This ongoing series of drawings were done in response to my work in straw bale building.

I very distinctly remember my environmental activism starting at the young age of 10 when I very enthusiastically participated in a school assembly about protecting our ozone layer & combating “acid rain”. This passion was further expressed when, at the age of 21, I visited Mali, West Africa where I learned about the beauty, genius & efficiency of adobe building; the protective cool clay earthen structures in contrast to the heat of the dry desert sun. This experience provided further fuel to research a host of other environmentally conscious natural building techniques which ultimately lead to doing hands-on training in passive solar technology, straw bale building, adobe plaster & green roof construction. At the age of 27 I worked as a laborer for Furbish, Co, Baltimore, MD to build a 27,000 sqft straw bale Friends Community School in College Park, MD. Straw bale building is a technique using bales of straw which are produced as a byproduct of an industrial rye harvest. This straw is not the same as hay & is mostly inedible so when it isn’t being used for animal bedding it becomes a waste product & is burned. Building with this industrial byproduct diverts a massive carbon footprint (by not burning) while diverting the use of highly polluting/extractive conventional construction methods & materials. In addition, exterior walls constructed of straw bales maintain an R-value of about 25 (that's huge!) which significantly increases the energy savings throughout the life of the building. Building with plants has influenced a profound search for a connection to nature within the city landscapes where I’ve spent most of my life. Find out more about that venture here.