Common Ground
‘Turbary’ and ‘Marling’ – The right to dig soil and collect clay from common ground.
.....sieving...
....drying.....
...wedging....
...test firings....
For the past two years I have been working with ‘wild clay’ dug from common land and land that has been enclosed by the church, crown and landed aristocracy. I dig surface clay which I process and use to make natural pigments, pastels, clay bodies and glazes. I then make artefacts which invite us to see the world differently and tell new stories about our ‘green and pleasant land’. This includes kiln fired tiles and plates and paintings.
Collecting ‘wild clay’ dug from common land and land that has been enclosed by the church, crown and landed aristocracy involves background research. This includes looking at old tithe maps https://www.kypwest.org.uk (‘Know your Place’), modern OS maps, walking public footpaths, online information, libraries, museums, county, church and estate archives and landowners themselves. Sometimes I seek permission, sometimes not.
Making contact with landowners, community stakeholders and estate managers with the exception of the Church of England has been very positive. My clay collecting trips and research to date, are logged in writing and photos.
This work is informed and inspired by the Right to Roam campaign and Land Justice Network in the UK as well as broader debates around the social, emotional and environmental legacies of European colonialism.
References:
Corinne Fowler (2024) Our Island Stories. Penguin.
Nick Hayes (2020) The Book of Trespass. Bloomsbury.
Nick Hayes (2022) The Trespassers Companion. Bloomsbury.
Marion Shoard (1987) -This Land is Our Land.The Struggle for Britains Countryside. Paladin.
Guy Shrubsole (2019) Who Owns England? William Collins Books.
Sathnam Sanghera (2020) Empireland. How Imperialism has Shaped Modern Britain. Penguin.
My son George helps me to collect the clay. George is a sound artist and he also makes recordings of our trips out. We work together to research the background to the places we visit.
George is also developing a podcast which will include descriptive commentary, historical information and ambient sound recordings made in situ and then edited in his studio. You can find more out about his work here - www.esionnoise.com
...re-imagining the commons-one bucket of mud at a time...
Typically we cycle to collect clay – a few kilos at a time - and dig about a spades depth. We always ‘make good’ where we have dug and leave only footsteps.
I am using this clay to make a series of tiles and plates decorated using slip and stencils*. The images relate to the history of the land that the clay was dug from with particular reference to the removal of the rights of commoners and the legacies of European colonialism.
Common Ground- Clay Tile Series
The Right Of Brakes
Tipu’s Tiger *
*With special thanks to Edwin Morris for his patience and bespoke stencil designs.
The Right to Ferae Nature
Lost Property *
Progress on this is slow. Research firings take time, and most of the clay I collect is unstable and needs the addition of a clay body and bentonite to make it useable. I am also working on a series of clay paintings as described in ‘land-scapes’.
References:
Hamer F & Hamer J (2015) The Potters Dictionary of Materials & Techniques Bloomsbury
……processing wild clay..…..
…….making clay bodies........
Places I have collected clay from:
1. Ashley Vale Allotments -Bristol.
2. Bagborough Estate Somerset
(with thanks to & permission from Philip Brook-Popham)
3. Badminton Estate
4. Combe Martin – River Umber
5. Duchy of Cornwall Estate- Newton Park Bath
(with thanks to and permission from the Estate Managers)
6.Fremington Quay , North Devon -Fremington Ochre
Fremington Quay , North Devon -‘Poor Mans Grey’
Fremington Quay, North Devon – estuary buff
7. Harewood House – Yorkshire
( with thanks to Trevor Nicholson (head gardener)/ Harewood House Trust)
8.Hornblotton Somerset
(church glebe land where tithes were gathered for Wells Cathedral)
9. Greencliff and Abbotsham -North Devon Bideford Black
10. Goose Green and Siston Common .Bristol
11.Magpie Bottom Nature Reserve Kingswood
12.Millies Garden -Kingswood (former allotments)
13. Ogmore Castle - Duchy of Lancaster
14. Packers Allotments. Bristol)
15.Powys Castle Estate (now National trust)
16.Rodway Common (Bristol)
17.Royal Forest of Dean
(with thanks to freeminer Rich Daniels and local historian Ian Wright)
18. Severn Beach
19.Stoke Park Estate
(formerly part of the Duke of Beaufort’s estate now common land)
20. Warmley Common (Bristol)
..…….and pigments.….....