Wattle and Daub
Using the woodland and the natural resources to build a look out wall - exploring heritage crafts for myself whilst also creating an interactive sculpture, inviting people to engage with it.
I’m building a structure that I can Wattle and Daub on to – this means creating a latticework base structure (wattle) and adding clay, soil, and traditionally a dung mixture (daub) to build the wall. I coppiced some straight hazel rods and used this natural archway to build around.
Speaking to people as I worked on the wall, they seemed intrigued in what I was doing. Everyone asked if I was building a house, or where I leant to do what I was doing.
‘It looks so natural, as if it’s come out of the ground.’
When I explained it would be covered in daub it was received positively – “It will still look as if it belongs here but will have its own identity.”
‘It will make it stand out – in a good way!”
Some moved around it and wanted to view it in different positions. I explained the holes were windows – which they all liked. ‘How clever to weave all those twigs – what are they anyway?”
“Hazel”
“Where from?”
“Look around”
“Oh yes, of course!”
