If today’s millennials are a resurgence of a retro period of the 60’s and 70’s with the move back to nature, to communes and a free happy life…. If DIY and building with the earth… all natural and local grown are the trends of today, where did it all begin? You could say that Sun Ray Kelly is the original that the world is trying to copy…
“He’s a fellow that I can only describe as Michael Reynolds meets Isaiah Zagar meets Alan Kimble Fahey meets your cousin Phil who disappeared into the woods 15 years ago.” Said MNN Writer Matt Hickman “He’s not your average barefoot, chain-smoking, nature-obsessed green builder. Take a tour of SunRay Kelley’s woodsy compound filled with homes built from natural materials and seemingly imported from another time and place.”…
Just because the man looks relaxed, and easy going doesn’t mean he’s a lazy hippie. He has done more than his fair share of hard work…
Kelley lives and works on a woodsy homestead hidden away somewhere in rural Washington state, but his curious and folksy creations might as well be out of a J.R.R. Tolkien novel…
Growing up in the wild hills of the Pacific Northwest, it seems like SunRay was always building something. His favorite source of inspiration and materials is the woods around him, ‘God’s Hardware Store’ as he calls it. When working on a project it is not uncommon to see him pick up a saw and head off into the woods looking for the right piece of wood to present itself. If he says anything, he’ll mumble ‘I’m going shopping.’
Love it. Sure, it’s easy to dismiss Kelley as a rambling, shoeless eccentric living on some kind of bizarre compound in the woods (which he is), but he’s also a visionary of the highest order (and somewhat legendary amongst green builders). In tune with the “magic” of the natural world and excited to share his unique perspective with others, Kelley is no doubt one of a kind. (Via OffGridQuest, some photography by Rachael Renee Additional Source: MNN)
If you like this idea, be sure to share it with your friends and inspire someone you know. Anything becomes possible with just a little inspiration…
