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!

then and now, the bone house continues

the old bone house pre-fire

While I personally have not been working at the Bone House as of late, I do still drop in and keep abreast of the progress as well as interesting tidbits of news that is happening in and around the Bone House. Check in on Facebook as Kristie does a great job of relaying news and events there, as does Tod when it comes to projects/events and workshops, all posted on the website.

Yesterday I dropped by and was happy to see that the bottle cap floor has been grouted and cleaned and ready for Dan to coat it with a polyurethane finish. The metamorphosis that takes place during the installation of the cork and now the bottle cap flooring is astonishing. Each step brings out another layer of patina, texture and beauty. While I loved how the raw floors looked when just cork and caps were glued down, after grout has been applied and cleaned, everything just 'pops'. The cool thing is you can use any color grout you want, adding to the overall flavor of the entire room. For the bottle cap floor a light charcoal grout has been chosen, giving the room a nice cool feel.

unsealed, grouted bottle cap floor

bamboo floor/cut tiles

The third downstairs bedroom floor as noted in the previous post, is comprised of donated bamboo [above]. Now that the floor has been laid its time for the detailing to get started: that being the cutting of more bamboo into 'tiles'. The tiles will morph out into the front entryway and then bump into the sliced redwood pieces which will cover the kitchen floor. As you can see in the pre-fire photos [top photo], there are two steel stools at the kitchen bar. The stools once inhabited Goolsby Drugstore which was located on the corner of 12th and Sam Houston Avenue and closed in the early 80's. While I couldn't find any information about the store online, you can practically taste a chocolate sundae just looking at these candy caned relics. Very cool that Dan had extras in storage so he could replicate the original kitchen bar area!

today's bone house kitchen bar area

upstairs landing/office area

Bob's garden grows

And, as you can see in the photo above and below, the yard is slowly turning into an organic garden and food prep area. Yep, in just another month we are having David Reed host a Cob Oven Building Workshop. (interview with David coming next week). In the photo below an outdoor kitchen area is underway. It is hard to see in this photo, but Dan has placed two huge Chevron Signs on top of the kitchen structure. Surely this will serve up interesting table talk after say a cob oven flat bread pizza has been fired up and food and drink are served, perhaps on Dan's outdoor bone furniture...

another visit and update at the bone house

upstairs banister

donated bamboo flooring getting installed

bottle cap floor drying, waiting to be grouted and sealed

Plenty of progress still going on here at the bone house. As you can see the first floor bedroom floors are almost complete! That leaves the upstairs bathroom, stairs and kitchen/living area floors left to be determined. Josh finished the upstairs banister which one of the future renters says he will as an office/computer area. No space is wasted in a Dan home!

The artist studio has been on hold a bit as during cold weather as it wasn't comfortable working on the mirrored walls. Edie Wells, a teacher at The Fort Worth Academy of Fine Arts brought some students by to volunteer their time; that coupled with warmer weather made for PROGRESS both inside and out! Two walls are covered in broken mirror shards while the third wall is slated to be covered in reclaimed CD's. The fourth wall is more or less used up by windows, doors and an interior staircase.

Dan is also slated to give more lectures, tours and workshops in the coming months. Please visit the website for information regarding dates/times and cost.

more Bone House doings

Stopped by the bone house today to see the progress. Last time I was there I was working on the bottle cap floor that is a joint collaboration amongst all workers and volunteers. I did my part and the rest is getting filled in quite nicely. Also, last time I was there Josh and Bryan were on a tear with the ceilings and Linda had gotten the walls done. Its cozy and warm and very inviting in there right now.

Linda finished the walls, Josh finished the ceiling in the main kitchen/living area

Josh made these redwood window covers, each one can be removed to let in light or keep you cozy at night or put in 'upside down' to let light gently seep in. There are four separate pieces so theoretically you could remove just one or two if you wanted the full Texas sun blasting in.

The upper bedroom wine cork floor has been grouted/cleaned and finished. Dan, myself, Linda and Shannon all worked on what is to date the largest wine cork floor Dan has installed yet; the effect is very calming and swishy, almost like currents of water sloshing gently into each other. This bit of entry way floor for the bedroom are champagne corks cut in half. They too are a first and are quite wonderful!


It appears more bone has been acquired, it is being bleached and waiting patiently for what is sure to be an integral part of the interior design of this house.

brief intro

How does one just jump into a blog about a project that has been around for years and that has gotten so much media exposure recently that there is probably no stone left unturned? Head first I suppose. It's daunting, as I'm an outsider who has recently been given a chance to be an insider. My boyfriend Tod and I moved here a month ago from Vermont as we were intrigued by the New York Times article on Dan Phillips. Intrigued enough to want to come to a place we'd never even heard of and get involved in whatever way we can. It started with a simple email and a few weeks later we were packing a truck and heading for Huntsville, Texas.

This blog isn't 'our' blog. We created it but anyone involved with the Phoenix Commotion may share pictures, information, links and their stories here. It is our hope that the blog will give you a more intimate look at the projects and people who make up the Phoenix Commotion. It feels like a very exciting time for everyone right now. There has been a documentary crew filming, various media doing interviews with Dan as well as new projects in the horizon that are bound to draw more interest and attention.

I look forward to being a reporter of sorts, filling you in on these happenings or just sharing details about whatever it is that catches my eye on any given day. Today for example I went to the bone house to see what Linda was working on. Linda is a glass artist and has been making mosaics for some beautiful doors that Josh is working on. I want to wait and take a picture of the doors when they are actually put up, but in the meantime here is a snippet of her work in progress. The picture on the left is a finished panel, and on the right a panel in progress.


There, I jumped in. I will introduce you to Josh, Linda, Brian, Tom, Bob and whoever else I run into that has worked or volunteered for Dan. There is Kristie, who is the PR superstar and coordinator extraordinaire who works with Dan. And of course it goes without saying: Dan and his wife Marsha, the founders of the Phoenix Commotion. Bear with me as I myself am still learning the ropes, the people and the place. For more details about the Phoenix Commotion go to their website (which is in the process of getting a whole new look). There you will find articles, videos, PDF forms such as this one, as well as detailed information about the mission of the Phoenix Commotion and what you can do to get more involved. Time to edit more pictures and prepare for the next post!

Welcome to the Phoenix Commotion Blog!

Hi and welcome to the Phoenix Commotion blog!

The  Phoenix Commotion is a project committed to people and their communities. Specifically, we are committed to reducing the landfill waste-stream by diverting usable building materials into the construction of low-income housing, with an unskilled, minimum-wage labor force.

This blog is a joint effort by the people involved with the Phoenix Commotion. We hope that this blog will give you more insight and information about the people working with Dan Phillips, as well as the general day to day experiences as they are happening on the job sites.  We look forward sharing this journey and invite your questions and comments.