the water garden is more than a natural garden. It is set at Portlands art magnet school Davinci arts. Today it was raining but that did not hinder the ceramics class from firing their latest pieces out side in the garden. the technique is calleds raku. It results in a metalic coloring on the glaze. This is accomplished by heating the ceramic s and then placing them into newspaper , causing a fire and then reducing the oxygen. Check out these films .
Many plants in the garden look dead or dormant . I like to think of them as sleeping. The first tree is a paper birch. Notice the white bark and how it flakes off the tree. The second tree is an alder. It has small cone like structures. Neither tree has started budding. Most of the plants are native to this area. They survive wet periods and dry periods. Spring comes early in the NW. I look for signs of change in the buds and plants.
DaVinci has a one of the largest cob bench in the city of Portland. It was built 4 years ago by myself and several classes . The bench is over 45 ft in length. Since my retirement Andrew Butterfield the ceramics teacher at DaVinci has taken on the role of maintaining the bench. Since we live in the North west we get a tremendous amount of rain. This excessive moisture tends to breakdown the outer coating of the cob bench. Every year Andrew with the help of several students reseals the bench. All the cracks in the plaster are resealed and then oil is applied to make it water proof. The following photos show the recently oiled bench.
* All Fleck and Autotrol Valves fit "standard" tanks ( which all tanks are standard unless you own a Culligan or Sears water softener ). water filter
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