The Cob Pizza Oven 

Number of Students: up to 12.

Cost: $200

The Project

Check out Kyle’s recent cob oven article in Mother Earth News Magazine

This workshop takes place over two Saturdays in June on idyllic San Juan Island in the Salish Sea. The San Juan archipelago is tucked between the coast of Washington and mainland Canada and Vancouver Island.

Building an oven with a group is really fun for us: not only do we get to create a one-of-a-kind sculptural piece while sharing all the basics of natural building, but we also get to teach how to use it at our class pizza party at the end of the second day.

Building an oven is a great project for the beginning natural builder or if you need a refresher. In building an oven we use so many of the basic techniques from cob to slip-straw to plasters. On the first day we’ll go into depth about the materials used for natural building, build the base and leveling layer, lay the fire bricks and floor insulation, build the sand dome, and shape the oven cob layer.

While we’re building the oven, we’ll also teach other natural building techniques throughout the two days. This might include how a rubble trench works, basics of earth bags, adobe brick making, and infill techniques like cordwood cob, light straw clay (slip-straw), and bale-cob. We’ll demonstrate and take time for plastering from base coats to finishes, play with clay paints, and try some carving and sculpting.

On the second day we’ll build the entrance tunnel (maybe a chimney, if we decide on that), cut open the doorway and remove the sand. We’ll build an attractive wooden oven door and cover the cob layer with slip-straw for insulation. Last, we’ll mix up a basecoat (or “fix-all”) to cover the slip-straw. At the end of the day we’ll fire it up for a pizza party so students get hands-on experience using a cob oven.

If you’re curious about natural and earthen building and want to test the waters before taking a longer course, this is the opportunity for you.

Each participant will receive Kyle’s book, “Build it with Earth: the Cob Pizza Oven” in the mail prior to the course.

About the Site

Alchemy Art Center is a nonprofit community art center on San Juan Island in operation since 2018. Its facilities include a communal ceramics studio, a photography darkroom, and a printmaking studio. They also have a 35 ft geodesic dome which functions as a gallery, yoga studio, classroom and event space. They’re excited to learn about building with earth and we’re excited to see how these artists and sculptors run with it!

The weather in June is sunny and warm with a chance of rain.

Lodging

There is no lodging included in the class. We expect most participants will be from San Juan Island.

Registration, Payment, & Refunds

This workshop requires a $100 deposit to hold your space. When a deposit is made, Kyle will send a welcome email to you, mail out a copy of his cob oven book, and get you in the email loop for future details.

Go here to make a Venmo deposit or send a check for $100 made out to “Cobitat” to 2055 McCloud Avenue, Reno, NV 89512. Full payments are also gladly accepted.

Deposit is refundable (minus $20 for the book if it’s already been shipped to you) until six weeks before the start of the class. If you cancel with less than six weeks before the start of the class and your spot can be filled, we will issue a refund minus book costs. If it can’t be filled, your deposit will not be refunded.

Full payment is requested two weeks before the class starts.