This week, Dick Hudgens sent his students on a quick trip back to Hale County (digitally, of course). The 3rd-years drafted and watercolored the J.W. Otts House, located in Greensboro, Alabama. These drawings keep getting better each week! Here are some beautiful examples of their hard work:
student’s rendering of Ophelia’s kitchen cabinetry design
We’re now in the home stretch! Students are vigorously working toward a quickly-approaching end of the semester. We have just about one week left. Everyone is pitching in to fine tune their drawings and produce a book that will explain the process of building cabinets for a Rural-Studio-built home.
The class has drastically changed over the last month: a woodshop class is now unable to actually work in the Studio’s shop. So, the class determined that next best thing to real fabrication is to build a virtual instruction guide that will help the future Rural Studio cabinet builders.
All the great work that was done prior to the COVID-19 Pandemic is now enabling everyone to work from their homes, whether they be in Alabama or even South Korea. Zoom video calls are amazing things! Students are working to create a book that includes in-depth drawings and instructions on how to build a set of cabinets. Stay safe and stay tuned for a more in-depth look into the final book!
This time around, Dick gave his students an extra week to finish their sketches. Over the past week, the 3rd-years traveled across the interwebs to sketch and watercolor Thornhill in Forkland, Alabama. Check out their beautiful work:
A lot has happened since the last Cabinet Class blog! Rural Studio has transitioned their classrooms to remote learning for the remainder of the semester, in response to concerns about the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19). Anyone see that coming? Not us.
To keep everyone safe, class is now being held on an online video platform. Obviously, this will change what is expected from students for the rest of the semester. Unfortunately, in accordance with Auburn University regulations, the Studio has put all on-site construction on hold, which includes 20K Ophelia’s Home. As a result of all of these changes, this class will regretfully be unable to fabricate their cabinets this semester.
This change in plans, however, will not stop the class from powering forward! Teams are now working remotely to finalize the design of their cabinets. With their final designs, students will create thorough sets of construction drawings and instructions for the use of Ophelia and Rural Studio. Hopefully, at the end of April, this class will have all components needed to build the cabinets, so the next class can construct cabinets when the Studio is able to return to the shop. Steve and Chelsea are excited to see the beautiful fabrication drawings this semester creates!
This week’s History Class focused on Kenworthy Hall in Marion, Alabama. Because 3rd-year students are unable to physically visit the home, Dick has provided them with HABS (Historic American Building Survey) drawings of each building. Students are using these drawings–predominantly elevations–to draft their own versions. Here is an assortment of this week’s watercolor sketches: