Welcome to the Cob Blog! This is a collaborative project between Edison Elementary School and the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art.  Enjoy visiting our blog site.  We will be updating as the project progresses.  Leave a comment or email me if you have any questions or suggestions.  Nori Rice norikor@uoregon.edu.

This blog site is a product of Eric Schiff’s Comparative Technology Course for Arts Administration at the University of Oregon.

Nori Rice is a graduate student in Arts Administration at the University of Oregon.  As an art education intern at the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art she taught classes to students at Edison Elementary School during the 2013/2014 school year.  Nori was born and raised in Eugene and completed her undergraduate degree at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, BC.

Since returning to Eugene Nori has reconnected to her roots.  She lives in the Whiteaker area and enjoys biking and gardening as well as participating with local artists in the monthly art-walks.  In keeping with sustainable practices and exploring creative placemaking Nori is leading the first cob project at Edison.

 

Thomas Horn was born in Eugene, Oregon and raised in Kihei Maui, Hawaii.  He attended the University of Oregon for both his undergraduate and graduate degrees.  His teaching career began at Winston Churchill High School in Eugene, Oregon where he served six years on the faculty teaching Special Education and English.  In 2003, Tom was awarded the Christine Anne Gillesse Teacher of the Year award.  Tom has taught as an adjunct faculty instructor at The University of Oregon and Pacific University for the past decade and continues to work closely with the University of Oregon’s administrative leadership program, teaching classes and mentoring future administrators.

In 2007 Tom became the principal of the Kennedy School of Sustainability, an alternative high school in rural Cottage Grove, Oregon.  Tom facilitated creative and systemic change at Kennedy, which led to large increases in graduation rates and college enrollment.  His work at Kennedy has garnered national attention for its success in helping to dramatically decrease drop out rates and increase overall student retention.  Tom continues to speak widely on the challenges of building sustainable educational communities and place and project based education.  Two years ago he became the principal of Edison Elementary in Eugene, Oregon.

Tom is an avid surfer and beekeeper, and you can find him biking and climbing many of the Cascade Range Mountains throughout the year.

Louise Southwell is a British architect with a passion for using the materials readily available around us to create beautiful homes and artwork. She has 6 years experience working across 3 continents and has helped with the design and construction of structures using adobes, straw bales, cob and many other traditional building techniques. She is currently apprenticing as a Teacher in Training at Cob Cottage Company; the founders of the Natural Building movement in North America. With this training, she aims to empower and facilitate communities to be creative with natural materials as a means to inspire self sufficiency, mindfulness and happiness.