Last October, I was lucky enough to take an English Scribe Timber Frame course up at Heartwood School in New Hampshire. It was one week long, and taught by Jack Sobon and Neil Godden… This was a really impactful class. Jack and Neil are at the top of their craft. They’re also incredible teachers. I could go on and on and on… if you have any opportunity to explore timber framing, they are the absolute best. I loved my time at the school so much, and valued the support and guidance of all my classmates enormously (many of them were teachers and professionals themselves). Once we received the rough cut dimensional lumber from the sawmill, we cut entirely everything else with hand tools only. No constant roar of bandsaws, skilsaws and drills - just mallets, chisels, hand saws and a beautiful boring machine.
At the end of the class, I decided to purchase the frame we built together. I wanted to make it the first small home I finished myself and lived in on my own property, while I designed and built my larger home over time. Graciously, my teachers and classmates agreed to sign one of the posts. I was able to nail the “whetting bush” to the highest point of the structure. It is a traditional ritual that thanks the trees that provided for the home. A few days after we disassembled it, I had it transported to a new storage unit. It is now safely stacked with the end cuts waxed. I love being near it. Sometimes I go to my storage unit just be close to it, to visit my Home. I feel such happiness and urgency to protect it, until that time it can be a loving shelter.
Land may take a while to find. In the meantime, I’ve been drawing and drawing. I will update some of my progress here, as it feels right. Jack was the architect of our structure, and for the class, we were given a set of his drawings. My drawings build off of his; I’m also studying the way he drafts and calls out information. I’m trying to learn from his drawings and apply those principles. Once they are done, I will be so excited to share them with the experts for their thoughts. Certainly there will be much revision. To draw a home from every angle is to get to know it in a much deeper way. I can’t wait to model it.
