• About
    • About Us
    • What We Cover
  • Advertise
    • Advertise
    • Our Advertisers
  • Contact
  • Donate
  • Send News
  • Subscribe

Oak Ridge Today

  • Home
  • Sign in
  • News
    • Business
    • Community
    • Education
    • Government
    • Health
    • Police and Fire
    • U.S. Department of Energy
    • Weather
  • Sports
    • High School
    • Middle School
    • Recreation
    • Rowing
    • Youth
  • Entertainment
    • Arts
    • Dancing
    • Movies
    • Music
    • Television
    • Theater
  • Premium Content
  • Obituaries
  • Classifieds




Volunteers to learn karesansui raking techniques for Friendship Bell Garden

Posted at 2:28 pm October 17, 2019
By Kay Brookshire Leave a Comment

Gene Patterson, center, of CNS Y-12, watches as volunteers rake designs in the karesansui garden at the International Friendship Bell in Oak Ridge. (Submitted photo)

 

Volunteers who are designing and maintaining the new Japanese dry landscape garden at the International Friendship Bell Peace Pavilion received special rakes for the garden earlier this summer from Consolidated Nuclear Security, the contractor for the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge.

CNS-Y12 presented the volunteers with rakes featuring stainless steel blades, made by craftspeople at Y-12 especially for the karesansui garden, which features patterns in fine gravel raked around boulders or stones, a press release said.

“We believe these are the first stainless steel rakes to be used in these traditional karesansui gardens, a centuries-old garden tradition,” said Pat Postma, co-chair of the International Friendship Bell Citizens Advisory Committee. “The rakes have traditionally been made from wood, but I find the weight of the stainless steel rakes makes deeper furrows and longer-lasting designs. CNS and Y-12 continued Oak Ridge’s tradition of innovation by creating these rakes with stainless steel blades. We are glad that CNS offered to make these for us.”

The first rakes for the Oak Ridge garden were made by woodworker Duane Starr. He crafted a ceremonial rake of exotic woods to be used for special occasions, the press release said. He also made five traditional white oak rakes for everyday use in the karesansui garden.

“Duane came up with the idea of using stainless steel for the rake blades, thinking about durability and precision,” Postma said.

Advertisement

Starr, retired from Oak Ridge National Laboratory, where he was a research and development staff member in the National Security Sciences Directorate, suggested contacting CNS to see if someone there could create the blades needed for the rakes. CNS readily agreed, the press release said.

“Oak Ridge is a great community, and CNS is a part of this community,” said Gene Patterson, community relations lead for CNS at Y-12. “Building and contributing the rakes for the karesansui garden at the International Friendship Bell is a way for CNS to give back and support efforts that are important to Oak Ridge.”

Craftspeople from Y-12 who constructed the stainless steel rakes were Sanford Freeman, a painter; Chris Curran and Wesley Roland, carpenters; and Jessie Cox and Hunter Evans, sheet metal workers.

Home Depot in Oak Ridge also has donated Masonite rakes for the dry landscape garden. Shawn Boothe, assistant operations manager there, devised rake blades from Masonite and used handle and braces from squeegees, providing several replacement blades for use when needed, the press release said.

More than 30 volunteers, who are called curators of the garden, learned the art of raking patterns in fine gravel for karesansui gardens last January from Martin McKellar, Asian garden specialist at the University of Florida’s Harn Art Museum. McKellar volunteered to care for a karesansui garden there after he retired from the university’s International Center, knowing little about the gardens when he started.

Interested in learning more, McKellar has traveled to Japan 11 times to question karesansui gardeners as he studied their raking patterns and gardens. An author of several articles on the gardens, he presented a program on karesansui gardens at the University of Tennessee Arboretum in January before spending a weekend training the new volunteer gardeners, the press release said.

Postma had read about McKellar and the gardens, inviting him here to help establish a karesansui garden at the International Friendship Bell Peace Pavilion, the release said.

“The Karesansui Contemplation Garden at the Bell site is a way for us as residents to disengage from our busy lives and rebalance for a minute or an hour. A second practice garden is a way for the community to physically engage with the Bell site and the Peace Pavilion,” Postma said.

Duane Starr displays the exotic wood rake he made for the karesansui garden at the International Friendship Bell Peace Pavilion in Oak Ridge. (Submitted photo)

Oak Ridge Today distinguishes between news stories and press releases/public service announcements. We cover all news stories as we can. (You can see what we cover here.) We may prioritize press releases or public service announcements from subscribers, advertisers, and sponsors. This press release was submitted by a subscriber or advertiser to Oak Ridge Today.

Oak Ridge Today distinguishes between news stories and press releases/public service announcements. We cover all news stories as we can. (You can see what we cover here.) We may prioritize press releases or public service announcements from subscribers, advertisers, and sponsors. This press release was submitted by a subscriber or advertiser to Oak Ridge Today.

More information will be added as it becomes available.

You can contact John Huotari, owner and publisher of Oak Ridge Today, at (865) 951-9692 or [email protected]

Most news stories on Oak Ridge Today are free, brought to you by Oak Ridge Today with help from our advertisers, sponsors, and subscribers. This is a free story. Thank you to our advertisers, sponsors, and subscribers. You can see what we cover here.


Do you appreciate this story or our work in general? If so, please consider a monthly subscription to Oak Ridge Today. See our Subscribe page here. Thank you for reading Oak Ridge Today.

Copyright 2019 Oak Ridge Today. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Filed Under: Community, U.S. Department of Energy, Y-12 National Security Complex Tagged With: CNS, Consolidated Nuclear Security, Duane Starr, Gene Patterson, International Friendship Bell, karesansui garden, Pat Postma, Peace Pavilion, Y-12 National Security Complex

Advertisements

 

Join the club!

If you appreciate our work, please consider subscribing. Besides helping us, your subscription will give you access to our premium content.

Most of our stories are free, brought to you by Oak Ridge Today with help from our members—advertisers, subscribers, and sponsors.

But some are premium content, available only to members. Those are in-depth, investigative, or exclusive stories that are available only on Oak Ridge Today. They generally require at least four hours to report, write, and publish.

You can subscribe for as little as $5 per month.

You can read more about your options here.

We currently offer five primary subscription options to readers, and they include benefits.

Basic

  • Basic monthly subscription ($5 per month)—access premium content
  • Basic annual subscription ($60 per year)—access premium content

Pro

  • Pro monthly subscription ($10 per month)—access premium content, get breaking news emails first, and submit one press release or public service announcement per month
  • Pro annual subscription ($100 per year)—save $20 per year, access premium content, get breaking news emails first, and submit one press release or public service announcement per month

Temporary

  • Temporary access ($3 per week for two weeks)

We also have advanced subscription options. You can see them here.

We also accept donations. You can donate here.

If you prefer to send a check for a subscription or donation, you may do so by mailing one to:

Oak Ridge Today
P.O. Box 6064
Oak Ridge, TN 37831

Thank you for your consideration and for reading Oak Ridge Today. We appreciate your support.

Commenting Guidelines

We welcome comments, but we ask you to follow a few guidelines:

1) Please use your real name, including last name. Please also use a valid e-mail address.
2) Be civil. Don't insult others, attack their character, or get personal.
3) Stick to the issues.
4) No profanity.
5) Keep your comments to a reasonable length and to a reasonable number per article.

We reserve the right to remove any comments that violate these guidelines. Comments held for review, usually from those posting for the first time, may not post if they violate these guidelines. Thank you for your patience and understanding. Thank you also for reading Oak Ridge Today and for participating in the discussion.

More information is available here.

More Community News

Update on downtown Oak Ridge Tuesday

A city official will give an update on the proposed development of downtown Oak Ridge during a lunchtime meeting Tuesday. The presentation will be led by Wayne Blasius, director of the Oak Ridge Planning and … [Read More...]

Experience world cultures at Children’s Museum International Festival

Flamenco, Irish, and Greek dancers will be among entertainers at the International Festival on Saturday, February 26, at the Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge. A special guest from Ireland, musician and singer Fionan Casey, … [Read More...]

Expungements to be discussed March 1

A partner in a Knoxville law firm will discuss conviction expungement during a virtual talk sponsored by an Oak Ridge organization March 1. The information about expungement will be presented by Wade V. Davies, … [Read More...]

Breakfast with Legislators on Feb. 28

The first Breakfast with the Legislators this year is scheduled for Monday morning, February 28. The breakfast will be virtual, and it scheduled from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m. It has been organized by the League of Women … [Read More...]

Supreme Court justice to discuss WWII POWs

Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Sharon Lee will discuss the compelling stories of five American soldiers captured and held as prisoners of war by the Germans during World War II during a lunchtime meeting next week, a … [Read More...]

More Community

More U.S. Department of Energy News

DOE, UCOR to highlight ETTP transformation, opportunities

The U.S. Department of Energy and its contractor UCOR will highlight the transformation of the East Tennessee Technology Park (the former K-25 site) and discuss the economic opportunities there during a virtual event on … [Read More...]

CROET president tells Oak Ridge story on national podcast

Teresa Frady, president of the Community Reuse Organization of East Tennessee, is the Spotlight Interview guest on this week’s episode of the Gone Fission Nuclear Report podcast, which covers U.S. Department of … [Read More...]

Workers devise strategies to clean up high-risk contaminated lab at ORNL

Innovation has been required as federal cleanup crews work to deactivate and demolish the final portion of the former Radioisotope Development Laboratory at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The structure is known as the … [Read More...]

Controlled burns scheduled on Oak Ridge Reservation

Controlled burns are scheduled on the U.S. Department of Energy Oak Ridge Reservation. "The public should expect to see some smoke from this activity," a press release said. "However, smoke in this and other areas in … [Read More...]

Scientist-entrepreneur to talk about regenerative medicine, potential COVID treatment

A former molecular geneticist at Oak Ridge National Laboratory will discuss regenerative medicine and a potential treatment for severe COVID-19 disease patients and those who struggle with "long haul" symptoms. The talk … [Read More...]

More DOE

Recent Posts

  • Rocky Top woman pleads guilty to murder, sentenced to life
  • REAC/TS welcomes new team members: John Crapo, Josh Hayes and David Quillen
  • NASA Postdoctoral Program seeks early career and senior scientists for prestigious fellowships at its locations across the U.S.
  • ORAU names Brandon Criswell associate general counsel
  • Update on downtown Oak Ridge Tuesday
  • TVA has virtual open house for Clinch River Nuclear Site
  • Science and supercomputers at ORNL topic of Mar. 8 talk
  • First Presbyterian offers free meals & groceries on Mar. 10
  • Secret City Academy student charged with terrorism after alleged shooting, bomb threats
  • ORHS Masquers presents ‘Into the Woods’

Search Oak Ridge Today

About Us

About Oak Ridge Today
What We Cover

How To

Advertise
Subscribe

Contact Us

Contact Oak Ridge Today

Copyright © 2022 Oak Ridge Today