Burton Street Community Peace Garden Pizza Oven - Asheville, NC
"The day is winding down, and members of a small work crew are putting the finishing touches on a cob oven they’ve constructed in the Burton Street Community Peace Garden. Artisan Builders’ Collective co-founder Tony Beurskens—his hands covered in red, earthy grit—is there to supervise the group in working with cob. It’s one of a series of service/learning projects launched by the Asheville Green Opportunities Corps, a pilot program designed to train individuals from low-income backgrounds for green jobs."
-exerpt from an articleby Rebecca Bowe in Mountain Xpress Vol. 15 / Iss. 09 on 09/24/2008
Carl Sandburg Elementary All School Cob Project - Charleston, IL
With a grant from the Jaeneke Foundation, the 1st through 3rd grade students at Carl Sanburg Elementary School and I made a cob installation. We worked together with teachers, community members, and school family volunteers to create beautiful natural building art on the school grounds!
For me, this project was a homecoming of sorts. I grew up in Charleston, IL, and several of my teachers and parents of my friends still teach at the school. Coming home to share a little piece of me was quite exciting! I invited my brothers to help; Pat came from Seattle, Nick came up from SIU, and Tim and his family were in town. Together with friends and family, we had a cob stompin' good time with the students.
Isaac Dickson Earthen Oven Project - Asheville, NC
Students at Isaac Dickson Elementary recently gained an intensive hands-on learning experience—they got to play in the mud while helping build a working clay oven. Once the oven was ready, the kindergarten-through-second-graders were able to cook pizzas in their new creation.
“I really liked when we stamped our feet in the mud. It was squishy-squashy,” says kindergartner Ashanti Cobb. The students churned the clay, straw and sand mixture with their feet, then applied it with their hands. They also went through a pile of donated artists’ smocks (mostly old T-shirts).
The school’s youngest students spent eight days building the oven. On April 21, students, teachers, artisans and parents held a dedication ceremony, which included baking hand-made pizzas and chocolate-chip cookies. The ceremony concluded with a song and a big thank-you from the students to second-grade teacher Patti Evans, who initiated the idea; Meka Bunch and Tony Beurskens, the builders; and Kate Fisher, a parent who was extensively involved. The students also brought small stones from home to place on and around the oven.
“An incredible collective of people pooled their efforts to make this happen,” Beurskens says. “The kids got so much out of it. I don’t know even which kids struggle in the classroom because they all succeed out here.”
To protect the oven from the elements, student volunteers from A-B Tech built a gazebo, which will be erected soon. The structure sports a roof that can hold dirt and plants for an all-natural effect.
“This project will pay it forward forever,” Beurskens says. “Teachers, parents, community all can use this oven. It’s art and science and practicality all combined.”
-exerpt from an article by Anne Fitten Glenn in Mountain Xpress Vol. 14 / Iss. 40 on 04/30/2008
