a collection of shots from the days of building the back40…
Created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR.
there was a time that we had put together a ‘construction diary’ in the ol pre-blog days of 04.. I updated it periodically with images (these are a lot of them) and words… I just came across some of those –
spring of 04
Let it be known that from here on the word ‘week’ means nothing. There are only cycles of time. The cycle described in these pictures is one focused on making stemwalls. It builds upon the previous, the footings, and one day will be the foundation for the walls of earth that enclose this humble dwelling. Everyday now we find ourselves surrounded by images and and words in bold type describing widespread de-struction: the taking apart of a culture, its buildings, and the bodies of the people who occupy them. And everyday, even away from such topics, we are engulfed in a heaving sea of other images, words and sounds that unwittingly sap our own culture, hearts and minds in pursuit of endless profit, power…whatever, simply encouraging a taking apart of another kind. And what that pursuit does not destroy, it certainly defaces, be it a desert ecosystem, a naturally beautiful face or body, or a building downtown that used to be pretty cool (viva el edificio Lerner!). Simply said, to be truly engaged in the act of construction, of building something of value for people, not markets, and to be doing so in a quiet, thoughtful way is a choice, and it is a gift… these days in particular, but really, always.
those were the early days… and not much later came the rammed earth:
1st of september
my hands are sore, there are dishes to do. turning loose earth into walls has proven tremendously taxing, and fantastically inspiring. tomorrow we do more. last week was 80 hours of labor, producing four walls. some good, some producing lessons, some great. this is my life. tomorrow we do more.
le who had come down from Seattle (this was one of Someday’s very, very first shows). They’re a joy to the eyes and their mode of music/performance is some kind of playfully driving, frantic lovliness. ..yeah, that’s the best I can do. I asked Joseph if he’d send me the shots that resulted, and he obliged, asking in return if he might sometime do a shoot in the space. That all worked out swimmingly, and somehow, later, we ended up in the inaugural issue (issue .5, that is) of LAB. If you’re interested in some background on the design and build of the place, this is a good spot to start. It gives a decent amount of attention on the narrative we used to drive our design process– an approach that we found quite helpful given there was no physical landscape or climate to respond to. …enjoy.
an article (our very first) published in the At Home section of the Arizona Daily Star