Calendar of Events
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All NBNe Event Listings
May 2-7, 2010
Straw Bale Design/Build
Yestermorrow D/B School, Warren, VT
Have you always wondered about strawbale construction? Heard it is only for hot and dry climates? Think again! With their combination of insulation and thermal mass, plastered strawbale walls can be perfect for cold - and even wet - climates if they are designed and built according to a set of time tested principles. This course balances sessions in the classroom and on a demonstration project so you will learn to think your way through a bale house while gaining a feel for the nature of straw, clay and lime as building materials.
Cost: $750
Contact: Yestermorrow Design/Build School
Phone: (802) 496-5545
Email: designbuild[at]yestermorrow.org
Website: www.yestermorrow.org
May 9-14, 2010
Natural Plasters and Finishes
Yestermorrow D/B School, Warren, VT
Henry Beston noted how the hand-made thing has the mark of the living soul. This course will teach you how to create and apply beautiful hand finished plasters and paints on many wall surfaces. People around the world have been using clay, gypsum, and lime as plasters and paints for millenia, and these materials have shown a timeless aesthetic and utility. The course will cover at a basic level three principle plaster and paint mediums: clay, lime, and gypsum, and finish with plaster coats, paints, and washes of clay, lime, casein, wheat paste, mica, pigments, and other natural ingredients. Students will leave this course with practical experience mixing and applying a wide variety of finishes on various wall systems, from rough straw bale to finished gypsum wall board. Emphasis will be given on learning the working properties of the materials and developing critical thinking skills to apply the knowledge in real-world situations, rather than on specific recipes for specific conditions.
Cost: $750
Contact: Yestermorrow Design/Build School
Phone: (802) 496-5545
Email: designbuild[at]yestermorrow.org
Website: www.yestermorrow.org
June 25-27
Earth Oven Workshop
Newbury, MA
Three-day hands-on workshop will teach you how to build a beautiful and durable earth oven using natural, native materials. Earth ovens, also known as cob ovens, have been used for centuries in outdoor settings to bake bread, pizza, meats, beans, pastries and more. These ovens stay hot for hours making them a wonderful gathering point for outdoor events! This workshop is appropriate for homeowners, community organizers, artists, landscapers, masons and builders. All skill levels welcome!
Cost: $$175-350
Contact: Erin Stack
Email: erinstack[at]comcast.net
Website: www.newedengarden.org/workshops/
July 25-31
Natural Building Colloquium East
Peaceweavers Community, Bath, NY
A week-long campout and community event. Learn by working on natural building projects led by builders from all over the country. The projects will include bale and cob benches, clay and lime plasters, natural roofing, and cutting a timber framed barn; demonstrations of thatching and rocket stove construction. And more! Plus great food, music, and community.
Contact: Willow DeCamp
Phone: (607)776-4060
Email: pw[at]peaceweavers.com
Website: www.peaceweavers.com
August 4-10, 2010
Natural Plasters Immersion
Grafton, NY
Learn the ins and outs of natural plasters for interior and exterior applications. The immersion experience includes a two-day workshop as well as a week of hands on instructional experience. Immersion participants will literally get into the nitty gritty of mudding, including developing appropriate recipes, qualities of clay and lime in plaster, and refining tool use. The immersion is an opportunity for those interested in gaining a thorough understanding of plaster fundamentals. Space is limited. Inquire for application details.
Cost: $ $600-750
Contact: Jonah Vitale-Wolff
Phone: (518) 229-1339
Email: jonah.hvnb[at]gmail.com
Website: www.hvnb.net
August 7-8, 2010
Natural Plasters Workshop
Grafton, NY
Two-day hands-on workshop on natural plasters for interior and exterior applications. For all skill levels. You will leave with a basic understanding of prepping, mixing and applying natural plasters on a range of surfaces. We will address topics including various mixing methods, tool use, properties of plaster components, material estimation, and how to approach different scale projects. Workshop is in a straw bale house. Lunches included.
Cost: $$200-250.
Contact: Jonah Vitale-Wolff
Phone: (518) 229-1339
Email: jonah.hvnb[at]gmail.com
Website: www.hvnb.net
September 13-19
Basic Timber Framing
Thunder Mountain Retreat Center, Bath, NY
Learn the layout and joinery techniques needed to build a simple timber frame. We will be cutting and raising a barn frame and exploring timber frame design and history through evening presentations.
Cost: $TBA
Contact: Sarah Highland
Phone: 607-272-3475
Email: Sarahkh[at]lightlink.com
Website: www.peaceweavers.com