Embedded History

Embedded History was a project where I explored historic sites in my local area during lockdown that were not obvious points of interest to most people due to their dilapidated or hidden state. These sites had been an integral part of my life growing up as they were places, I walked past every day or visited regularly and through lockdown I revisited these sites and delved into the history of the area. I decided I wanted to celebrate the historical significance of these sites through drawing, painting and printmaking in the hope people would appreciate the history embedded in the landscape of the area through the artwork.

Pencil Drawings

This is an A3 piece made with a mixture of charcoal and graphite. The piece is based on a small servants cottage that sits on the Peckforton estate in Cheshire. The image is of a beam of light that comes into part of the cottage that is completely overgrown with ivy except for the one window that lets the light in. There is no information about this cottage at all, the only information about this property is that it was built around the same time as Peckforton Castle.	This piece is a an A3 pencil drawing of a public road/path through Peckforton forest that was originally a trade way between the North West of England and Wales. This specific part of the path was near a cave that was used by smugglers that intercepted goods moved along this route.	This is an A3 piece made with a mixture of Pencil and graphite. The piece is based on a small servants cottage that sits on the Peckforton estate in Cheshire. The image is of a beam of light that comes into part of the cottage that is completely overgrown with ivy except for the one window that lets the light in. There is no information about this cottage at all, the only information about this property is that it was built around the same time as Peckforton Castle.
This is an A3 Pencil and graphite drawing on 250gsm cartridge paper of an old pill box along the horseshoe pass. This structure was built around the time of WWII for defence purposes against a potential German invasion.	This is an A3 piece made with a mixture of pencil and graphite. The piece is based on a small servants cottage that sits on the Peckforton estate in Cheshire. The image is of a beam of light that comes into part of the cottage that is completely overgrown with ivy except for the one window that lets the light in. There is no information about this cottage at all, the only information about this property is that it was built around the same time as Peckforton Castle.	This is an A3 pencil and graphite drawing on 250gsm cartridge paper of the remains of holt castle. This castle was used as a stronghold to control the river dee crossing that was used to trade goods across the Welsh/English border.

Monotype and Monoprint

Monotype and monoprint seemed like a good method of printmaking to use in this project because they have an almost a rough uncut quality to them which plays into the rural, delapidated state of the sites I visited. I like working with these types of printmaking because they are so experimental, you can't necessarily predict the outcome.

A7 Monotype on newsprint of Peckforton forest. This specific road was part of the salt paths, an ancient bridal way that was used to transport salt from Wales to England.	A6 Monotype on newsprint of a small window in the delapidated cottage in the hills of Peckforton used for servants of the neighbouring castle.	A6 Monotype on newsprint of the delapidated cottage in the hills of Peckforton. The remaining wall of this structure gave me the chance to experiment with negative space and taking ink away from the plate.
A7 Monotype on newsprint of the delapidated cottage in the hills of Peckforton. In this piece I really wanted to show how the ivy had created such a dark space by growing between walls almost recreating a natural roof blocking out light.	A7 Monotype on newsprint of a small cave linked to the smugglers caves along the bridal path. Using a variety of tools to create different textures and marks I was able to achieve a sense of depth.	A5 Monotype on newsprint of a singular window payne that still has the hexagonal structure remaining. I wanted to capture this element because i feel the diamond shaped pattern gives a sense of how old the building is.
A7 Monotype on newsprint of the smugglers cave known as queen’s parlour. This cave has become a well-known spot for parties and wild camping in current times adding to its oddly rich history of vagabonds and thieves.	Monotype on newsprint of the dilapidated cottage in the hills of Peckforton from a particularly overgrown section that is nearly inaccessible.	A5 Monotype on newsprint of a small wndow in the cottage letting in a small amount of light ino the derelict room.

Embedded History

Pencil Drawings

This piece is a an A3 pencil drawing of a public road/path through Peckforton forest that was originally a trade way between the North West of England and Wales. This specific part of the path was near a cave that was used by smugglers that intercepted goods moved along this route.

This is an A3 Pencil and graphite drawing on 250gsm cartridge paper of an old pill box along the horseshoe pass. This structure was built around the time of WWII for defence purposes against a potential German invasion.

This is an A3 pencil and graphite drawing on 250gsm cartridge paper of the remains of holt castle. This castle was used as a stronghold to control the river dee crossing that was used to trade goods across the Welsh/English border.

Monotype and Monoprint

A7 Monotype on newsprint of Peckforton forest. This specific road was part of the salt paths, an ancient bridal way that was used to transport salt from Wales to England.

A6 Monotype on newsprint of a small window in the delapidated cottage in the hills of Peckforton used for servants of the neighbouring castle.

A6 Monotype on newsprint of the delapidated cottage in the hills of Peckforton. The remaining wall of this structure gave me the chance to experiment with negative space and taking ink away from the plate.

A7 Monotype on newsprint of the delapidated cottage in the hills of Peckforton. In this piece I really wanted to show how the ivy had created such a dark space by growing between walls almost recreating a natural roof blocking out light.

A7 Monotype on newsprint of a small cave linked to the smugglers caves along the bridal path. Using a variety of tools to create different textures and marks I was able to achieve a sense of depth.

A5 Monotype on newsprint of a singular window payne that still has the hexagonal structure remaining. I wanted to capture this element because i feel the diamond shaped pattern gives a sense of how old the building is.

A7 Monotype on newsprint of the smugglers cave known as queen’s parlour. This cave has become a well-known spot for parties and wild camping in current times adding to its oddly rich history of vagabonds and thieves.

Monotype on newsprint of the dilapidated cottage in the hills of Peckforton from a particularly overgrown section that is nearly inaccessible.

A5 Monotype on newsprint of a small wndow in the cottage letting in a small amount of light ino the derelict room.