Earth Home

In the spring of 2004 Grendel’s Mother returned to the Horizon School in Mill Valley for their second Earth Week residency. It was decided that the project would be a site-specific sculpture made of cob (a mixture of local clay soil, sand and straw). Influenced by Italian fantasy gardens, Trisha and David designed and fabricated an armature in the shape of an open mouthed head, about the size of a child’s playhouse.

On the first day of the residency, the armature was installed on site and kindergarten through sixth grade students began tying burlap netting over the form. Over the next few days, the students mixed (with their hands and feet), the soil, sand, straw and water into cob which they then applied over the burlap. In the final days of the project older students used three colors of small stones to created an intricate floral design on the outside of the head, while younger students used two colors of clay plaster to create a vibrant interior space.