Cob Building Workshop with Rob Pollacek--Nevada City, Ca

June 26-July 2 $840.00

Meals and camping included

In this weeklong, hands on workshop, you will learn the art and science of making and building with cob, a free form adobe material used for centuries around the world. Using and understanding the simple materials of clay, sand and straw, we will mix our own cob, and then sculpt a beautiful serpentine garden wall at Willow Springs, a small community of artists in the sierra foothills. In this process, you will learn how cob can be used to build homes, courtyard walls, saunas and benches. We will also focus on the sculptural aspects of cob, creating bas-relief and carving niches. Also included in the course will be a discussion on the history of cob, its applications in modern construction, sourcing out building materials, stone foundations, earthen plasters and floors,strawbale construction and its relationship with cob, tractor cob and moveable cob form systems.

Also included are a cob slide show, a natural building tour, including a number of Rob's projects, a trip to our local South Yuba River and a final "Living Skills Day" at Willow Springs, where our local community comes together to share their knowledge of such topics as farming, woodworking, pottery, basket weaving, seed saving, herbalism and more. This special day will end with a community party with food, music and dance.Come prepared to learn, create, make new friends, work hard and get dirty.

Rob Pollacek has been teaching and building with cob, strawbale, and other natural materials, for the last 12 years, and has built a number of cob homes, including a 3000 sq ft cob/strawbale hybrid home, outside of nevada city, as well as many garden walls, saunas, and more than 20 cob benches. He brings with him a thorough understanding of cob construction, as well as a deep love for this ancient building technique. He also has refined the technique of tractor cob, making over 250 batches of tractor cob in his many building projects, as well as creating a moveable cob form system, allowing cob walls to go up quickly. Visit his website, californiacob.com, to see his work.

To register:
Contact Samantha Hinrichs
Mud and pearls
17451 sumi rd. Nevad City, Ca 95959
530-362-8082
www.mudandpearls.com
Register via paypal or send check, made out to "mud and pearls"
To contact Rob, Please call 530-913-0846
To find out more about Willow Springs, visit www.willowspringsnsj.org or call 530-292-3463