest and selective about the trees he cuts. It is always natural, rough with the living edges. We've even bartered for some (We raised some pigs for him on our land). It all feel more personal and we know the wood is not sprayed with chemicals or preservatives.
Years ago I made an ulu with a caribou antler for a handle. It is a perfect tool for cutting and chopping, scraping, and will last a lifetime. Whenever I use it I feel something. Perhaps we just appreciate what we have when we've invested part of ourselves into the process?
I've been reading about utilizing our heavy clay soil for pottery and building construction! Perhaps next year I'll get to experience the warmth of clay plaster! :)
Thanks @walkerland, it means a lot coming from you. I'm just starting my journey as builder and hope to one day manifest the weird, oozy and whimsical nature I tend to doodle and felt with. Sun Ray Kelly is a big inspiration. Have you seen his work?
Glad you've stayed outta the debt trap. Too many are in the muck of the debt cycle. "We also get to focus on the joys of living instead of living to work." - love this, well said!
Isn't it great to notice the unique features of once living things? the knots and rings are part of the material, and it ties you to the Earth.
That sounds like a great connection for wood. Live edge is so stately and beautiful. Getting to know your fair trade organic wood is a great experience! We are developeing some good connections here to and will start taking some logs we fell to a community mill i will learn to run.
That ulu sounds amazing. I've yearned for one for a while, and i can relate to what you're saying about appreciation building based on investment. I read a Thoreau quote yesterday- “The price of anything is the amount of life you exchange for it.” I think this for sure applies to this tool, perhaps the original multi tool? Perhaps that something is a connection to human lineage where live a hand made life.
As for clay plaster, we are leanring and are quite new to it too. The results so far have been good. We've even plastered over drywall on the ceiling of our composting toilet. Even upside down it sticks well. Perhaps consider plastering over drywall as an intro.
Thanks for the thoughtful comment! <3