Polka-dots, Double Breasted Jackets, MIGs, and Foam Parties.......photographs by Jason Mitchell of theworkshop308

"a multi-disciplinary studio of architecture + design....."

"....a multi-disciplinary studio of architecture + design......." is what you will find if you visit http://www.theworkshop308.com/. And that is what you will find if you visit the 8747house site in Webster County these days.

Since Jason Mitchell and Michael Mardis took over the construction services for this project, I would imagine that "multi-disciplinary" has taken on some new meanings ......such as Michael's heroic rescue of a wren nest with five chirping babies from the duct work and the subsequent search for worms in an effort to keep them alive.....such as me holding a board to prop up a flashing strip while Jason welded the other end with sparks flying in every direction....such as having to find exactly the right pile of dirt over by the well to stand on in order to OCCASIONALLY get a cell phone signal....such as keeping fishing tackle in the storage container in case the fish are biting when it's time for a break....such as my hollering at the door installers and Jason and Michael to stop work and come watch a five foot long black snake as it made its way across the path and up to the top of a thirty foot tall tree......aaaagggggh......such as dealing with mosquitoes, ticks and wasps while standing on a ladder....such as politely answering questions and giving "tours" to the folks who may drop by to see "what is going on over here".....such as having the patience to explain the systems, the processes and the outcomes to me over and over again when I ask.....such as having the ability to guide and oversee and follow up on the "outside" work and workers involved....such as having the flexibility and the technical ability to make changes as they go that could be either more functional, more economical or of a better design as the house evolves....such as, above all else, having the astounding gift of being able to not only design an incredible house, but to have the knowledge and the experience to be able to construct that design themselves......and with an ever present work ethic that makes the ultimate difference in everything that they do.

I couldn't be happier with how things are going these days. It's definitely a multi-disciplinary experience.

All work and no play.....
Loppers, Weed-wacker, brush piles, blood, sweat and ticks.....cleared this front yard...
Michael finishing the first skylight of three......
Hard to tell whether it's American Gothic Design-Builders or M-I-C, K-E-Y....
Jason doing stuff......
Michael holding baby wrens.....formerly residing in the duct work....
Michael investigating a strange chirping noise ringing in his ears.........
Getting ready for the cedar wrap and for the door men.....

Michael applying black rain-screen paper to back the cedar wrapping on the porch...

Hi-HO, Hi-HO....

..........and a new dawn is breaking for the8747house........Phase II.....

Jason starting the process for the open deck off the screened porch.....
Jason and Michael with their version of an "open deck frivolity check".........
No-grass-fire welding takes years of practice.......

Keep your eye on this steel beam........
The view from the soon-to-be-screened porch to the soon-to-be-deck.....

It's gonna be nice, eh?..............

Primed and ready to flash........

Michael preparing the porch for the cedar that will wrap it.......

And, here we have a sample of the cedar that will wrap the porches.......

One skylight in.......two to go.......

........I wanted little butterfly decals, but this is all they had....

Someone has been walking on my roof.............

Pretty darned awesome.......that's what I think.......

Speaking in tongues......showing off......

I wish everyone could live like this.......

Much lighter with the skylights in....(standing in living room looking towards into the kitchen and down the hall past the furnace/laundry area).......how about those windows?

Yep........that's the river down there......the James.

The door guys arrive........and everything is ready for them.

Judy and Jon (sister and brother-in-law) got the clearing project underway last week.......and I am following up........working with sharp objects on a slant is NOT yoga-like......

Send any suggestions for non-mowing, low-maintenance, legal plants for this field of dreams....

This is my bedroom side of the house......(porch area presently obstructed by rare plant)....

If one is operating the shop vac in the living room, this is the view one would see......


Enthusiastic old lady (looking very manly) with her SHINDAHWAH weed eater.......on a slant.