#Ophelias20K

New Kids on the Block

January 14, 2021

Rural Studio welcomed its newest group of 3rd-year students to Newbern last week! Many precautions are being taken and there have been several rounds of testing to ensure a healthy and happy start to the new semester. This group will continue construction on 20K Ophelia’s Home. They are eager to begin and are diving into the process and planning of construction. The students are excited to keep up the great work the past cohorts completed. They are also looking forward to adding their own stamp to Ophelia’s home.

New 3rd Years sit on the steps of the Great Hall.
Top Row: Logan Lee, Austin Black, James Foo
Middle Row: Juyeon Han, Kirby Spraggins, Ashley Wilson
Bottom Row: Wendy Webb, Drew Haley Smith, Sadie McIntyre

3rd-Year Who’s Who

An Introduction with their hometowns, favorite activities, quotes, and 3rd-year superlative.

  • Polaroid of a Student

“Most likely to make a Tiktok“
Ashley Wilson
Wetumpka, AL
Likes to play guitar and Animal Crossing
“Bruh.”

“Best mustache at Rural Studio” (self-proclaimed)
Austin Black
Birmingham, AL
Likes to cook and listen to podcasts
“…”

“Most likely to clean in her spare time“
Drew Haley Smith
Auburn, AL
Likes to knit, sew, and play the piano
“Hello, hello! :)”

“Most likely to fix the plotter“
James Foo
Marietta, GA
Likes to play video games
“Greeaaattt”

“Most likely to be a ninja“
Juyeon Han
Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul, Korea / Montgomery, AL, USA
Likes to bead rings and take photographs
“So sad”

“Most likely to be running late“
Kirby Spraggins
Southlake, TX
Likes to run and play the guitar
“I feel like Bob the Builder.”

  • Polaroid of a Student
  • Polaroid of a Student
  • Polaroid of a Student

“Most likely to make a reference to The Office”
Logan Lee
Decatur, AL
Likes to hike, eno, and do anything outside
“I miss my dog.”

“Most likely to lock the doors“
Wendy Webb
Hazel Green, AL
Likes to watch reruns of Dawson’s Creek on Netflix
“*groaning noises*”

“Most likely to go home on the weekends“
Sadie McIntyre      
Rogersville, AL
Likes to watch Netflix
“That’s a future Sadie problem.”

Our MVP’s

These two have quickly captured the hearts of the third-year group!

Most likely to sit for a pretzel
Roscoe
Newbern, Al
Likes to roam around town and hang out with Brinda
“Woof”

Most likely to steal items from the porch
Brinda
Newbern, Al
Likes to chew bag chairs left on the porch
“bark”

Group of students presents findings during pin-up on the porch of Spencer house.
The group already hard at work planning the course of action for Ms. Ophelia’s home.

Thanks for reading our blog! Keep on the lookout for new posts and exciting updates. We can’t wait to share our semester with you!

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Divide and Conquer

October 24, 2020

Woodshop Class

This week in woodshop class, the 3rd-years were able to finish their first project; Cutting Boards! Even with a less than normal Rural STudio experience, the students utilized this project as an introduction to woodworking. They gained confidence in using woodworking tools. The next two projects will be at an accelerated pace, but now the 3rd-years now have the skills to woodwork with more independence. Here is a look at each 3rd-year’s individual cutting board!

Matt Repsher
“It’s a cutting board for people”
Ethan Mejia
“Random Quadrilaterals”
DeLiang Chen
“Beverage Tray”
Ben Willcockson
“It doubles as a paddle board”
Christina Devries
“The Art of the End Grain”
Ann Sheldon
“Cheese”
Carla Slabber
“Puzzle pieces that double as coasters”

History Class

In history, students were able to visit Thornhill, a 19th century home atop a hill with a spectacular view. What makes Thornhill unique from previous tours is the people that inhabit it. The older architectural styles of the house have been maintained by its owners while new additions have been made to complement the existing structures. All of the modern spaces are designed to respect the older ones. It was very interesting for the students to see a successful and modern addition to an older home.

Images from Thornhill

Ophelia’s Home

As the semester continues, 3rd-years have split into three different groups: Framing, Enclosures, and Roof. The Framing team is constructing the final wall for the home and planning Ophelia’s porch construction. The Roof team is planning the truss installation process, the purchasing of materials, and what additional construction drawings are needed. The Enclosures team finished cutting and installing the sheathing on the walls and aided the Framing Team in the installation of the final wall. 

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You’ve Gotta Raise the Walls Before You Can Raise the Roof

October 17, 2020

Field trip with Dr. Dick Hudgens

History, Shop, and Horseshoe Courtyard

Third years continued to work diligently in the shop this week as different cutting boards slowly started to come together. They were also able to visit a mid-1800’s house in Demopolis with Dr. Hudgens. At Horseshoe farms this week, 3rd-years were able to put up the frames for the other half of the courtyard after the 5th-years worked to install the footings.

Working in the Rural Studio Wood Shop on cutting boards

Ophelia’s Home

This week students worked to put the existing walls up at Ophelia’s Home. Rural Studio also had six helical anchors installed to further stabilize the foundation and 3rd-years were able to witness the process. While wall installation went slowly in order to assure everything remained plumb, students and Mrs. Ophelia were excited to see the home return prior condition. Everyone is looking forward to further progress on the home in the weeks to come!

Re-raising the walls at Ophelia’s Home
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Winding Down to Wind Up

October 10, 2020

History and Shop

As the extended neck down schedule begins to subside, 3rd-years are starting to look at a more consistent work schedule. In history, Dr. Hudgens took students to the Gaineswood House which started out as a log cabin and after undergoing several additions by General Whitfield slowly turned into a Jeffersonian Revival style house. 

In Shop, students continued working on their cutting boards. Since access to the shop is being limited outside of class time, every minute counts!

Ophelia’s Home

With the daily sitework of neckdowns ending, the 3rd-years are transitioning into building Ophelia’s Home. They are preparing presentations about Ophelia’s Home, it’s currrent state, and how they plan to pick up where the 2020 Spring semester 3rd-years left off. They have been visiting Ophelia’s Home to map out their return to the site. 

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More Bricks, More Trees, More Slate!

October 3, 2020

Studio, Shop, and History

Students continued to work diligently on their cutting boards in Shop and completed another Design Prompt from Dr. Hudgens’ history class. In this Design Prompt, students were tasked with designing a farmhouse as well as necessary outbuildings and seed buildings. The project focused on designing these structures as they would be built in the latter half of the 19th century. In Studio, the 3rd-year students started working on their presentation of Ophelia’s Home.

Horseshoe Courtyard

With the 3rd-year work at Perry Lakes Park complete, all hands were on deck at Horseshoe Courtyard this week. 3rd-years and 5th-years worked to continue to plant trees and surrounded them with slate. Students continued to clean bricks in preparation for the brick pad. 

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