A team of ceramic art students from Cardiff School of Art And Design travelled to the Green Man Festival to make a Cob sculpture. Their live -in-the-mud report was delayed but we’re thrilled to have the first part today.

The first teaser appeared as a CoCA ReThink post in August: Green Man Festival

Day One | Sunday 16 August

Jennifer Hawthorn

 

I was so excited to be accepted onto the cob building crew. I hadn’t done any cob sculpture before this summer, I was taught the technique at a practice run with Imogen Higgins in Hailey Park, Cardiff, in June.

On Sunday 16 August, we went to a site on the outskirts of Cardiff to dig the red clay we would be using for the red dragon part of the sculpture. This was a beautiful experience for us all because digging this incredibly powerful material straight out of the ground gives you a strong connection with the earth, and an understanding of the origin and process of obtaining clay.

Our design for the build, submitted by Jane Plahe, was of two dragon sculptures from the ‘Tale of Two Dragons’ a Welsh Myth. One would be built from our self sourced red clay and the other Buff White Clay generously sponsored by Potclays Ltd.

Day Two | Monday 17 August

Jennifer Hawthorn

We arrived on the site of the Green Man and were struck by the beauty of the surroundings, I had never really been into the Brecon Beacons. The festival was situated perfectly with rolling hills all around.

 

We transferred all the clay, which included the 35 or so bags of dug-up red clay, many bags of sand and two marquees. This was very physical work but despite being tired we were very excited to get started on the build the next day!

Day Three | Tuesday 18 August

Jack McGonigle

 

Tuesday was our first day of interaction with the festival-goers which only consisted of other crew at that stage. We began by splitting our team of six into two, one mixed the red dug clay as we knew it would be the tougher of the two clays to mix, the other group made bundles of straw bound by string to make the skeleton of the two dragons.

Just after starting this we set up a couple of gazebos as we had heard the weather would turn that night… and so it did!

Jane Plahe

The dragons were planned to be about 10 meters long and make a pleasing snaky, interlocking form. Sufficient space had to be allowed for three layers of cob and a layer of detail over the straw. It took time to consider the position of limbs and wings and the curve of the bodies. I think that in such a big space, the sculpture ought to be harmonious from a distance, as well as at close quarters.

We were trying to make a piece that spoke of the place, materially and was interesting, thought provoking and interactive, as well as fitting the green ethos of the festival.

Straw was used for the underpinning structure around which the cob was placed. We mixed in extra straw with the clay, squash it into slabs and this mix should be good for tucking under limbs and body for bulk.

Different density of straw compounds also meant that some parts of the structure moved too much when the cob went on. It was important to remember to keep stepping back to view the sculpture as it built up and to keep its contours in the right place.