The ground beneath our feet, Goren Farm walk

The grass beneath our feet - the three meadows project The project grew from living on an organic dairy farm for 8 years. Witnessing the cycles of grass to milk to butter; cow dung to earth and fertility and back to grass again. Learning that grass is not a simple thing but made up of a dynamic community of grasses, herbs and flowers that change according to how they are grazed and fertilised. The project developed in conjunction with East Devon AONB (Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty) I chose three organic dairy farms on different soils and on each walked across one field picking two plants of each species I found. One went into a sketchbook for identification and to provide a record of the order they were found in, and the other rolled into a porcelain slab made into a butter dish. The plant burns out in the kiln leaving its image behind, which is revealed by brushing in a variety of oxides and glazes to the fired clay. Each is unique and you could say the plant draws itself, often revealing attributes that are not obvious from the first glance in the field or from a photograph. People have a desire to stroke and touch the pieces and have a curiosity to know what the plants are - maybe more so that they would just walking through a grassy field. That is part of the intention, to highlight what is just beneath our feet. revealing how fundamental to our existence grass is - converting sunlight into energy for cows to eat that then feed us and pass on all that rich diversity in their milk and butter - celebrated in these series of butter dishes. The series created were shown at Otterton Mill in 2005 and at the farms where they were made, accompanied by walks to see the plants in the hay fields. The image shows one of the series. A Walk across Tree Field, Goren Farm, gathering all the plant species to be found on one day in June 2004.