‘Sun Sticks & Mud’ at Authors Speak March 28

‘Paquime,’ one of the photographs in ‘Sun Sticks & Mud: 1,000 Years of Earth Building in the Desert Southwest.’ Photo by Steve Fitch

LIBRARY News:

“We Who Are Clay” activities continue with a special Mesa Public Library’s Authors Speak presentation at 7 p.m., Thursday March 28.

Authors Bart Kaltenbach and Barbara Anschel with photographer Steve Fitch will give a slide lecture as part of a much larger community wide effort organized by the Los Alamos Historical Museum.

Exhibits, events, programs and activities will continue throughout March and into April.

Authors Bart Kaltenbach and Barbara Anschel with photographer Steve Fitch have created a beautiful book, “Sun Sticks & Mud: 1,000 Years of Earth Building in the Desert Southwest.”

The books chronicles the history of habitation and architecture in the desert Southwest with a personal slant.

The area they chose is 1,000 miles by 1,000 miles from west Texas to the Pacific coast, Chihuahua, Mexico to Utah.

The book comprises essays on architectural history, including fascinating details of all manner of materials and techniques right up to new, sustainable green buildings; a travel journal of the authors’ quest to document the many structural styles and variations across state and national boundaries; and lush photographs of interesting and unusual buildings: ancient structures to cutting edge contemporary residential and commercial architecture.

The title, Sun Sticks and Mud, gives a clear indication of the focus of the materials covered.

“Mud is the unifier. It remains the very best choice for buildings of modest size and scale in the Desert Southwes … the current need for buildings to be both energy efficient and energy producing impels us to find local materials … it is generally held that close to half of the earth’s population still lives in dwellings constructed from mud in one or another of its many forms,” the authors write in the book.

The Authors Speak Series is a monthly event featuring local and statewide authors speaking about their writing on a variety of subjects such as local and state history, travel, outdoor activities, New Mexico fiction, history and culture, poetry, and more. 

The series is funded by the Friends of Los Alamos County Libraries.

 

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