April 22, 2003
Here, Sabine is placing tiles. Most of the pool will have a white plaster surface, but the waterline and the step edges will be tiled with green-blue tiles. Note the nautilus tile next to the kissing hole. This motif reflects the shape of the pool itself. A few small tiles will continue the spiral pattern on the floor of the pool. It isn't apparent in this photo, but Sabine is standing in an inch or so of cold water. It has been raining for days and groundwater seeps in through the concrete. The concrete provides structural integrity for the pool, but is somewhat porous. The inner coat of plaster will provide a water barrier once it is applied. This is pretty much the way ancient mikvehs and water storage cisterns were constructed: a pool was cut into the living rock or perhaps into unconsolidated material (in which case it was lined with rock) and then made watertight with a layer of plaster.