The Bench - First Coat

The Bench - First Coat, originally uploaded by Robbi Baba.

This morning I headed back over to Dave and Annelies's to get the first coat of plaster on the bench. We were joined by Donna and Karen and had it done by 3pm.
Dave had screened quite a bit of their clay soil with a 1/8" screen--it was lovely, like coffee grounds! We were able to mix the dry ingredients by hand, the soil was so fluffy.
I think it took four wheelbarrow batches. It went on much like cake frosting and I think we all had a lot of fun doing it.
I've worked with cement stucco before, and I have to say, this earthen plaster is a joy to work with. It's very forgiving, easy to apply and to clean up.
Even this first rough coat sort of pulled the bench together as an entity. Especially since the cob had different colored layers and was pocked with a million holes. At the end, I think we were all surprised by how lovely it looks.
I can't wait for it to dry, so we can do the finish coat. Donna asked "So, is this bench a living thing?" It really feels like it is.