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Phew, going through all those old photo albums and slides and a few boxes of photos, all combined in a morass of years, one photo from my high school athletic days, then a photo of my father standing in his six year old onesies on his childhood stairs, then a pic of my brother’s children when they were young.
What I wanted and have mostly managed is a visual accompaniment to Handmaking My House. I wrote to create the pictures in words, but many people have asked for them so here they are. I even have a Each chapter indicated below corresponds to the chapter in my book. Enjoy, buy my book. I even have a video shot by Forrest Marquisee, music by The Gold Top County Ramblers of 2012. Enjoy.
CHAPTER 1: I DON'T WANT TO PLAY HOUSE, I WANT TO BUILD A HOUSE
My parents and two of the three kids. Me with Mom.
I actually found a couple of terrible photos of the little play cabin in our backyard in Tauxamont, Virginia, but they were so grainy, I opted for painting a pic.
Lots of small fish in my childhood. Me on the left, yes picking up a fish, my sister Nina looking askace, My little brother Alan scrutinizing one, those other kids ... ew.
CHAPTER 2: HOLLIN HILLS
Image from "Hollin Hills: Community of Vision, A Semicentennnial History 1949-1999." Page 18. Me looking like I'm about to drink out of a jug. That's our neighbors' house behind us.
The Hollin Hills Swimming pool. One of those kids is me.
CHAPTER 3: CRAB GRASS AND ARCHITECTURE LESSONS
Landscape design for a house. (not ours)
Site plans for a number of houses. Notice they are not all lined up in a row, rather sited to fit each lot.
Typical Hollin Hills siting
CHAPTER 4: OUR HOUSE IS FULL OF TREES AND PLANTS
Our house with dogwoods
How prescient of me to practice splitting wood way before I really had to do it.
CHAPTER 5: THE PATIO AND THE WRECK? ROOM
Patio in winter. The snow outlines each stone
CHAPTER 9: IS THIS COLLEGE?
Bad school, great architecture
CHAPTER 10: ANOTHER SCHOOL UP NORTH
What can I say, it was the 60s. plaster over foam and metal
CHAPTER 11: ALONG COMES PHIL
Up a creek (the school pond) without a paddle. Just before Phil leaves for basic training.
Dress Mom and I cobbled together
Second rental we lived in. The trailer you can just see was my studio. Each room was added on as the previous owners had the money. My macaroni seems to have followed me from school.
CHAPTER 12: OF BRINK AND BLACKBERRIES
Dad's house (Lois' studio) where Phil and I lived. You can see it's still under construction.
The log cabin all fixed up.
View of Old Rag and swimming pool.
CHAPTER 13: RAPPAHANNOCK COUNTY
Old Rag Mountain and fall colors. Image compliments of Ray Boc
Another pic by Ray Boc
Hazel River
CHAPTER 14: MY PALETTE OF MATERIALS
Making the sign for my pottery at Alson Atkins
The Amissville Garage I bought for one dollar
My trusty $100 red Chevy
CHAPTER 15: WITH ONLY A POST HOLE DIGGER
House in her infancy
My bed in the shack
Shack's outdoor kitchen
JW with a friend
Description text underneath an image
Helping my friend Nan build a deck
Well ... you probably know what this is
CHAPTER 20: WHAT I DID ON MY WINTER VACATION
The captain (right) and first mate with me in the middle
CHAPTER 21: A TUB! A CLAW FOOT TUB I CAN LAY MY ACHING BONES IN
Bob and I in a dance. Yes, I was a member of the Last Minute Wood Company, a modern dance troop out in Rappahannock County.
CHAPTER 23: DINING ROOM TABLE AND FRONT DOOR
Dining room table
Front door with locust stump steps
Front door from inside. Photo by Len Spoden
CHAPTER 24: A STUDIO WHERE IT BELONGS
Studio with the original shack on left. Kiln shed on right.
CHAPTER 25: A HOT TUB, NOW THAT SHOULD BE LEISURE
CHAPTER 26: AT THE JUNCTURE TO THE FUTURE - A POSSIBLE MATE ENTERS
Robert wrangling cows
Invite to one of my May Day Parties
All set for the May Day Party. Big propane tank in back is for my kiln.
The cat who had the babies that led Carl to me.
CHAPTER 28: CARL IS THE ONE
Saying our wedding vows
Real life. Splitting wood at Mom's.
CHAPTER 29: A BATHROOM WITH INDOOR PLUMBING
The outhouse after we stopped using it except in case of power outages
The back hoe operator gives Carl a try at digging.
Notice the diagonal bracing besides the upright locust post that limits access into many rooms. But we deal.
The sink and beaded board
Baskets on diagonal bracing.
CHAPTER 31: SWITZERLAND
Le Petit Chou
Getting to the big back yard
Back of Le Petit Chou
Walking path to our house that only we were allowed to drive on.
High up, high on a mountain.
Anne Marie and I waiting for a lift to get us away from everyone.
CHAPTER 32: FOUNDATIONAL WORK
I think I have both chain saws stuck. Don't worry, it was a fun pic.
Hot tub room to left with new porch.
The tree we had to keep sooo close to the house. And yes locust uprights for the porch. this tree figures heavily in the history of House.
CHAPTER 33: AN ADDITION TO HOUSE, MOM GETS A BATHROOM WITH A DOOR
With a little help we lift up a wall
Downstairs sink
Addition railing with quilts I made from Hmong hill tribe clothing I bought in Thailand (in the background). Phot courtesy of Len Spoden.
CHAPTER 34: THAILAND
The little outdoor "temple" in front of our condo. Not a real temple, just a place for us farangs to hang out.
View from our balcony
Real temple in background. Spirit house in foreground.
Buddhas abound. ChiangMai is where I got most of my Hmong hill tribe clothing pieces.
Christmas in the tropics. At the "resort" that took all day to get to: taxi, train, bus that broke down, tuk-tuk truck to get us to the ferry that broke down...and finally a tractor.
Water taxi on one of the remaining klongs in Bangkok.
Chicken feet at market.
Fried Bugs
Amulet market
Wall at amulet market.
Bird cage market across from the amulet market
One of the wall pieces I made while in Thailand although the busted basket is native American.
Where I get typhus ... my ticket home.
CHAPTER 35: WHILE I MAKE MORE ROOM ON MY STUDIO, CARL MAKES A BARN
Me strong!!!
My old barn with garden to the left
Hauled out some big rocks after jack hammering
Framing of garage. Notice the rock I had to lay block around
Garage a couple of years later
Framing up second floor of studio addition
Structolite instead of trim around windows
Upstairs gallery. Photo courtesy of Len S[poden
Gallery railing made of red maple
Railing with Buddha made of silkworm cocoons
Stripping white pine bark
Stripping very tough ten foot lengths of tulip poplar
Installation using ten foot tall tulip poplar bar, pine needles stuffed in bird netting and sumac berries
Another installation using the same bark
CHAPTER 36: THE PIT OF DESPAIR BECOMES A POND
Rebar formed in place around the rocks we could not remove
First layer of expanded metal mesh on. Now for the hard part.
Pumping system, rock ledge to hide the fact that it's cement under there
The best thing I ever made
CHAPTER 37: THE GIFTS FROM CARL
Bedroom with rush ceiling
Chandelier before it goes to a new home. Photo compliments of Len Spoden
Cedar ceiling and the parasol lamp I made
Old hot tub room now transformed. Teak slab form Thailand. Cherry and maple floor.
Look: the floor goes up. Photo compliments of Len Spoden
Hot tub room to left
CHAPTER 39: WE ARE FREE TO FLY AWAY
Washing Mom's windows
Mom at her 90th birthday party
Seems pretty abrupt to leave this photo essay with this picture, but all efforts must come to an end. I'll post some pics of our next house, the passive solar one in another section of my web site.
The big pink macaroni. This slide spent the winter outside in the snow in the slide box that my dog at the time just had to have with her out there.