Mark

Information de voyage

Actuellement, je suis

Les activités qui m'intéressent :

I am a stonemason and timber framer. I specialize in restoration work of old buildings and furniture and that is what I want to do through Workaway! I like working in a team and prefer small towns.

Description

Hi! I'm Mark. When I WorkAway I seek to do traditional craftwork. I am a third generation craftsman working in stone and wood my whole life (see examples of my work in my photos :). I am a skilled stone mason and very much prefer to work "dry", without mortar. Just stones. I love to fit stones together! I have studied dry walling with the Dry Stone Wallers Assoc. of Great Britain (DSWA). I enjoy and am very good at designing a new project and creating it from nothing and repairing/restoring existing stone work. I am a competent brick and block layer (with mortar), have repaired chimneys, steps, walls etc.

I have considerable experience with timber framing having built many barn and house frames from scratch but I prefer to make structural repairs to antique frames (see in photos). I have lifted many buildings, made very substantial repairs and then set them back down again...very carefully! This is very challenging and methodical work and I enjoy it very much. I was a member of an international team of framers building a synagogue replica in Poland, an office building in England and various public and private structures in the U.S.A.

I have over 20 years experience restoring antique furniture... mostly American pieces from the 17th-20th century vintage. I also make furniture from scratch (like my Sicilian grandfather and my father!) ... including Windsor chairs.

I have some experience with natural plastering as I have applied lath and lime-based plaster to three substantial buildings...one is quite a large barn.

I am quite competent at blacksmithing and moderately capable with welding and fabrication.

More recently I have begun designing and building bicycle-powered machines for processing grains (see photos). I was inspired to do this during a trip to Colombia and it's very rewarding.

I enjoy a challenge, problem solving and finding solutions!

I have 8 siblings and 26 nieces and nephews!...so I am very good with people and have a lot of patience. I am excellent with children. My friends call me the "baby whisperer". For five years I was a teacher of teenagers at an organic farm. I taught them construction skills and together we built several substantial and pragmatic buildings.

I attended Rhode Island School of Design in the U.S.A. and spent one year based in Rome for an honors, independent study program. I have relatives in Sicily and Calabria. I have been to about 14 countries, mostly Europe.

I love teamwork and having the opportunity to offer my skills for a good cause. I also require some alone time almost every day.

I do not smoke and have little patience for cigarette smoke. I am drug free including legal drugs. I don't smoke marijuana but I don't mind if you do. I practice and study natural medicine. I rarely drink alcohol.

Centres d’intérêt

Art et design

Cuisine et alimentation

Histoire

Activités en plein air

Soin des plantes

Végétarien ou végan

Nature

Langues

Randonnée

Ferme

Bricolage / artisanat

Architecture

Menuiserie

Voile / bateau

Yoga / bien-être

Culture

Langues

Langues parlées
Anglais: Courant
Espagnol: Débutant
Italien: Débutant

Plus de détails sur les langues qui m'intéressent
Ce workawayer a indiqué qu’il souhaitait faire partager sa ou ses propre(s) langue(s) ou en apprendre une nouvelle. Veuillez le contacter directement pour en discuter.

Trouver un partenaire de langue

Compétences et connaissances que j'aimerais partager ou apprendre

J'ai des connaissances :  

Jardinage d'entretien

Aider dans une ferme

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Je peux apprendre aux autres :  

Projets DIY créatifs

Baby-sitting et jeux créatifs

Éco-projets

Projets artistiques

Enseignement

Quelles sont vos compétences ?

natural building (stone, wood, clay, straw, brick)
stone wall building/repair
timber framing
restoration/structural repair
antique furniture restoration
furniture design/making
cooking
gardening/farming
animals
drawing

Âge

53

Informations complémentaires

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  Fumeur

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  Permis de conduire

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  Allergies

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  Régime alimentaire spécial