Designing a Life

I was just given an amazing experience, Whidbey Island Center for the Arts put on a production WOW -  Women on Whidbey. They asked 14 interesting women to share their stories and passions. I am honored to be one of them.

Here is my presentation:

I would like to share with you an exploration of my current state, which is wonderfully all over the place. I don’t have it all together, but I better by the time I’m 18. : )

Since I was a kid I have been intrigued with fabricating a life I want to live. I have been working towards this on many levels. Mentally and emotionally, but also physically. For the past few years I have been obsessed with the dream of building not just a house but a home. I have immersed myself in this project and am creating my tiny home exactly how I imagine it. There is a story and connection behind everything in or on it. That is what life should be like.

We have become so disconnected from the immediate world that surrounds us – be it our homes, made with maintenance free materials manufactured in unknown locations. Or be it our communities where communication has to often shrunk to Facebook or texting.

And so I began to observe my world and wonder… Where did this chair, this table this shoe come from? What are their stories? Who is that person who lives down the street? What is their story?

I recently went to a talk Ross Chapin did on wholeness, and the main thing I went away with was that, “The best thing you can do for yourself, your community and the world – is to follow your passions. And by diving in to that pool, your ripples will inspire others to do the same. Thus creating an inspired, fulfilling life, a diverse community and many wonderful stories.

Some of you may have read the recent article in the South Whidbey Record on the little house that I am building. It was a beautiful article, well done. The title of it was South Whidbey teen builds tiny transportable house. Now when the article was published all I had resembling a house was this – 

 The article could have been titled South Whidbey teen acquires rusty trailer chassis.

So you see what I had was an idea that I was and still am passionate about and as I work towards it the interest it generates is incredible. Many generous people have given me their time, shop space or knowledge. Without them I wouldn’t be even close to where I am now, and I thank them. One of the main reasons I have been able to focus my energy on the things I love is that I have chosen to unschool myself. –

I use the word Unschool to explain to this culture that I learn through life experience. - I do nothing related to the public school system at the moment. Instead I am creating a life for myself where learning is not work, and work wears play clothes. I am deep in my interests and the ripple effect is apparent. Example, I was asked to do this presentation.

I have discovered that money is not the limiting factor when it comes to transforming dreams into realities. In my experience it is often limitations which aid creativity, though this is not necessarily the most comfortable path it has pushed me further than I ever would have gone. Here is an image to solidify that idea –

I spent six months in Europe with my dad and sister. We traveled with very loose plans, staying in 50 homes in 17 countries and teaching dance in schools. The experiences we had were extraordinary. For example, we ended up rowing 22 miles through the grand canals and around the perimeter of Venice, Italy with some Hungarian friends and two thousand other boats from around the world.

Our six months in Europe cost less than renting a house and living on Whidbey Island, and my learnings were profound.

Some of you may know my dad because he is who I live and work with, but I would also like to acknowledge my mom and all she has done for me. She lives in a nursing home in Port Townsend with Multiple Sclerosis, and has taught me the art of gentle strength, she has shown me that your time here in this functioning body may be short so waste no time and do what you love.

My problem now is that I love so many things and finding a way to do them all has proven challenging. I want to be a portrait photographer, a dance teacher, a natural cosmetic chemist, a chef, farmer, and for a while now an architect.

After one wonderful evening with a group of aspiring designers -- where we philosophize about life and design -- I was sitting in my kitchen, with my dad eating left over savory sweet potato waffles, talking about the future and I said; “ Daddy, I don’t want to be an architect – I want to be a designer of life. I want everything I do to be beautiful.”

I would like to share one more quick story: through a serendipitous set of circumstances I have recently become an apprentice to an Armenian shoemaker. We make beautiful custom dance shoes; through complex processes I am learning to transform leather in to functional works of art. This new knowledge has opened my eyes to many possibilities. You see, clothing seems doable; you can make clothing. But shoes you have to buy them in a store – honestly I had never given a thought to how shoes were made.

But now every step I take brings me closer to the life that I want to live, literally.


Hope you enjoyed, I sure did : )

Celina

Picture Post

No time for blogging. But a few pictures! Click on the photo captions for more.

Three walls up! These Sing Panels are AMAZING. Time for a lunch break. 

Working on some custom Fluer De Lis brackets.

We spent hours gluing the tiny cracks on my cedar posts, soon they will be flooring.

Tim Leonard has graciously let me work in his shop as I go off on my crazy venture with the plasma cutter and fleur de lis. The long days of sun and KEXP are quite nice I must say. : )

My table top is finished!! I can't believe it I have spent long hours working on this, and there will be many wonderful meals to come.

Dirty faced but happy after a long day of work with my Daddy, I couldn't do this without him. : )

Until later,

Celina : D

Singing Out Loud

Picking up the panels down in McCleary! Peter and Irene had not only the panels but pizza and wonderful conversations waiting for us!

It amazes me how rapid plans evolve when new knowledge is acquired. Learning about Sing Panels completely changed the way I look at building. These panels are ridged and lightweight, uniform in size and pre-insulated. After this new bit of knowledge was gained - I knew this was the best material to build my tiny house from. It just makes SENSE.

When building a house, typically the first step is to construct a frame and then apply sheathing. But working with these panels everything is backwards and inside out - in a good way. First create the shape using the panels, glue and braces, then custom fit a frame inside of that. This allows progress to be seen quite quickly. We got my walls up in two afternoons!

Thanks to Peter and Irene and Sing Panels, I am well on my way towards something more house like!

Making Progress,

Celina

Learning as a way of LIFE

Floor is partially on (it is now finished) with our set up for the tarp - it rains a lot here!

The interest and enthusiasm this project has generated so far is astonishing, and I thank anyone who has commented or emailed giving suggestions and or support. Though I would love to respond to every one of you - I have just barely started building and need to focus on making some progress!

This is a major learning experience for me in all realms of life, and one thing this has taught me is how distorted (for lack of a better word) our culture is. What I am doing is normal to me, if I want something I make it, if I don't know how to make it - I learn. It is as if I am doing this amazing thing - but it shouldn't be. This should be normal.

In our culture, children are rarely given a chance to follow their heart and do the things they love. Instead they are encouraged to do what they are told and get good grades. Because that will get them in to a good college so they can get a good job and make good money. It is all preparation for a life of grueling work, making money so when they are old they can relax. But as you may know, this plan doesn't always work out, especially in today's economy. In the past a college diploma guaranteed a good job, this is no longer true. How many people do you know whom have graduated from college who are jobless? Having a good job used to mean a comfortable retirement, right? How many people do you know who had a stable job for years whom recently got laid off? Following this path is no guarantee for "success" nowadays. Therefore give children and young adults options and let them make a choice. School does not fit everyone - in fact it fits very few. And yet creative, joy filled children are being squished to fit this mold.

The opportunities are endless. All we need to do is open our eyes and hearts to them. 

I am getting sidetracked - more on education later. Now for an update!

The floor is down! But there was a dilemma, (as there always seams to be) down the length of the chassis - 18', there is a 3/4" rise and fall. Meaning my floor would not lay flat on the chassis. We would have to get very good at shimming. But earlier that week we had been looking at some beautiful pictures a friend had taken on a trip to China. They were photographs of the old hill towns and villages, built of stone - with narrow pathways and waterways and chickens. I just couldn't stop thinking about their perfect "offkilterness". I absolutely loved it. Old houses have this quality also nothing is quite flat or square. And so I made the decision not to shim anything and lay the floor a bit crooked. In one sunny afternoon my dad (check out his crazy project here - EveryoneCanDance.com/Airfloat) and I laid the entire floor, we used deck adhesive between the plywood and the chassis and bolted it down with 143 carriage bolts. It is beautiful!

Also! I have a change of plans for the walls. Originally I was going to build a version of SIP panels with plywood and ridged insulation. BUT - last Monday morning my dad (again you should really see what he is up to - EveryoneCanDance.com/Airfloat) was trying to decide how to rebuild the walls of his trailer and remembered a product called Sing Honeycomb Panels. He went to the website of this product and it turns out there was currently some panels on clearance. So the next day we took a spontaneous trip down to McCleary, WA to see what we might. What we saw was very cool - Sing Core Patented Panels - a veneer torsion box embedded in EPS foam - very strong, durable, ridgid and light weight. Tiny house people you need to see this - SingCore.com. In the next two weeks we will be picking up the remainder of our 32 panels which were on clearance, costing us (my dad and I) $3,000 - $1,400 for my trailer the other for my dad's. Yes, I know that seems like a LOT, but retail is much higher - so we lucked out. If you add up the cost of two layers of good quality plywood, plus ridgid insulation, plus adhesive, plus studs, plus time. This actually costs less. Yes, I have tried to scrounge materials but it is not a quick process. So instead I decided to earn money and buy what I need to get rolling.

So folks - the moral of the story. Do what works for YOU to lead a healthy life, because you know yourself pretty well.

Smiles,

Celina