Before and during the art farm project, a cob wall, made by mixing a clayey subsoil with straw and water, rose up from ground level and curved round the tree in two sweeps, culminating in a circular twinkly cob turret-to-be.

Cob making started at the beginning of May in accordance with the old adage of only making cob between when swallows come and go - the weather is usually too cold and wet for each lift of cob to dry outside these times.

The other important thing about cob is for it to have a 'gud 'at an' a gud butt' to keep the rain from entering the core. A concrete plinth was built out of the red earth on site (it looked like gorgeous chocolate cake mix!) and the stone base from left-overs from the stone wall made for the previous art farm event. Old tarpaulin was cut to form a damp proof course. It could be 'capped off' in a variety of ways, such as using old pond liner covered with turf.

A steeply sloping twinkly roof, with a sparkling pinnacle of about 2,000 redundant CDs, has been designed for the turret. This may be made of wood reused from the straw bale building erected at the last art farm and pantiles handmade out of redundant wood.

The turret area mosaic floor was made from copper piping, stone, broken tiles and slate found on the farm. The spiral pattern evokes the stirring of milk which then flows out and down a drain. The 'twinkly' splotts represent milk droplets and coins. We pay so little for our daily pints that it is not worth the dairy farmers' while to take unsubsidised milk to market, so they simply throw it down the drain.

Nearly all the material to make the cob wall and turret was sourced on site and the structure itself is completely recyclable. The owners of the site are currently deciding the fate of the structure post art farm.

The cob group project helped to preserve rural crafts, marrying these skills with art. It has been an opportunity to learn crafts, such as stone walling and cob, and stretch abilities and outlook on what can be achieved. It was also jolly good fun to get stuck into the gloopy red goo; children certainly enjoyed jumping up and down on it to mix and compress it onto the walls!

Project co-ordinators:
Gill Greatorex 01626 779628 greatrocks@btinternet.com
Chris Howard 01626 834403 rusticchris@hotmail.com
Mosaic produced by:
Anne Read 01647 441171 anne@mostlymosaic.com