13th-14th & 21st-22nd June
Saturdays & Sundays 11am-5pm
Zerodig, Oakbrook Farm, Old Painswick Rd, Stroud, GL6 7QN
Find Zerodig just before Hawkwood College. ///peroxide.skies.incursion
Artist Residency Open Studio at Zero Dig Farm
Exploring the Hidden Life Beneath Our Feet with Sophie L Ferrier
What stories are hidden in the soil beneath your feet?
This Open Studios weekend, artist Sophie L Ferrier opens her residency space at Zero Dig Farm, inviting the Stroud community to explore the fascinating and often unseen world of soil.
This year Sophie has been working with young people through a collaborative project with SVA, Zero Dig Farm and Curriculum for Life, using art, microscopy, sensory exploration, drawing and sculpture to deepen connections with soil, ecology and place. The Open Studio will showcase work developed through these workshops alongside Sophie's own evolving practice exploring microbial worlds, interconnected ecosystems and our relationship with the living ground beneath us.
Bring a sample of soil from a place that matters to you- your garden, allotment, farm, favourite woodland path, or beneath a beloved tree. Together we'll journey into its hidden ecosystem through the microscope and discover the remarkable life it contains.
Sophie will be offering an opportunity to create a unique print from your soil sample- a personal soil fingerprint. Return the following weekend to collect your print and become part of a growing archive of Stroud's soil stories and relationships.
This is more than an exhibition. It's an interactive space for curiosity, conversation and discovery, with live microscope demonstrations, artworks, process materials and opportunities to contribute to an ongoing community exploration of soil as a living, complex community.
Whether you're an artist, grower, nature lover, scientist, or simply curious about the magic beneath your feet, you're warmly invited to come and explore.
📍 Zero Dig Farm
🌱 Artist Residency Open Studio by Sophie L Ferrier
🔬 Bring your own soil sample to explore under the microscope
🎨 Leave your mark on a collaborate soil story painting
🎞️ Screening Guardians of the Soil 2011- Ritualistic performance piece
🕰️ 13th-14th June & 20th-21st June
More about Sophie Ferrier
Sophie Ferrier is a multi-media, interdisciplinary ecological artist/ craftsperson near Hay on Wye and is our resident artist at Zerodig for Open Studios. Sophie refers to her practice as being land-based, ecologically restorative & storytelling, that is rooted in artistic research, materiality and our local environments. Sophie is engaging with young creatives to inspire them to lead on their own soil explorations.
More about Cultivating Connections, Zerodig Farm and Curriculum For Life
SVA is working with Zerodig Farm and Curriculum For Life to lead a creative engagement programme that brings together young creatives, families, and artists to explore the intersection of science, farming, and global stories through participatory art.
The aim is to learn about soil culture through creative practice and inspire a more imaginative connection to our local landscape. The project is funded by the European Union through the Soil Tribes programme.
Zerodig is a not-for-profit social enterprise focusing on soil restoration to increase the quality and volume of nutrient rich food production.
Are you 16-25 yrs old and want to know more? Get in touch: office@sva.org.uk
