Thank you all for coming to Water Salon 🌊💙 We couldn’t have done it with out you 🫶
Our delicious meal was prepared by @_challahgram of @winona_det , served on a mirrored table and in iridescent mugs made by @grmllrd , soundscape by @homaraharif , espresso served up by @dogelbows , @kitchentats stepped in as impromptu wait staff and all of it made possible by Wahnabezee, the river and you ♾️
Kirby Shoote (@_challahgram ) is a Tlingít urban farmer and cultural food worker based in Detroit, MI. Their work explores the various avenues of Indigenous food sovereignty and the ways in which ancestral practices can benefit the future. Since 2018, Kirby’s urban farm ŁEILÚ has been dedicated to fostering the growth of traditional foods and medicines. They also host place- based pop ups through their project @winona_det . These culinary explorations aim to give people a glimpse into the diversity and beauty within Native cuisine.
Kirby has prepared a stunning menu for Water Salon with ingredients from their own garden and other local producers. Come ready to eat and relax.
Water Salon
An Ephemeral Cafe
Saturday, August 2, 2025
11am-4pm EST
On the shores of
Wahnabezee / Belle Isle, Detroit
Follow the Driker Trail
(Park near the light house, and follow the Driker trail along the water. Trust your gut, but map link in bio just in case)
A portion of the profit from Water Salon will support humanitarian aid in Gaza. Free Palestine.
SEE YOU ON SATURDAY
Water Salon
An Ephemeral Cafe
Saturday, August 2, 2025
11am-4pm EST
On the shores of
Wahnabezee / Belle Isle, Detroit
Follow the Driker Trail
(Park near the light house, and follow the Driker trail along the water. Trust your gut, but map link in bio just in case)
A laid back affair meant to encourage conversations with the water and each other. We recommend putting your feet in the water, so wear clothes that you don’t mind getting wet. Or better yet, a bathing suit. Let the rocks be your table, let the river be your cooler. Bring a chair or blanket if you like.
Menu created with farm-fresh ingredients by @winona_det . Beverages served in hand-made ceramic mugs by @grmllrd . Site responsive art installation by @studio_for_now .
Food starting at 11 until it’s gone and if you get there early you can buy a drink and the mug it’s served in, together.
THIS SATURDAY
Water Salon
An Ephemeral Cafe
Saturday, August 2, 2025
11am-4pm EST
On the shores of
Wahnabezee / Belle Isle, Detroit
Follow the Driker Trail
(Park near the light house, and follow the Driker trail along the water. Trust your gut, but map link in bio just in case)
A laid back affair meant to encourage conversations with the water and each other. We recommend putting your feet in the water, so wear clothes that you don’t mind getting wet. Or better yet, a bathing suit. Let the rocks be your table, let the river be your cooler. Bring a chair or blanket if you like.
Menu created with farm-fresh ingredients by @winona_det . Beverages served in hand-made ceramic mugs by @grmllrd . Site responsive art installation by @studio_for_now .
Food starting at 11 until it’s gone and if you get there early you can buy a drink and the mug it’s served in, together.
A portion of the funds from this event will be donated to humanitarian aid in Gaza. #Freepalestine
•an ephemeral cafe/art installation on Wahnabezee (belle isle), hosted by @studio_for_now and @winona_det .
With beautiful ceramics and poster art by @grmllrd
A laid back affair meant to encourage conversations with the water and each other.
Drink, eat, look, listen, swim.
For pleasure and knowledge.
A dreamy afternoon of figure painting with @studio_for_now ! We worked through 1-, 10-, and 45-minute poses. Personally, my favorite part was watching everyone’s expressions of deep concentration hehe 🕊️
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Set design by the inimitable @ileensan and @ellenrutt Models: @cheetahshitta and @leahrutt
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#figurepainting #studiofornow #figuremodel #lifedrawing #practice #observationalpainting #watercolor #sketch
Thank you all so much for attending Building with Straw last Saturday. We’re still buzzing from the energy in the room — there is such much knowledge and experience available here in Detroit.
We dropped a few links in our bio - a compiled list of things mentioned during the talk and a google form to sign up for Detroit Strawbale Revolution newsletter and updates. (The workshop dates listed on the form are from last year, so just ignore those :)
If you have a natural build project, an idea for a workshop, or a suggestion for further study, please reach out. It is clear that many people are interested in natural building and want to learn more. Let’s keep going.
Photos by @breannwhite
This past year session moderator @dogelbows and event host @ellenrutt had the chance to participate in work days and learn about the benefits of building with Light Straw-Clay. Light Straw-Clay involves compressing a mixture of clay slip and straw into form work to create solid walls between the structural frame. The small timber frame building was designed and hand-hewn by @andiwillikins and her partner on their property in Northern Michigan 🌳♥️
On Saturday at “Building with Straw” we’ll talk about the different ways straw can be used in Michigan climates. All levels are welcome to this conversation :)
In slide 9 you’ll see our project manager carrying the angle tool, checking to make sure our corners are square 🫡📐
Professor Joe Trumpey dedicated seven years to researching natural building techniques, resulting in a sustainable home that broke ground in 2007 and emphasizes low-energy materials and off-grid living. The 2,200-square-foot residence utilizes a photovoltaic array for electricity and incorporates green design principles and primarily used materials sourced within ten miles of the site. They have not burned a gram of fossil fuel to heat the home and hot water since 2010. With significant contributions from his family, friends and students, including extensive stonework and lumber milling, the home exemplifies the combination of beauty and functionality in sustainable architecture.
On Saturday, at Building with Straw, Joe will share his experiences building, inhabiting, maintaining and repairing a straw bale home over the past 15 years.
Scenes from the Detroit Strawbale Revolution community work days this past year mixing clay and putting in the foundation for their in-progress structure.
The Detroit Strawbale Revolution aims to educate and empower Detroiters toward self-sufficiency, interdependence and sovereignty. They seek to create a future shaped by care for land, water, and people to which we belong.
Their vision for this project includes building a prototype of small multi-use a mud-and-strawbale structure. They dream of a future in which residents have full access to the materials and skills to build their own dwellings in a way that uplifts the community and enriches the environment. “We center healing, interdependence, and sustainability in our lives and believe in the transformative possibilities through environmentally-conscious natural building.”
On Saturday Strawbale Revolution collaborators Aziza K.S. Knight and Nyame Adama Selassie will share about this in-progress project, the vision for the future and some of the challenges they are working through.
It’s so exciting to see so much interest in straw bale and natural building and we are working with the venue to try stream or record the event for those who can’t attend in person. Will report back on that soon :)
About the speakers:
Aziza K.S. Knight
Nyame Adama Selassie
Joe Trumpey Moderated by Elle Gover
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Aziza K.S. Knight intelligently fuses art, intuitive spiritual coaching, and Reiki in her integrated healing practice. More commonly known as “Dr. Zee”, she has been studying and practicing spirituality, the arts and health sciences for the duration of her lifetime.
Aziza is the co-founder of Detroit Strawbale Revolution. Together with Nyame and others, they are in the process of building a mud-and-strawbale prototype and hosting community workshops.
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Nyame Adama Selassie is a mother, medicine woman, author, and activist for human and social justice and earth based sustainable living. Her life has been adventurous and colorful as she raised her children being a gangster, traveling and living in Spain, the Caribbean and U.S. She has received sacred teachings from both her African and Indigenous native roots.
She is currently involved in the movement of Eccobarrios U.S.A. through childhood education, building of a national databank of black sustainable partners in building agricultural economics, human and social justice and community building.
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Joe Trumpey is a Professor of Art at the Stamps School of Art & Design, and a Professor of Natural Resources at the School for Environment and Sustainability at the University of Michigan. Joe Trumpey dedicated seven years to researching natural building techniques, resulting in a sustainable home that broke ground in 2007 and emphasizes low-energy materials and off-grid living.
Trumpey guided students in his Green Building class in constructing the first official student-made building in Ann Arbor at the UM Campus Farm Matthaei Botanical Gardens, focusing on green building through a straw bale structure that will serves as a social space for farm activities, while learning about historical straw bale construction.
Cont. in captions
Sat. Feb 8
10am-Noon
Carhartt Workshop Free but limited spots RSVP Link Bio
Hi everyone ♥️ Join us for Building with Straw, a discussion about the benefits, challenges, and transformative potential of building with natural materials like straw and mud. In this session, we’ll explore the history of natural building and its potential revolutionary impact on housing, climate resilience, and community empowerment.
This introductory conversation is a call to action for Detroiters—and people everywhere—interested in reclaiming the skills to create housing for themselves and their community that supports both people and the planet.
Building with Straw will feature insights from Joe Trumpey, who has completed three straw bale structures in Michigan, and Aziza K.S. Knight and Nyame Adama Selassie, who are leading the Detroit Straw Bale Revolution and moderated by Elle Gover, design researcher at Bloom Housing and board member at Bale Craft. Together, we’ll discuss their experiences, share examples of completed and in-progress projects, and connect to create a growing network of natural building enthusiasts in Detroit.
Attendees will leave with:
* Understanding of the materials and methods encompassed by the term “natural building”
* An introduction to straw bale architecture and natural building practices.
* Real-life examples of existing and in-progress natural structures.
* Knowledge of how materials like mud, straw, clay, and hemp can empower us to build affordable, non-toxic, and sustainable homes and buildings that strengthen our communities.
