Modern Day Adobe Houses

Long sandbags are filled on-site and arranged in layers or as compressed coils. Stabilizers such as cement, lime, or sodium carbonate may be added to an ideal mix of 70% sand, 30% clay. Straw may also be added. The earthbags are then plastered over with adobe.

The time consuming part, filling the bags. The bags are filled in place on the wall. The CalEarth site says that three reasonably-fit persons can lay 100 linear ft of bag per day.

  

Foundations differ as per site. Here, in a rainy locale, rocks were placed under the earthbags for drainage. Note the barbed wire which keeps the bags from slipping and creates an earthquake resistent structure.

Finished inside.

The aerodynamic forms resist hurricanes and the structures pass California’s earthquake codes. They are flood and fire resistant as well. A double eco-dome can be built (bagged) in 10 weeks.

Usually used as emergency shelters, like the above one. 

Finished inside of a vaulted earthbag home. 

I wouldn't mind living in one of these. I bet they are nice and cool inside especially if you went a step further and planted grass/plants on the outside roof and such, which was in their next plans for the earthbag construction. 

Skyping Star Wars Style

In case you were wondering...that would be Chelsea and Wesley in those helmets :)

Thoughts

I've been thinking alot lately about what I'm doing with my life. Do I really want to become an artist. What would I sell, how would I sell it. See here is the problem already. As an artist to live you must sell the work that you create or you must hold down several jobs while creating work. But if you don't sell it what do you do with it. Give it away? I can see selling my work if I just become a potter. Pottery is something people use, not necassarily something with deep meaning that the viewer has to understand to fully enjoy the piece. With pottery one only needs to enjoy the feel and use of the object to appreciate it. Honestly I can see myself specifically only working in pottery for the rest of my life but at the school I attend that would be impossible, to only take courses in. So the question is what next. I'm a sculpture major. Technically I would go on next semester to take more metals, woodshop, sculpture, and ceremics classes, along with some liberal studies. Do I want to keep going, finish school? That would be ideal seeing as I've already put so much money into it I might as well finish. I'm just not sure where I'm going when I finish. Maybe that's why I don't mind waisting a semester working at Disney World. I absolutely loved working at  the summer camp, teaching pottery. Don't get me wrong, some days it was a challenge and other days I just wanted to quit. But I loved those girls. No matter how much they drove me insane at the end of the day I just wanted them to be happy and safe. Teaching is not an easy task yet it is so rewarding. When a child gets that look in their eyes, that you recognize at once as understanding, you are so proud. While at camp I didn't just get that proud feeling in my classroom but also when my bunk girls played sports, were in the plays, helped out a friend, etc. Even when I was participating in other classes I felt proud of the campers as much as their teachers in that area were proud. One good thing about teaching pottery, or really art in general, is that there isn't too much of a language barrier. It didn't matter if my students spoke english or not, I could teach them just the same. I appreciated this fact, and I feel the international campers did too. The best job would be to just teach at a camp all year but that dream isn't really feasible. So here we go, oh what to do.

Out of Order

Some good times from Wico. All out of order but does it really matter the order of our memories or does it matter that we remember them. Above we are in Boston on one of our days off. 

Me and Elaine on one fo the field trips with the girls. We are soaking wet because the girls aimed for us in bumber boats, lol. 

Me and Georgie hanging out by the pool during one of the pool parties. 

The Bennet Family! Me, Amy, and Rachel hanging out outside the art barn.

Me and Sarah at the last minute costume dance!

Amy, Alie, Rena, Me, Meesh, Georgie, and Stephanie

Hanging out on our day off

This is what I looked like on most days off, lol! I was the tourist up north.

Katie and me!

The normal day off. Borrow someone's car, get a hotel room, stuff 8 people in it, drink all night and go to clubs, sleep in next day and go shopping, eat out alot, watch a movie, get lost on the way back to camp, and then finally make it a few minutes before curfew.

Wico Children's Art

At the end of every day the girls have a final class where they decide what they want to do. It is mostly just relaxing classes so for arts and crafts every now and again we just simply set out chalk and let them go at it...

At the end of the 2nd Session we had a Color War, Tashmoo Sirens vs. Mohawk Pirates. During the Color War they have a ceremics competition and these are just a few of the results. Ages 8-15 work as teams of 3-4 people. They had to creat a 3D sculpture, using teamwork, that represented their team.

Days at Wico

The building to the right is the Art Barn. I work in the addition that can barely be seen to the right lol. In the background are the beautiful mountains I see every day here!

The mountains at the lake.

Meesha, Georgie, and I after a staff meeting. 

Hanging out at the pool.

The Monster Mash! I did Georgie's clown makeup first lol and then she wanted to get me back so this is how we went.