I'll be gone for about 2 months. I'll first go home preparing for some courses this winter, later I'll go work as a craftsman in a museum up north. It is this museum, if you by any chance are there within that timeframe chances are you'll see me making something in the longhouse.
Have a nice summer.
PS! For all I know, Robert may still post from time to time...
Friday, 15 June 2007
Sunday, 3 June 2007
Arrowsizer
Here is the arrowsizer I started making before Christmas. It is carved as an eagle flapping it's wings. More detail may be added when I feel my skill is up for it. I think it looks acceptable regardlessly though.
Aspen Bark Container Part 2
The container is sewn after it is dried. I drilled the holes with a flint tip. The rim was willow bark and so was the lashing. There are many possibilities of how to do this. If you use a good type of bark, which doesn't curl that much, you can butt the sides against eachother, but with aspen you pretty much have to overlap. This basket type is very sturdy and well worth the effort in making.
Saturday, 2 June 2007
Wikkiup
My kids and I took off an afternoon to work on a wikkiup in a place that we have thought would be good to do it. We picked a spot right on a creek where there is a natural spring and we've been to the spot enough to know it doesn't flood at any time of the year.
Right near this spot are old broken cottonwoods which tend to break off in large splinters that leave huge slabs of material to use as shingles. There are also some green alders that were washed away at the bank and were blocking the creek somewhat. Alder, no matter if it's green or dry is very brittle and pretty large trunks can be broken off.
The point of this exercise is to show my kids that good dwellings can be made with what is available. When it's done is should be fairly rain proof and tall enough to have a fire inside. Right now it's drying a bit as it is very heavy from being green and the large slabs are still wet with the rain we've been having.
In the above picture you can see how we used the natural forks of the trees to make an interlocking center. You can make the center interlock very tightly by laying everything down on the ground first and interlocking it while it's on the ground. Then you raise it up in the middle and keep pushing it up. The increasing angle will really help bind the forks together.
The above shows the large slabs of cottonwood that will overlap as shingles.
This last pic shows the approximate size of the shelter. I can easily stand up and have room to reach up still in the center. It should sleep 4 pretty comfortably.
Right near this spot are old broken cottonwoods which tend to break off in large splinters that leave huge slabs of material to use as shingles. There are also some green alders that were washed away at the bank and were blocking the creek somewhat. Alder, no matter if it's green or dry is very brittle and pretty large trunks can be broken off.
The point of this exercise is to show my kids that good dwellings can be made with what is available. When it's done is should be fairly rain proof and tall enough to have a fire inside. Right now it's drying a bit as it is very heavy from being green and the large slabs are still wet with the rain we've been having.
In the above picture you can see how we used the natural forks of the trees to make an interlocking center. You can make the center interlock very tightly by laying everything down on the ground first and interlocking it while it's on the ground. Then you raise it up in the middle and keep pushing it up. The increasing angle will really help bind the forks together.
The above shows the large slabs of cottonwood that will overlap as shingles.
This last pic shows the approximate size of the shelter. I can easily stand up and have room to reach up still in the center. It should sleep 4 pretty comfortably.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
