A Series of Close-Up’s from TURBULENCE – Bas Relief
Posted on 21. Oct, 2011 by BenjaminHigbee in ramblings
New Camera and WORK
Posted on 21. Oct, 2011 by BenjaminHigbee in ramblings
I got a new camera. It’s been five months since I posted here, partly due to the fact that I really wanted to include pics with my posts and couldn’t. So, as of Tuesday, all that has changed. So here we go:
New digital images in HDR:
Before and After – My Patio Extension Project at Choza del Mundo
Posted on 20. May, 2011 by BenjaminHigbee in ramblings
The Dog, Me, Little Black Bees Lapping Salt from my Sweaty Shirt
Posted on 19. May, 2011 by BenjaminHigbee in ramblings
Finished Patio Extension Project
Posted on 19. May, 2011 by BenjaminHigbee in ramblings
This is the finished patio extension. We ran out of large gravel for the end of the channel but the sink is in, plumbed and everything works like a dream. I’ll get back and put some finishing touches on the pillars that hold up the sink and add a backsplash with tile shards and grout, extend the drainage pipe to a catch basin with a valve to divert water to two simple water filter basins dug into the hillside, filled with rocks, gravel and then sand in that order, to filter out toxic particulates from washing paintbrushes, etc. in the outdoor sink. At the base of the hill is a Riparian zone , the river that leads to the waterfalls and swimming hole further down the ravine, so we really want to filter all the gray water we can before it enters the watershed. When it rains really hard the water comes off the roof with an arching trajectory and lands at the outer half of the dark gray large gravel strip. It percolates down into a drainage pipe we drilled a million holes in that carries the water beautifully down the channel parallel to the house and delivers it to a zone well away from the foundation. When I first got here, the outdoor sink zone was a boggy mudhole and significant erosion was taking place. The swampy area was a Dengue mosquito attractor and had to be resolved.
This solution will be improved even more with raingutter, most likely in the near future. For now though, this beautifies the transition of the porch and yard, created a clean zone to take off shoes, buffers and redirects rain splash and drains off all the water where we want it to go, well away from the house. The quantity of water is truly astounding in the rainy season. Just the other day it rained 6 inches in a 3 hour period. Enjoy the Pics, let me know what you think.
Robbie drops in for a Look-See
Posted on 19. May, 2011 by BenjaminHigbee in ramblings
Robbie Schingler, the principal founder of Choza Del Mundo at the helm in the Kitchen preparing some deliciousness for consumption that exceeded mere sustenance, we ate like kings and enjoyed a few beverages as well. It was great to have him here, he gave me a hand with the patio extension project and I’m grateful, I wouldn’t have gotten it done before I left if he hadn’t. I gave him a run-down on the state of the Choza and passed the torch, if you will. Thanks Robbie, for everything. This experience has been beyond stellar. Check out the grub!
Plans for the Choza
Posted on 18. May, 2011 by BenjaminHigbee in ramblings
I am nearing the end of my three months in Costa Rica. Instead of touring and meandering and seeing the whole of the country, I have chosen to stay put, to feel essence, to immerse in place and get to know it’s subtleties. I can say that I have fallen in love with the road and hiking it to Mastatal, at night especially. Each time I go, there is a new discovery. I have watched the grdaul transition of the sky and the weather and rise and fall of certain insect populations, the three moon cycles and bird species coming and going, migrating, flowing in a great cycle. I can only imagine what I would come to know after a year, or three, or five, closely observing and noting the details of this place. I am so grateful for Robbie, the principal founder of the Choza. His disposition toward the future of the Choza project is open to facilitating personal vision, intention, ideas. I can’t imagine a better person for me to connect with to facilitate my intentions . I had no idea what I was getting myself into when I first came and yet, I am now providing my input on the future development of the Choza project. I’ve been able to assess the viability of producing artwork here, noting the imoprovements to infrastructure that would facilitate my art production process and have determined that a studio is needed, set apart from the main house, an open structure that could also function as a meeting place, where workshops could be held, but would primarily function as a yoga studio in addition to housing two Artists studios with a variety of work zones, some enclosed, some outdoors, areas covered but open, all with views from the top of a hill 100 yards away, for a variety of potential projects. And Robbie Schingler is excited by the prospect of building such a thing! Imagine this place becoming a fully functional Artist in Residence destination, a yoga retreat, a place to do projects, to experience the tranquil pace of life governed by the rural, remote, flora and fauna density and tropical weather, the incredible prevalence of inspiration from the Natural world everywhere you look. The sounds, the colors, diversity, systems, patterns, people, culture, geography, topography, all turned up to eleven.
I can see the Pacific Ocean 30 miles away from here, where I sit. On days with low relative humidity I can see the peninsula of Manuel Antonio, a national park, jutting out of a mountain framing the left edge of the ocean view. At night I can see a light from Quepos, at the far right of the view. From this vista you can determine the probability of rain. If the air is thin and you can see the white line of surf and the clouds begin to roll in and become a solid sheet, you can be sure it will rain heavily in the afternoon. If the land is transpiring it’s moisture from the heat of the sun, and you can’t see the Pacific or the Manuel Antonio peninsula, it will be a hot one and no rain, even if the clouds build by afternoon. But I know this general observation has subtle variations and my take on it is likely wrong. And this is why getting to know a place through time, closely observing it’s phenomena is so interesting for me.
Here are some conceptual sketches for possible studio solutions. I drew some up on the way back from Cuidad Colon, after accompanying Robbie on his trip to San Jose for his return to the States,the bus bouncing wildly, so…things are at the concept phase and ideas are welcome from all. Comments/ideas are welcome and input appreciated.
