Hydrated lime finish over lime wash with secco painting.

I was commissioned to apply a 'chinois' design around the main room of a Georgian folly that was situated in the heart of the Cotswolds. The folly was one of the last remnants of a vast estate that was no longer in existence. It was set on a buff overlooking the Severn valley, on a clear day you could see The Mendips one way and The Brecon Beacons the other.

The building had existing lime plaster throughout and this particular room had had numerous lime-washes applied over the years. These and the plaster was largely secure. After minimal repair, I applied a casein primer and lime wall finish base. These are both totally suitable and compatible with substrate.

I then applied a second coat of a hydrated lime plaster called Kokyu - this has an added paper pulp, a by-product of local paper industry and another example of up-cycling.

Once this had been completed, I applied two coats of sora, a beautifully refined hydrated lime plaster. Tagawa Sangyo have created such a wonderfully adaptable and versatile series of plasters that I have been able to accommodate all projects no matter how diverse.

I started to apply a monochrome 'chinois' design using lime paint

Although there may well have been areas of sora that were still wet - so technically the painting could be 'fresco' - the majority of the lime painting was undertaken when base was dry.

Katie B Morgan assisted me on this project and spent two weeks applying painted detail to foliage alone.

This short film shows the entire room

Rammed Earth ( with Rowland Keable)

This week has been a varied one - one minute we are riding down a trout filled  ‘Le Tech’ river in beautiful sunshine - tired after having just passed through a woofing station on the way home to overcast UK autumn.

By the week-end,  I am in the Welsh hills - enjoying a very stimulating course at the Centre for Alternative Technology.

Rowland Keable delivered a fantastic and informative ( both theoretical and practical) 3 day course on methods of producing rammed earth structures.

The typical weather drove us from our preferred location to having to build prototype under the eaves of a barn.

We began to build form. The shutter can be created in numerous ways. We proposed to build with a simple form that could be created in the most basic of settings. This process of setting up was the most time consuming - but it crucial that the form be structurally sound.

The earth has to contain enough mixed sized aggregate and clay to increase and aid it’s cohesion after being rammed. Clay becomes a pretty essential element acting a little like the glue - a clay particle is smaller than a red blood corpuscle and cleverly knits together the various aggregates with the addition of enough water.

It is essential to test soil both for its moisture content and ability to crush together and hold its form.

We tested a block and then progressed to testing soil under usual stress method.

Take handful of mixture compress two fisted and drop onto board from shoulder height - if it breaks into 3/5 regular pieces it is ready.

If is is decimated, there is not enough moisture content and if if stays as one block, you need to add more dry soil.

The rammed earth once fully compacted - takes on a different sound - it has a wonderful resonant tone - but an equally good test is to try and push finger print into surface - the stiletto/elephant effect.

The completed prototype corner with arch opening - may not have been the straightest or prettiest wall - but everyone felt that it was a meaningful introduction to the process.

On the last night, Rowland showed us a selection of his work from across the world - and a few images of how dynamic and surprisingly earth can be used and formed. These two projects were reproduced by kind permission of   http://www.rammed-earth.info/

I found the chalk rammed project with its wonderful curved surfaces and the fabric formed structures particularly inspiring.

The earth remained vulnerable until it had fully dried - dried out too quick it would shrink and crack and too much moisture content would force earth to swell and the structure would be undermined.

Although it is a very different beast to lime - it shared a lot of its characteristics. It was humidity regulating, it had thermodynamic properties, absorbed odours and is a breathable surface.

The surface could be dressed at a later date with lime plasters. In Morocco, the rammers polish off the surface using flat river stones - larger than those used for tadelakt. 

I tried a tadelakt stone on our rammed earth wall - it did polish and compress the surface - but weirdly - I felt that this dressing took away from its authentic ruggedness. 

Damp, clay, earth and lime

The stage was set for a week of experimenting - a disused piggery in a lovely rural setting mid-Cheshire.

I've been soaking hemp fibre for a couple of days - so that it doesn't form great hair balls in the plaster - it disperses more evenly in the mix. Lime, sieved earth and clay. Straw, hemp, seaweed glue.
Various different sized aggregates and earth pigments.

At the end of the week I had prepped up 20 boards and completed 4.

An Izumi sample for a client, another saisei ( including eggshells from wild duck eggs abandoned a month ago) sample for another client.

I managed an otsu sample and a haitsuchi sample. They were really satisfying mixes to work with despite the change in weather. I'm on the edge of woods and it had been raining for a week and a cold 12 degrees - the next day it is 24.

Once I get some more time I'm pushing to do a whole series of otsu samples, maybe some hainaka and mizugone. Getting the time to experiment is a luxury at the moment.