Bone House progress report

Believe it or not I went to the Bone House yesterday to take some pictures of the latest progress.  Upon first notice, the most noticeable change is the garden and outdoor yard area.  While it is true we are having a drought here, you'd never know it by the flourishing garden alongside bushes and trees that are big and green with new growth.  The devastation from last years fire is barely noticeable to the untrained eye.  It's beautiful and lush as the corn towers over my head, the herbs and other vegetables are growing like weeds!

The outside of the Bone House and the studio look pretty complete too, both buildings are large by Dan's usual standards and give off the sense of having been here for a long time.  Perhaps it is just the look of the wood, but it feels very old and wise ~ this place that Dan, all the wonderful volunteers and the crew have nurtured for well over a year now.

Bone House back view

side of studio behind the bone house

The inside has changed the most, the downstairs 'Phoenix Rising' floor made entirely from cut pieces of Honduras Mahogany, Walnut and Pine is complete!  It is stunning.  Linda's son George drew the design onto the floor from a previous drawing done by Jared Gamble and then Linda the cut the wood out with a band saw. My favorite part about this is the beautiful 'black' color from the wood, it looks so much like a tile of some sort I had to take a closer look.  It is mind blowing how anyone can make all those pieces of wood 'fit'....make it work into a cohesive piece of art!  The hours and hours that it took for the crew to cut up small pieces of wood is also mind blowing. We are talking weeks and weeks of very tedious work, but it is worth it as it is an original piece of art that leaves no reason to fill up the house with too much superfluous STUFF.  You see, the entire house IS the art.  Dan is a visionary.  He isn't a home builder as much as he is a visionary Artist who also happens to care an awful lot about the environment, waste, and helping people to help themselves. His medium is 'homes'.  His work of art.  The Bone House is a testament to the creativity that resides within him.

Here are a few more pictures of the latest progress.  Go to the Flickr page to see a slideshow or individual pictures of each project.  Here is the link to Bone House set of photos. Five pages worth!

above: 1. bone 'tile' kitchen counter.  2. 'Phoenix Rising' wood floor  3.  sliced bone floor 'tile' on steps
4.  tile mosaic in the downstairs 'bottle cap bedroom'

And in other Phoenix Commotion news:  Both Linda and George are literally breaking ground on their Phoenix Commotion House/Art Studio that they will share together, so look for posts about their progress in the near future!   Linda has been on the 'crew' for the last year + , working hard at the Bone House.  George is her son, with 2 children of his own, and both are artists so I cannot wait to see their place when it is done!

Josh, who has been Dan's 'main man' has also bought land and will be working away on his own home very soon.  Josh is also going to start his own Phoenix Commotion here in Huntsville.  If Tod and I are able to buy a lot next to Linda and George, Josh will be our building Mentor.  As it stands, right now, Dan is going to be George and Linda's mentor.  Their property is right across the street from Eric's house, which if all goes as planned will also be finished this year.  So, lots going on and I look forward to being a better reporter here!