LUCERNE ? Getting down and dirty is exactly what Lake County Supervisor Denise Rushing wants citizens to do.
“It”s a lot of fun. If you have a set of clothes you don”t mind getting dirty, you”re welcome to come out and help,” Rushing said.
Rushing conceived the Lucerne Community Art Project to involve the community in building a covered bench and garden wall from natural materials at Lucerne Creek Park on the corner of Highway 20 and Ninth Street. Construction began Saturday, and is expected to be complete by the end of the month. Volunteers are invited to help through May 24.
“What I was looking to do was have a project where the community could participate in creating a public space with a few objectives in mind. One was to demonstrate the use of local, low-cost, natural materials. Another was to produce something beautiful in a community park, and a third was to encourage the community to participate in the process, mostly youth,” Rushing said.
The project designer is Massey Burke, a natural builder and instructor at the Solar Living Institute in Hopland. The project kicked off with the making of adobe bricks using sand, clay from Lake County soil and hay. The total budget for the project is $5,000.
“She (Burke) told me the clays in Lake County are some of the best she”s worked with. We have good local materials and lots of vibrant colors,” Rushing said.
Burke said the clay used in the project was obtained mostly from Upper Lake soil, and is relatively dense, but still pliable and not too heavy. It is used to mix cob, a form of adobe that is used to sculpt rather than molded into bricks. The clay is mixed with hay to create a natural plaster used to hold the bricks together.
Of the 32 volunteers who have helped in the construction since Saturday, Burke said most were people passing by. Rushing said a group of high school students from Upper Lake High School is expected to help Saturday.
“There are people that plan to come, but a lot of people just get interested and bring their kids,” Burke said.
Burke said the first thing people ask when she says she is building with earth is whether the structures can withstand rain, earthquakes and other elements.
“Part of the Great Wall of China is rammed earth, which is an earthen construction technique. There are skyscrapers that are seven or eight stories tall that are entirely earthen construction,” Burke said.
She said the oldest earthen building she has seen is in Turkey and dates back to 800 B.C. According to Burke, the centuries-old Taos Pueblo in New Mexico is the oldest earthen structure in the United States that has been continuously inhabited.
“This is resurgence of an ancient form of building but with modern techniques and modern engineering,” Rushing said.
Contact Tiffany Revelle at trevelle@record-bee.com, or call her directly at 263-5636, ext. 37.
