40 years in the making

For our office holiday outing, we visited the Wharton Esherick house, the home-turned-museum of one of the country's most celebrated artist-painter-craftsmen. I would rank it a top-ten local visit (its in Paoli) by anyone who appreciates art, furniture design, or custom designed and built homes, hovels, and haunts. Its a beautifully crafted tiny little house / studio that took him 40 years to complete. He just added what he needed as he and his family needed it. They added a small bathroom after 21 years of trudging to the outhouse. They finally added a kitchen after a few decades of cooking over an open fireplace....things like that, made from what they could find around them, artfully crafted. Wharton referred to the house as an "autobiography executed in wood." We had the pleasure of taking the tour with his son in law, Bob (about 85) who knew him well and shared many personal stories. Bob was great. I got to site next to him on the now world famous cantilevered oak stair listening to him share about the life and times of this great craftsman and why he made some of the design decisions he did, slowly but surely, piece by piece.

Ive got to say it was really encouraging to me in regards to our own home renovation process, which sometimes seems never-ending, but has always gone at the pace we've set out. Im not interested in rushing things. Ideas come at me when they do......and I execute them when I do.

Here's the outside:

This is Bob, and his hat. It was 19 degrees and he was the only one not cold. What a storyteller he is.

And the famous double hand carved stair:

imagery-ness

Just some recent images ive either come across or been linked to. I can never get enough imagery in my life:

future home of Circle of Hope -Caspian Sea

this is the horse I ride after surfing the beachbreak in awesomeville

this is me and my boy J-Grizzly at last years West African Drum Class at Circle of Hope. Take it this time if you can get in.

This is how we can heat our houses for free.

these are the houses we'll live in if I rule the world

these are our animal friends who teach us things. They never forgot how Creation was designed to be.

and this? well, thats the end of every day on the left side of my brain.

Kramo Bone

On this election day I've got my mind on hypocrisy and deception. Coicidentally, my djembe is on the way from Ghana, just in time for Jay Beck's West African Drum Class which begins soon.

The Adinkra symbol - Kramo Bone- carved into the solid Mansonia wood is a warning against deception and hypocrisy. "The bad christain makes it difficult for the good one to be noticed. The fake and the genuine look alike because of hypocrisy."

outrageous modesty

With all the fervor about where our allegiances stand, who to vote for, whether to vote at all, I was reminded today by this simple postcard from MCC I have hanging at my desk not to be lured into the mess of it all, while Jesus is calling me to be in the middle of the mess of it all with him (He's not on the outside looking in you know). I try not to get wrapped up in all the hype, but I'm not apathetic either. I am happening, because Jesus is doing things, and I am next to him doing them too. I am flawed in so many ways. Im staying away (best as I can) from all the fervor and nationalist emotion that the 'little christs' get caught up in so easily. Im trying to go forward to the next things Jesus is calling me to, out of Egypt day by day. Proactively making peace for me lately has meant so much more than where "my" vote goes. It means making peace with me, with God, and then with friends around me, with family, with people i meet throughout the day....all the time, every day, day in and day out ('pray unceasingly'). Most of that means having some healthy conflict, bringing up the hard questions ans sitting with them and living into them for years at a time. Living in the midst of all of the compelling dialogue about what to do and how much we all matter can be so invigorating and tiresome at the same time. We are not pawns in this game, and we are more than the sum of our cleverness and gathered resources. We're the living stones, the body, the Church. Keep acting like it, lest we forget why we're even here. I dont want to miss out on that kind of life. Working it all out day by day, every day, day in and day out, is what makes us a peculiar little people, not making the right decisions every time and winning. God have mercy on the Christians this season.

Van the man

not this one, although he is sweet.






this guy:











I went to a book reading / lecture last night to hear Van Jones speak. I was listening. He is a lawyer, an environmentalist, and most importantly an advocate for the poor and disenfranchised in this country, especially young African American men. He has a new book called The Green Collar Economy which I have been reading which outlines a set of ideas to bring millions of people out of poverty creating a new set of jobs based on a new green economy. Most of the jobs would be involved in skilled labor positions like manufacturing and installing solar panels for instance, so there is an education component to it as well. He likens the midwest plains to the "Saudi Arabia " of wind power, and makes the same metaphor for the sunbelt in the US for its national solar producing capabilities. His ideas really had me listening. So much of this green wave is about eco-elitism (building a green vacation home) or selfish self-reliance (disconnecting from the grid, and from community). He talk about China and India as our "brothers and sisters" in this economic and environmental mess. His language and view is inclusive, big, broad, for the least of these, glocal.

Hearing him talk about speaking the truth-in-love to those in power as well as to those in poverty, and bringing a collective spirit of action across all kinds of social chasms really got me thinking. Hearing ideas about bringing the greenest solutions to the poorest people really has me talking. Hearing him talking about re-honoring and re-recognizing the need for skilled labor education, really just got me. Hearing him talk about how we need to move beyond solely equal protection from the WORST pollution (environmental justice and advocacy) to equal oppurtunity for the BEST new clean technology and jobs was real paradigm shift for me. Hearing him declare his faith in God was pretty cool too.

365 Days Of Trash: Kamikatsu Japan, a trashless existence#links

I follow this blog called SustainableDave. He is living with all the trash he creates for a year, and finding new ways to recycle, downcycle, and most importantly, to consume less, and choose his consumption with the knowledge of its future life and implications. I thought this piece he shared about this zero-waste town in Japan was cool....I could imagine us doing this at Circle of Hope in the basement.


365 Days Of Trash: Kamikatsu Japan, a trashless existence#links

Ive always been fascinated with waste streams, and especially in the past ten years, how to divert material from them for reuse, like in construction for instance. I like old things from some reason.....probably some irrational connection to an imagined past or something, but im working it out.

Ten years ago I hated recycling. And a bit of me still thinks it bullshit, but since working at Re:Vision Architecture, and being in charge of our recycling program here, the discipline of it has shined a bright white light (probably a compact fluourescent) on my consumption habits, many of which were unconsciously wasteful. Now Im into consuming less and making smarter choices and stuff like that....which is all a product of the wealthy society in which I participate, but its a start.

1 down, 2 taken, 5 await defeat

After about 9 weeks, and forgetting I had ever taken it, I received notice in the mail last week that I passed the Progamming, Planning, and Practice exam. I was going through the mail, opened this letter now knowing what it was. I thought it was junkmail. After hastily scrolling through I saw the word PASS in big bold letters and a super loud YES flew from my lungs involuntarily......that lasted about 10 seconds.....so I guess I did actually care about passing. I still think exams are bs though, but its a game Ive got to play, and win, I guess.
I took the Site Planning and Design exam a few weeks back too. I haven't heard anything from NCARB about that one. It had a graphic (drawing) portion that included designing, I shit you not, a pet cemetary, meditation chapel, and a pond. Now I know how to do that.

Maine-lining

Jenna and I spent a week in New England, mostly Maine. We will return. What a place. A giant flea market. Visiting the Grain surfboards factory. Eating so much good food I wanted a hot dog. Playing skeeball. watching WAY too much cable. Being posers. Admiring lighthouses. Covering Portland and Portsmouth and points in between. Driving the slow coastal road the whole way. Reading as many historic plaques as I could. Looking at tons of Art, inculding the finest seascapes to date! Seeing a thriller of a movie. Dotting the coast with such a beautiful and fun lady as Jenna....a much needed respite from a life we love in Philly. We rounded out the week in Surprise, NY, at an 1830's Greek Revival farmhouse owned by my dear brothers-in-laws Michael and Douglas. I got to ride their new kick ass lawn mower, run around with Peggy the Italian greyhound, try my hand at archery, read the NY times, enjoy the peace and quiet that comes with a well-proportioned, sparesely furnished, well-sited vintage piece of vernacular architecture on 4 acres in upstate NY....and stay up way too late talking about Jesus, capitalism, and obamacain (so taboo, so fun). Its good to be home.



can i get a hand?


Go with the Grain



clown-asses


yup, Jenna is badass


never seems to get old


Surprise! (and those are just the barns and the dog)


so happy together

There is something so grand about finding a good barber and a good mechanic in the same day. Those are two areas in a person's life that are all about trust. Thanks Nick Tutti. Thanks Hugh Snyderman.

Meet my new friend

Please meet my new friend, a 1984 Mazda B2000 Sundowner. 2WD. Automatic transmission. 56,412 miles. All soul, no frills. I'm back, baby.

ARE 4.0, fire

Its on.
After 7 years of hardcore procrastination and excuses, I am in the midst of taking my Architecture Registration Exams. I took Programming, Planning and Practice 2 weeks ago, after weeks of studying and example testing. Im not sure if I passed. The Prometric organization must be a suburb of hell, as the mental tricks they play on you during those exams are ruthless. It was the same with the LEED AP exam. Im sure I did fine, but you just leave there with such a sense of confusion.
Next is Site Planning and Design.
Its actually been good to schedule these exams, which my firm is generously paying for. It really makes me study for them, which is something I just dont do voluntarily.

Kicking and screaming, I will be a registered architect.

Whether I simply burn my architecural seal in a ritualistic fire once I receive it, or use it to stamp drawings and move to the next level of being an architect........ remains to be seen.

coordinating-dreaming-drawing

It is Saturday.

This morning I had the privilege of facilitating a cell coordinating meeting, in which all of the cell leaders in my crew get to meet up once a month, and we hash out how things are, how things might be, break some bread, encourage and admonish each other, with Jesus at and as our center. I have such a good group of people who want to grow, lead, partner, and let Jesus make something of this beautiful decay we are.

Then I met up with my good friend Joel, who I love talking with. We want to start a mission team under Circle Venture, which is the "service arm" of Circle of Hope. Its going to be about what the christians have to say about resource reuse and reduction......not hoarding what we have and know, harvesting rainwater, making local real food available to everyone, growing food on rooftops, teaching carpentry, .....man we've got to narrow this list down! Our next step is to do just that and make some partners and get a proposal together.

Then I set to work on finishing up some drawings for my bathroom renovation. I was interrupted by an amazing dinner that Jenna, my wife, cooked for me and Leann: Roasted chicken, buttered squash, and corn on the cob. whoa. so this is a sketch of the new layout:




We're coating the walls with some old wood we tore up from upstairs, and the floor will be this sweet sheet linoleum I'm pretty siked on right now. The toilet will be a dual-flush model, and the inside of the shower will be sheathed in white marble slabs I rooked from Circle Thrift's basement years ago. One free sink, one bought one. The cast iron tub was a craigslist find. Ive been inspired by my friend John to get as much as I can for free or cheap off craigslist. his whole house is that way.....and its pretty sick. well, back to work for me.

I have some things to say

I have the gift of gab. I have always preferred processing life externally, with others. Now I'm going to try my hand at the incremental process of sharing ideas and thoughts and images day by day to whomever wants to read, look, listen, and contribute. I wonder where this might go.