This work began with a cloth that was buried in the soil beside a Douglas-fir tree. Before the cloth began to decay I dug it up. It was now my turn to respond to the cloth. I liked the bits of leaves stuck to the cloth so stitched over some of them to hold them in place. […]
Read More...While in New Zealand recently we visited the Kaipara Coast Sculpture Gardens to see the 2016 exhibition. This was one of my favourites. After walking along the hydrangea avenue one sees at the end Janette Cevin’s ‘Hydrangeas’. Large-scale hydrangea paintings with their glossy highly decorative metal surfaces covered in acrylic and resin are larger than life […]
Read More...After Kerry Mason’s talk, there was time for a quick lunch at the Habitat Cafe on the Royal Roads University campus before walking across the road to the edge of the forest. Gaia College instructor, ecological landscape designer and consultant, Manon Tremblay (centre) took the first group upstream for their walk in the forest. She […]
Read More...Pattern Language #134 ‘If there is a beautiful view, don’t spoil it by building huge windows that gape incessantly at it. Instead, put the windows which look onto the view at places of transition – along paths, in hallways, in entryways, on stairs, between rooms. If the view window is correctly placed, people will see a […]
Read More...I worked carefully around the tree roots while digging the trench. I covered the exposed roots with strips of wet, wool blanket to keep the roots moist. Luckily we had a number of drizzly days which also helped keep the roots from drying out too much. The white pipes are part of the irrigation system […]
Read More...Pattern Language #107 Wings of Light Modern buildings are often shaped with no concern for natural light – they depend almost entirely on artificial light. But buildings which displace natural light as the major source of illumination are not fit places to spend the days. The studio is designed to have light entering the building […]
Read More...In an earlier post, I explained how I have used The Pattern Language design method for the studio and the Back Yard Project. The first pattern I used was #104 Site Repair. Next I used #105 South Facing Outdoors. The back of the house faces south/south-east. I needed to place the studio so it too […]
Read More...A digger was used to dig a trench in front of the building. Dave and James are in the trench framing up foundations and footings for the porch and arcade. Concrete was poured into sono-tubes with re-bar sticking out. Meanwhile, Ron and I are digging trenches for the services to be taken from the house to […]
Read More...I was working away in my current studio when things went dark. A big delivery truck had arrived outside my window. The outside doors had arrived. One for the main level and 2 for the crawl space. Ooh, another big delivery truck. Milgard. That means the windows have arrived. Out of all the different fittings […]
Read More...Jeff is getting up on the roof after a pellet of plywood was placed up there by a delivery truck with a large arm. A sunny day and the race to get the plywood layer on before the next lot of rain. Next operation – digging trenches and holes for more foundations – this time […]
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