Deja Vu

I've hit the end of the road, at least for this trip, and found myself right back where I started. Toronto, with great friends around me making an effort to help me get situated again. Familiar faces at an old job, it's great to work with them not to mention finnaly earning some mulla again. Everybody is lending me couches and apartments to crash on until february when I'll be moving in with some friends in a new apartment. I can't wait to get back into the darkroom and start printing to see the places I travelled in a new light. i guess this means this blog will come to a close. It will be here for a while so that others can see what happened when. So now if we are not too far away, drop me a line because I would love to get together and catch up.

“Only the traveling is good which reveals to me the value of home and enables me to enjoy it better.”

-Henry David Thoreau

American Coaster Enthusiasts

The drive down the Kootenay Pass, The highest highway pass in Canada was beautiful. The sun still low on the horizon illuminated the ice crystals that covered the trees, rocks and winding mountain streams. Out of the mountains and down the foothills I ended up in Cowley Alberta, home to Michael and Celia Horwood. Good friends as good as family, I spent a day resting in their peaceful country home that looks out onto a wide stretch of the rocky mountains. This area is known for it's numerous windmill farms not to mention it's also where parts of "Brokeback Mountain" were filmed. It is Rancher country, but they too share with the Deer, Coyote, Jack rabbit and blue swallows.

Michael and Celia fill each year with an exciting passion that brought them together many years ago. You may have guessed it by the title, they Love Roller coasters. They are members of A.C.E. and the European Coaster Club (ECC) to name a few, and they have traveled all over the world in search of great thrills that make them scream for joy. You couldn't miss this detail about them, although it's just the tip of the iceberg for this interesting couple, they proudly display their numerous collections of amusement park memorabilia of past and present throughout their home. They were kind enough to don there coaster vests for a portrait. Michael and Celia recently returned from a trip to Scandinavia. 11 days and 14 parks they saw Finland, Sweden, Norway and Denmark. Check out Michael's Website at www.horwoodcomposer.com/ Here there's much more about his even bigger passion as a musical Composer.

A long drive today has landed me at the Safari motel in Swift Current Saskatchewan. Funny the only trace of wildlife here is an 8x10 photo of a hippo. Tomorrow, I'll give the squatchmoblie an oil change in Regina and visit with Aunt Kathleen and Uncle Sal Badali.

Dick Spencer and Dome Spirit Domes

South of Kelowna in Summerland, lives a dome builder named Dick Spencer. I have always been interested in domes and even fancy the idea of building one someday, so this was a great treat to find out more about Dick's style of building.

Dick says "Domes got a bad rap from poor experiments in their early years" it seems their are plenty of dome lovers and builders out there who all have altered and perfected their own styles. "Too many people worry about resale value, be happy in design of your home because you have to live with it". He explains that banks have really hampered financing any unconventional building and that crushes a lot of peoples dreams of building and living in domes. He hopes that will change with the popularity and priority of energy efficiency and green building.



Dick builds using a panel style, pre-fabricating the different sizes of triangles and then shipping them to the building site and installing them where they are assembled. Check out his website at domespirit

Dan Sawatzky & The Imagination Corporation

This would be my first stop on the trip back. A man named Dan Sawatzky and his Imagination Corporation. He's an artist to put it simply. He's mastered the materials required to bring his visions to life, and his visions come from a world of fantasy and imagination.

Ever wonder who that guy is that creates the theme signs and environments at amusement parks and mini-golf courses. well it's guys like Dan. But he not only builds them he works in them and soon will live in a home of the same inspiration.

Well known for his drawings and murals, dan is a master signmaker to boot. I met him at his shop in Yarrow near chilliwack, which looks more like a magic castle from the outside, not to mention the minature pony's and railway. Dan travels around a lot giving lectures, and workshops on new fabrication techniques, as well as a worthwhile stop at Disneyland, who would love to steal dan away his own projects. But Dan Loves life and Loves the life that he lives just too much to work for anyone else.



He gave me a tour of his giggle ridge mini-golf at Cultus Lake not far from his home, a lot of detail went into this place and nothing gets in the way of Dan's vision. He makes Dreams a reality. To see more of his creations check out his website, at the Imagination Corporation

Homeword Bound

I have been hiding out on Mayne island for a couple months now, doing odd carpentry and construction work, anything I can pick up. Swinging an axe here, demolition there. In this time I've met a bunch of people learned a few building tricks and I've gotten pretty damp. But I think I must have picked the wrong island at this time.

Although about 1000 people stick it out here all year, I've only counted about 10 of them in their mid-twenties. I never thought I would feel as isolated as I did out there and thats not why I came out west. So i am returning to family and friends, a few more kliks on the Van and a pretty good snapshot of Mayne island life, and sore but stronger hands. The trip back will be highlighted by a couple creative artists and builders and definately many more photos. Stay tuned and I hope to see you soon...

Mayne Island Wedding

Friends and family flew in from as far as Melbourne, Australia to take part in celebrating the union of Samantha Fletcher and Jeffrey Taylor. The wedding was here on the island. A great beginning for both of them in their new home and life on the gulf islands. This island was one of the first islands to be settled and so it is quite rich in history. The ceremony was held in St. Mary Magdelane church, built in 1897. Close friends provided music and singing before and after the ceremony.

The reception was held at The Agriculteral Hall built in 1900. A great community hall for events of all kinds and saturday night bingo! Photo's of Jeff and Sam lined the walls while the celebration spirit stirred and guests came in from out of the cold september afternoon. Great big salmon were served and blueberry wine sipped as relatives gave speaches cried and laughed. Then tables were pushed aside and more music followed. The "No shit Shirley's", which is a 7 piece all female acapela group (including Sam) sang with a voice from every corner of the world. Then a couple old time rag bands played and shook the hall.



Mother Nature brewed up a great storm, but it didn't break up the after-party in Bennet Bay. It was a night to remember. Now Jeff and Sam have headed out for some much needed rest and relaxation on Long Beach at the Pacific Coast of Vancouver Island.

Cob Building on Mayne Island

It's been an incredible week of work and making new friends. Cob building has been more exciting than I imagined and I look forward to doing some more down the road. "What is Cob?" you ask. Here's a little history from your friendly wikepedia.



History and usage

Cob is an ancient building material, that has possibly been used for construction since man first housed himself. Cob structures can be found in a variety of climates across the globe; where many homes have survived over 500 years and are still inhabited. Many old cob buildings can be found in Africa, the Middle East, Wales, Devon, Ireland, Cornwall, Brittany and some parts of the eastern United States. Traditionally, English cob was made by mixing the clay-based subsoil with straw and water using oxen to trample it. The earthen mixture was then ladled onto a stone foundation in courses and trodden onto the wall by workers. The wall height would progress according to how long it took for the last course to dry. After drying, the walls would be trimmed and the next course built, with openings for doors and windows being placed as the wall takes shape.

The walls of a cob house were generally about 24 inches thick, and windows were correspondingly deepset giving the homes a characteristic internal appearance. The thick walls provided excellent thermal mass which was easy to keep warm in winter and cool in summer. Walls with a high thermal mass value act as a temperature fly wheel inside the home. Surprisingly, the material held up really well in rainy climates, so long as a cob house was built with a tall foundation wall and a large roof overhang.


Modern cob buildings

When Kevin McCabe built a two-storey, four bedroom cob house in England in 1994, it was reputedly the first cob residence built in the country in 70 years. His methods remained very traditional; the only innovations he added were using a tractor to mix the cob itself, and adding sand or shillet (a gravel of crushed shale) to reduce the shrinkage.

In the Pacific Northwest of North America there has been a resurgence of cob building both as an alternative building practice and one desired for its form, function and cost effectiveness. There are more than ten cob houses in the Southern Gulf Islands of British Columbia built by Pat Hennebery and the Cobworks workshops.



Not only has Pat built many homes here on Mayne but he also organizes an annual cob workshop in Baha, Mexico. This year they are constructing a national history museum in a small town called San Antonio which is about 35 minutes from Cabo San Lucas.

The people I have met here have been truly supportive and have extended a great effort to help me find a way to stay on the island for the winter season. And so even though I thought it was too late and would return to Ontario this week, I have found renewed support and I will decide this wednesday should I stay or should I go.

Above all working and housing difficulties it has been the the new friends i have met and old ones i have come to know again that make me want to stay.


The cobbing this week was fairly informal. A few people who have taken workshops this year returned to Pat and kit's place to help finish constructing a home they will soon move into, a project that was started earlier. There is a large straw bale house , framed with driftwood logs and plastered a beautiful yellow including decorative releifs. We worked on filling in the final gaps on the cob kitchen addition to the balehouse and also the cob bathouse. (detailed photos can be seen at flickr)
It is quite incredible what you can do with cob and a wild imagination is not a bad thing here. Ready to see some imaginative designs? click here to link to the cobworks gallery of houses on Mayne island.