2023 Award in Craft - Blain Snipstal
Image of Blain Snipstal at work, photo: Malcolm Williams
Blain Snipstal
he/him | Brandywine, MD | Timber Framer + Designer
www.earthboundbuilding.com | @earthboundbuilding
About the Artist
Blain Snipstal is a Timberframer, father, partner and worker-owner of Earth Bound Building. Earth bound building specializes in timber framing, natural building and custom carpentry. Blain has over 12 years of lived experience in farming and land-based organizing both domestically and internationally. He has come to find that timber framing, natural building and sustainable agriculture are from the same seed. He was an organic farmer for over 10 years and draws on this experience to help build agricultural buildings that are environmentally friendly, beautiful and sustainable. He has a love for wood and all things nature. Wood is the medium by which he can explore his connection with nature and with people.
About the Work
Cultural Traditions - I am connected to timber framing out of pure love and appreciation of the craft and i am also part of the cultural legacy of black folks who had a hand in this craft. I am part of several collective projects - Earth-Bound Building (Co-owner) and BDFC (Black dirt Farm Collective). These spaces have fueled my love of popular education, so teaching workshops in Timber Framing has been a continuation of love for community education.
The relationship to my material - Using wood, harvested from local timber is a core part of our company's work - Earth-Bound Building. We have a reverence for wood. We strive to build buildings that are ecological, practical and beautiful.
Blain Snipstal, A Farmer's Pavilion - Triangle Land Conservancy, 2023, Species - Eastern White Pine, White Oak, Red Oak, Poplar, Hickory, and Red Maple, 40x60 foot, Raleigh, NC
Blain Snipstal, The Family Hang-out - Backyard artisanal pergola, 2022, Southern Yellow Pine - Sourced from Southern MD, 14'x18'x9' tall, Mt. Rainer
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The Maxwell/Hanrahan Foundation Awards in Craft recognizes practitioners committed to material mastery and exploration with practices encompassing the stewardship of living cultural traditions, unique insight in material study, and the advancement of craft at the intersection of other fields including science.
