artwork, recycled

After two years on loan to Emory university my art work has returned home to Chattanooga.
Below are two examples, I have not made anything recently as we have been building, planting, living etc. . . but hopefully I will make some more art soon.

The art is all waste product from a local manufacturer. it is excess paint, "retired" metal flats. The only non repurposed material is the clear coat. The art is made by layering and sanding the paint to expose designs and geometric shapes that were in-laid during the paint process.

planting and harvest

With the break from building we have had time to invest in other needs. This weekend we planted about 490 garlic plants. Though it is a little late to plant the garlic the soil is still warm and should help them get a good start. Now we wait until July to harvest them. We also spent some time watching the sun set as we harvested some of the peanuts we planted. Yes, we should have done this months ago. Yes, lots of the peanuts were ruined because we had not harvested them sooner. The consolation is that there are lots of peanuts to use as seed for next year.
The first frost has hit and taken with it all of the beautiful flowers in our yard, the pepper plants as well as the final growth of the sweet potatoes. It is sad to see all the lingering Summer joys slip away in one night. On to the grey month and the subfusc evenings cozied around the wood stove.

Tiny house other tasks

The onset of cool weather has brought on a new focus. We have been clearing land and chopping fire wood. The tiny house continues to rest in its almost done state as we move timbers and trees and branches. The wood stove is hot and the fire seldom wants for wood as we stoke it to capacity.

Our ducks are embracing the cold with new feathers. They have taken on a multi tone look. Meanwhile the cat and dog are both sleeping by the stove as often as possible, unless we are outside in which case they follow us around the yard. Yes, the cat too.

We have added a worm compost bin to our critter collection as well. The students at the school, were I work, are raising worms to study how they decompose matter into soil. I am tending one of the bins at home just in case we have a classroom unit that "fails" or is accidentally killed with love, as young students have so much love to show the worms.

So, as usual we are staying busy. Last night I started looking at seeds for next years planting. Though the cold is set in for the winter months the planning for Spring warmth is underway as it will be hear before we know it.

Tiny house Winter months

The generator is finally fixed and work can begin again on the tiny house. We are settling into our house in town for the cold months and getting ready to button up the big building campaign at the farm. We have a few projects at the house in town to work on. Most notably we are building some cold frame boxes for the winter garden and a small art studio for my wife on the hill behind the house  overlooking the city.  Should be a fun side project and she will be thrilled to get her studio as she has waited patiently for it.
That is it for now, more to come later.

delays on the tiny house

Yes, I know I have not had many post this past week. This is mostly due to the lack of a generator. No generator means no work. Well, we did mud and tape some of the drywall but otherwise limited work. The time change has also affected our productivity. No light means no work especially with no power to run lights. The generator just stopped working the other day. Brand new, less than a month old, not  used, not cheap. It is currently at the warranty repair shop. We will wait to see the outcome and in the mean time enjoy the fall weather.

tiny house kitchen

The kitchen is starting to take shape. We have begun framing the countertop supports and setting in things like the stove top to visualize it. We are facing the supports in hackberry. It is looking nice as we get it up and set in place. We are excited to get our concrete countertops made and in place. Set in Stone is the company we are working with and they do excellent work. Here are a couple pictures of the work in progress.