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DARK&WHITE THE PEAK PRINTS COLLECTION
Dark & White The Peak Prints Collection
Contemporary Art
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THE DARK AND WHITE PEAK
DARK&WHITE
The Peak District was the first area in England to gain National Park status due to its unique geologies, prehistoric and early industrial records. It covers the southern Pennines, mainly north Derbyshire, with parts of Staffordshire and Yorkshire. It has two distinctive areas, the northern Dark Peak whose geology is gritstone with a moorland landscape and the southern White Peak whose geology is limestone carved by river valleys. The Peak District provides an abundance of woods, stone walls, crags, deep river gorges, ancient carved stones and picturesque farms, fields and barns that suit the intensity and austerity of the wood engravers art.
THE PEAK PRINTS COLLECTION
THE PEAK PRINTS PROJECT The project started in January 2013 to create a new series of wood engravings of the Peak District and also to promote this traditional English art form. The sponsors invited 12 of the leading wood engravers (all members of the Society of Wood Engravers) to stay for a series of long weekends in the Peak District. These began in the depth of winter, accompanied by serious snowstorms but ended with the most perfect spring days, blessed with flowers and clear blue skies.
THE PEAK PRINTS COLLECTION The result is a unique collection of 40 wood engravings that capture the landscape and life in the Peak District. The wood engravings are hand printed, signed and titled by the artists and form a numbered edition.
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THE ART OF WOOD ENGRAVING Wood engraving, like wood cut, is a relief printmaking technique. The artist draws the subject, and then traces the image using white carbon paper onto the finely polished surface of a block of end grain boxwood. Boxwood is used due to its very fine grain formed by its slow growth.
DARK&WHITE THE PEAK PRINTS COLLECTION
The block is then engraved using traditional tools with names such as graver, scorper and spitsticker. When the engraving is complete the block is locked into a forme, ink is applied to the relief surface with a roller and a printed impression is taken from the result. The artist is in effect drawing with light, as it is the engraved or lowered areas that come out as white. The main characteristics of wood engraving, therefore, are the fine stippling and white lines against a dark background. The nature of the wood and the fine burin-like tools make possible a particularly rich toned range. A wood engraving can take over a month to produce and once completed the artist will print a maximum of 100 - 150 copies from the original block.
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DARK&WHITE THE PEAK PRINTS COLLECTION
BELLRINGERS, ALSTONEFIELD By Harry Brockway THE PRINT The bellringers of Alstonefield meet once a week to ring the peal of six bells. Harry an his wife, Rosemary, joined them one wintry evening at the weekly practice, and this picture celebrates that evening. THE ARTIST Harry Brockway was born in South Wales in 1958. He studied Sculpture at Art School in Kingston upon Thames and went on to The Royal Academy Schools, London. It was there that he was introduced to wood engraving by Sarah Van Niekerk and through her auspices got his first professional work as an illustrator and joined the SWE in 1985. He went on to train as a stone mason at Weymouth College and worked briefly at Wells Cathedral before deciding to go self-employed. He has been a freelance stone carver and wood engraver since 1989. He lives in Glastonbury, Somerset and in 2014 is currently chairman of The Society of Wood Engravers.
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DARK&WHITE THE PEAK PRINTS COLLECTION
THE BUTCHERS, TISSINGTON By Harry Brockway THE PRINT Hidden away in the back lane of the pretty estate of Tissington, the White Peak Farm butchery was a slaughterhouse for over a century and still looks the epitome of a traditional butcher’s. There is an inviting range of home-made sausages and home-cured bacon, as well as local lamb, beef, pork, game and poultry. THE ARTIST Harry Brockway was born in South Wales in 1958. He studied Sculpture at Art School in Kingston upon Thames and went on to The Royal Academy Schools, London. It was there that he was introduced to wood engraving by Sarah Van Niekerk and through her auspices got his first professional work as an illustrator and joined the SWE in 1985. He went on to train as a stone mason at Weymouth College and worked briefly at Wells Cathedral before deciding to go self-employed. He has been a freelance stone carver and wood engraver since 1989. He lives in Glastonbury, Somerset and in 2014 is currently chairman of The Society of Wood Engravers.
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DARK&WHITE THE PEAK PRINTS COLLECTION
MENDING WALLS By Harry Brockway THE PRINT Drystone walling is an ancient skill of the Peak District. No mortar is used, it is a sort o three-dimensional jigsaw puzzle to fit the stones together in such a way that they stay in place for half a century or more. Farmers have always seen to their own walls, but here is one of the specialist, full-time wallers, Martin Oulsnam, who sees the shapes so clearly, and rarely has to set a stone for the second time. THE ARTIST Harry Brockway was born in South Wales in 1958. He studied Sculpture at Art School in Kingston upon Thames and went on to The Royal Academy Schools, London. It was there that he was introduced to wood engraving by Sarah Van Niekerk and through her auspices got his first professional work as an illustrator and joined the SWE in 1985. He went on to train as a stone mason at Weymouth College and worked briefly at Wells Cathedral before deciding to go self-employed. He has been a freelance stone carver and wood engraver since 1989. He lives in Glastonbury, Somerset and in 2014 is currently chairman of The Society of Wood Engravers.
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DARK&WHITE THE PEAK PRINTS COLLECTION
JILL ON GORMSTER By Chris Daunt THE PRINT Farmers in the Peak District still use the ancient field names to refer to parts of their farms. This one sounds pre-Conquest. Jill is a working sheepdog belonging to Steve Fowler, and thinks she runs the farm single-handed! Chris says “Jill looked very noble on this hillside as she scanned the landscape.” THE ARTIST Chris Daunt, is a maker of traditional endgrain wood engraving blocks in boxwood and lemonwood. He is a blockmaker, wood engraver and teacher of wood engraving and has a close working knowledge of the qualities engravers require from their blocks.
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HERON IN DOVEDALE By Andy English THE PRINT The River Dove is famous for its fish - and this heron can usually be seen in and around Dovedale. THE ARTIST Andy English was born in Norfolk in 1956 but has lived in the Cambridgeshire fens for nearly thirty years. He is a full-time professional wood engraver, producing illustrations, exhibition prints and bookplates (ex libris). He is an elected member if the Society of Wood Engravers and the Cambridge Drawing Society and his work has been exhibited in the UK, Europe, North and South America, Africa, Asia and Australia.
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DARK&WHITE THE PEAK PRINTS COLLECTION
MINNINGLOW By Paul Kershaw THE PRINT Minninglow is the largest and most prominently sited round barrow in the Peak District. Surmounted by a beech plantation, 500m to the east of The High Peak Trail between the villages of Parwich and Elton, it is a landmark on the horizon for miles around. Walking over the summit of the barrow, remains of at least 6 very significant chambered tombs with massive stone caps can be seen. Minninglow is one of several such sites on the prehistoric road between Derby and Manchester. THE ARTIST Paul L. Kershaw is a wood engraver and handpress printer. He has published & printed ‘Wings Take Us’, a book on the theme of birds with poetry by Phil Madden and images by himself.
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ARBOR LOW By Kathleen Lindsley THE PRINT Arbor Low is the most important prehistoric site in central England. It is a Neolithic henge monument atmospherically set on a high plateau of limestone pasture, with commanding views all around. It consists of a circle of about 50 limestone slabs, with 7 smaller stones in the centre, and a stunning bank and ditch. From it, on the horizon, can be seen Minninglow, another prehistoric site, chosen by Paul Kershaw as the subject of one of his engravings in the collection. THE ARTIST Kathleen Lindsley was born in Gibraltar and studied fine ar t at Newcastle Upon Tyne. She was introduced to wood engraving by Leo Wyatt in 1974 and has lived in Scotland since 1976 (full time in Skye since 1987).
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DARK&WHITE THE PRINT Minninglow is the largest and most prominently sited round barrow in the Peak District. Surmounted by a beech plantation, 500m to the east of The High Peak Trail between the villages of Parwich and Elton, it is a landmark on the horizon for miles around. Walking over the summit of the barrow, remains of at least 6 very significant chambered tombs with massive stone caps can be seen. Minninglow is one
THE PEAK PRINTS COLLECTION THE ARTIST Paul L. Kershaw is a wood engraver and handpress printer. He has published & printed ‘Wings Take Us’, a book on the theme of birds with poetry by Phil Madden and images by himself.
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DARK&WHITE THE PEAK PRINTS COLLECTION
DOVEHOLE By Miriam Macgregor THE PRINT This is a water-‐eroded cave in Dovedale, a little way downstream from Milldale. THE ARTIST Miriam Macgregor was born in India, moving to England when she was ten. Her introduction to wood engraving came while at the Central School of Art. In 1977 she illustrated her first book for the Whittington Press, and since then has produced two major pochoir (stencil) books for them, taking this particular art to new heights.
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TISSINGTON SPIRES By Miriam Macgregor THE PRINT Tissington Spires are the most notable limestone pillars in Dovedale. They rise up sheer from the river, and though now rather overgrown, provide climbers with some of the most challenging routes in the gorge. THE ARTIST Miriam Macgregor was born in India, moving to England when she was ten. Her introduction to wood engraving came while at the Central School of Art. In 1977 she illustrated her first book for the Whittington Press, and since then has produced two major pochoir (stencil) books for them, taking this particular art to new heights.
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THE PRINT There has been a settlement at Narrowdale since the thirteenth century, and one family, the Adams, held the farms there for 600 years, until 1909. It now consists of only two farmhouses and their associated buildings, and even these are no longer inhabited. The valley here is steep-sided, and for 3 months in the winter the farms get no sun. Even in the other months, the sun does not shine in until 1pm, hence the expression “Narrowdale Noon”, meaning something is done late or not at all. Hilary visited Narrowdale in a March blizzard. THE ARTIST Hilary Paynter is past president of the Royal Society of PainterPrintmakers. Her work is included in many national collections. Through her involvement with the Society of Wood Engravers. Hilary has made a significant contribution to the revival of interest in this exacting medium.
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FIELD BARN ABOVE DOVEDALE By Howard Phipps THE PRINT This is a very typical Peak District field barn, sheltered by a group of sycamores THE ARTIST Howard Phipps studied Fine Art at the Gloucestershire College of Art in Cheltenham. He is a painter/printmaker with a special interest in wood engraving. A member of the Royal West of England Academy since 1979, and the Society of Wood Engravers since 1985, he has also been a frequent exhibitor at Royal Academy summer exhibitions where he received the Contemporary Print Award for colour engraving. In 2003 & 2004 he received the landscape print prize at the National Print
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ILAM ROCK By Sue Scullard THE PRINT The limestone rock that forms parts of Dovedale is the fossilised remains of sea creatures that lived in a shallow, tropical lagoon about 350 million years ago. During the two ice ages, the limestone was cut into craggy shapes. Ilam Rock is a magnificent pinnacle of carboniferous limestone in Dovedale between Milldale and Thorpe Cloud. It is about 25 metres high, and presents a challenge to rock climbers, who have named at least 7 different routes up it, such as ‘Eye of the Tiger’ and ‘The Gladiator’. THE ARTIST Sue Scullard studied wood engraving at the Royal College of Art and since graduating, has worked as a freelance illustrator on a wide range of projects including greetings cards, children’s books, giftware, book illustrations and independent prints. Sue has demonstrated wood engraving to the public at festivals and exhibitions around the country.
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PARKHOUSE HILL FROM CHROME HILL
www.gallerytop.co.uk By Sue Scullard THE PRINT Parkhouse Hill is a striking and distinctive hill in the Peak District National Park. It lies on the north side of the River Dove, close to the border with
DARK&WHITE THE PEAK PRINTS COLLECTION
PARKHOUSE HILL FROM CHROME HILL By Sue Scullard THE PRINT Parkhouse Hill is a striking and distinctive hill in the Peak District National Park. It lies on the north side of the River Dove, close to the border with Staffordshire. Geologically, the hill is the remains of an atoll (a ‘reef knoll’) which is believed to have existed during the Carboniferous period when what is now the Peak District was covered by a tropical sea. Together with its higher but less distinctive neighbour, Chrome Hill, it forms the Chrome and Parkhouse Hills SSSI, cited for their geology and limestone flora. THE ARTIST Sue Scullard studied wood engraving at the Royal College of Art and since graduating, has worked as a freelance illustrator on a wide range of projects including greetings cards, children’s books, giftware, book illustrations and independent prints. Sue has demonstrated wood engraving to the public at festivals and exhibitions around the country.
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WOODLAND WITH WILD GARLIC By Sue Scullard THE PRINT There really is lots of wild garlic about in the Peak District in May. All you need to do is go to any of the wonderful rivers and side streams branching off from them and you will come across it in massive amounts.The smell can be quite lovely and the plant when used in cooking is delicious. You can even use the flowers and again the taste is very gentle. Many people who disturb wild garlic in a wood, and get a strong garlicky smell, assume that the taste is very pungent but it is on the mild side, especially after cooking and certainly more subtle than cultivated garlic. Pick well away from the path and wash thoroughly before cooking. THE ARTIST Sue Scullard studied wood engraving at the Royal College of Art and since graduating, has worked as a freelance illustrator on a wide range of projects including greetings cards, children’s books, giftware, book illustrations and independent prints. Sue has demonstrated wood engraving to the public at festivals and exhibitions around the country.
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DARK&WHITE THE PEAK PRINTS COLLECTION
FAT LAMBS AT ARBOR LOW By Sarah Van Niekerk THE PRINT Arbor Low is the most important prehistoric site in central England. It is a Neolithic henge monument atmospherically set on a high plateau of limestone pasture, with commanding views all around. It consists of a circle of about 50 limestone slabs, with 7 smaller stones in the centre, and a stunning bank and ditch. From it, on the horizon, can be seen Minninglow, another prehistoric site. Sarah’s image, unlike Kathleen Lindslet’s aerial view, shows plump farm lambs inside the ring of stones. THE ARTIST Sarah Van Niekerk was educated at Bedales School and studied at the Central S chool of Arts and Crafts under Gertrude Hermes and at the Slade under William Coldstream, Anthony Gross and Lynton Lamb. She took over from Gertrude Hermes the teaching of wood engraving at the RA schools and from 1978 taught at the City and Guilds Art School.
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DARK&WHITE THE PEAK PRINTS COLLECTION
ST. BERTRAM AND HIS PRINCESS By Sarah Van Niekerk THE PRINT The church in the little village of Ilam, on the River Manifold right in the south of the White Peak, is a Saxon foundation, though little of the original building remains. The font, however, is thought to be Saxon, and depicts the story of St Bertram, whose tomb is in the church. St Bertram was a local Mercian prince who went to Ireland to fetch his bride to be, a princess. On the way home through thick woods, the princess went into labour and Bertram left her to seek help. On his return, he found she and the child had been eaten by wolves. He was distraught, and led the rest of his life locally as a hermit, credited with many healing miracles. Here we see Bertram with his bride, holding hands. THE ARTIST Sarah Van Niekerk was educated at Bedales School and studied at the Central School of Arts and Crafts under Gertrude Hermes and at the Slade under William Coldstream, Anthony Gross and Lynton Lamb. She took over from Gertrude Hermes the teaching of wood engraving at the RA schools and from 1978 taught at the City and Guilds Art School.
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SPRING SONG By Geri Waddington THE PRINT Geri saw this bird perched on a stone wall in Hopedale, singing a spring song THE ARTIST Geri Waddington trained in painting at the Slade School of Fine Art. She has exhibited regularly with the Society of Wood Engravers, the National Print Exhibition (later named ‘Originals’), (prizewinner 1999 and 2005), The International Miniature Print Exhibition, and with numerous independent galleries. She makes and sells independent prints and also illustrates hand-made private press books, where her engravings are printed directly from the wood, and has work in collections in the UK and abroad.
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CHATSWORTH MAZE By Chris Daunt THE PRINT Standing on the east bank of the River Derwent, Chatsworth looks across to the low hills that divide the Derwent and Wye valleys. The house, set in expansive parkland and backed by wooded, rocky hills rising to heather moorland, contains a unique collection of priceless paintings, furniture, Old Master drawings,neoclassical sculptures, books and other artefacts. The Maze was planted with 1,209 yews in the centre of the site of the former GreatConservatory in 1962. Two flower gardens occupy the rest of the site. Centre stage in this print is a striking old Araucaria pine. The symmetry of the scene reminded Chris of the landscape backgrounds of the Italian renaissance portraits which he admires so much. THE ARTIST Chris Daunt, is a maker of traditional endgrain wood engraving blocks in boxwood and lemonwood. He is a blockmaker, wood engraver and teacher of wood engraving and has a close working knowledge of the qualities engravers require from their blocks.
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BUZZARD ON THE ROACHES By Chris Daunt THE PRINT Chris Daunt has engraved mostly portraits and animals in recent years, and was hoping to see a buzzard when he walked up the Roaches on a very cold and windy afternoon. This is the happy result. THE ARTIST Chris Daunt, is a maker of traditional endgrain wood engraving blocks in boxwood and lemonwood. He is a blockmaker, wood engraver and teacher of wood engraving and has a close working knowledge of the qualities engravers require from their blocks.
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A CHATSWORTH HEDGEHOG By Andy English THE PRINT The kitchen garden is of a scale and opulence to match the house itself. 2.5 acres of west facing garden is full of every sort of vegetable imaginable, and of course seasonal flowers for cutting. Several beds are arranged like the spokes of a wheel, and the patterns created make it hard to imagine actually harvesting anything. Many think this is the high point of a visit to the Chatsworth estate. Look out for hedgehogs! THE ARTIST Andy English was born in Norfolk in 1956 but has lived in the Cambridgeshire fens for nearly thirty years. He is a full-time professional wood engraver, producing illustrations, exhibition prints and bookplates (ex libris). He is an elected member if the Society of Wood Engravers and the Cambridge Drawing Society and his work has been exhibited in the UK, Europe, North and South America, Africa, Asia and Australia.
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PEAK POSTAGE STAMPS By Andy English THE PRINT Andy English has invented a neat way of portraying a variety of scenes. Here he has made a collection of nine Peak images and presented them as postage stamps. Perhaps one day the Royal Mail will adopt them! THE ARTIST Andy English was born in Norfolk in 1956 but has lived in the Cambridgeshire fens for nearly thirty years. He is a full-time professional wood engraver, producing illustrations, exhibition prints and bookplates (ex libris). He is an elected member if the Society of Wood Engravers and the Cambridge Drawing Society and his work has been exhibited in the UK, Europe, North and South America, Africa, Asia and Australia.
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PEREGINE, THE ROACHES By Andy English THE PRINT For ornithologists, the Roaches are very important, as they contain the habitat of nesting pairs of peregrines high up in the crags of Hen Cloud. Andy caught sight of one of these peregrines on his visit to the Roaches. THE ARTIST Andy English was born in Norfolk in 1956 but has lived in the Cambridgeshire fens for nearly thirty years. He is a full-time professional wood engraver, producing illustrations, exhibition prints and bookplates (ex libris). He is an elected member if the Society of Wood Engravers and the Cambridge Drawing Society and his work has been exhibited in the UK, Europe, North and South America, Africa, Asia and Australia.
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CLULOW CROSS By Paul Kershaw THE PRINT One of the Mercian pillarstones, Clulow Cross stands on a prehistoric barrow just off the A54 near Wincle, camouflaged by a clump of beech trees with trunks of similar appearance to itself. It may date from the late Anglo-‐Saxon period. It is probably still in its original position as a waymarker -‐ on a clear day you can still see from it, down a wide valley, right through to Manchester. It appears at the end of Alan Garner’s novel, The Weirdstone of Brisingamen, and still today the place feels slightly eerie and significant. There are several other ancient stones to be seen in the surrounding area, but this is the most striking. THE ARTIST Paul L. Kershaw is a wood engraver and handpress printer. He has published & printed ‘Wings Take Us’, a book on the theme of birds with poetry by Phil Madden and images by himself.
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LUD’S CHURCH, DANE VALLEY By Paul Kershaw THE PRINT This is a natural cleft in the rock on a hillside above Gradbach, about 100m long and in places 15m high. Even on a summer’s day it feels green and cool, and has the atmosphere of an ancient cathedral. The name may go right back to the Celtic god, Lud, and recently scholars of the Middle English poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight have placed the Green Chapel of the story here. It is the setting for Alan Garner’s most recent book, Boneland. THE ARTIST Paul L. Kershaw is a wood engraver and handpress printer. He has published & printed ‘Wings Take Us’, a book on the theme of birds with poetry by Phil Madden and images by himself.
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WINDGATHER ROCKS By Miriam Macgregor THE PRINT Windgather Rocks is a gritstone crag on the Derbyshire/Cheshire border. It is a popular beginner’s climbing site at the end of the Shining Tor ridge. THE ARTIST Miriam Macgregor was born in India, moving to England when she was ten. Her introduction to wood engraving came while at the Central School of Art. In 1977 she illustrated her first book for the Whittington Press, and since then has produced two major pochoir (stencil) books for them, taking this particular art to new heights.
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HEN CLOUD By Hilary Paynter THE PRINT Hen Cloud, with The Roaches and Ramshaw Rocks, forms a gritstone escarpment which marks the south-western edge of the Peak. Best viewed from the approach along the Leek road, they stand as a line of silent sentinels guarding the entrance to the Peak District, worn into fantastic shapes by the elements. The area is one of rock and heather which once belonged o the Swythamley Estate. Following the break up of this estate, the area including the Roaches and Hen Cloud (an area of 975 acres) was purchased in 1980 by the Peak District National Park Authority in order to protect this unique area and guarantee access for the public. Hen Cloud is an impressive, solitary edge which rises steeply from the ground below. In the engraving can be seen a pair of peregrines wheeling above the rocks, and in the corner is the artist sketching out the scene. THE ARTIST Hilary Paynter is past president of the Royal Society of PainterPrintmakers. Her work is included in many national collections. Through her involvement with the Society of Wood Engravers. Hilary has made a significant contribution to the revival of interest in this exacting medium.
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DARK&WHITE THE PEAK PRINTS COLLECTION RAMSHAW ROCKS By Hilary Paynter
THE PRINT Between Leek and Buxton lies Ramshaw Rocks in the Peak District National Park. Ramshaw Rocks, along with The Roaches and Hen Cloud, form a gritstone escarpment which marks the south-western edge of the Peak District National Park. Best viewed from the approach along the Leek road, they stand as a line of silent sentinels guarding the entrance to the Peak District, worn into fantastic shapes by the elements. The area is one of rock and heather which once belonged to the Swythamley Estate. Following the break up of this estate, the area including the Roaches and Hen Cloud (an area of 975 acres) was purchased in 1980 by the Peak District National Park Authority in order to protect this unique area and guarantee access for the public. These weather-sculpted rocks immediately caught Hilary’s eye. THE ARTIST Hilary Paynter is past president of the Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers. Her work is included in many national collections. Through her involvement with the Society of WoodEngravers. Hilary has made a significant contribution to the revival of interest in this exacting medium.
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SAXON CROSS BAKEWELL
By Hilary Paynter
THE PRINT There are many ancient stone crosses and pillars in the Peak District. Most of them have been either deliberately broken, or damaged by the elements. Many have also been moved from their original site. They were made for different reasons, some of the earliest were put up to mark the way for travellers, others were preaching crosses. In the Peak in ancient times it would have been easy to get lost. On a misty day, on the high moorland (boggy in places) without even a tree to guide you, it would have been very difficult to find your way. Large stones were put up to mark the way. Bakewell Parish Church is located in a beautiful market town in the heart of the Peak District. Two Anglo-Saxon stone crosses can be found in the churchyard, each bearing intricate carvings. There are also many other carved stone fragments displayed in the porch, and nearby are five ancient stone coffins. Hilary’s cross shows spirals of plant forms, possibly vine scrolls, or areference to Yggdrasil, the world-tree of Scandinavian mythology. THE ARTIST Hilary Paynter is past president of the Royal Society of PainterPrintmakers. Her work is ncluded in many national collections. Through her involvement with the Society of Wood Engravers. Hilary has made a significant contribution to the revival of interest in this exacting medium.
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SALTERSFORD HALL, A MOORLAND FARM By Howard Phipps THE PRINT Saltersford Hall Farm is set high in the Dark Peak, home of John Turner of the Memorial Stone featured elsewhere in this collection. Saltersford is a tiny hamlet on one of the old packhorse roads between Macclesfield and Buxton, along which salt was carried from Cheshire across the high Pennines. Saltersford Hall farms a remote tract of moorland below Cat Tor and Shining Tor and is dated 1593. This 16th century farm appealed to Howard on a brilliant summer day in June. THE ARTIST Howard Phipps studied Fine Art at the Gloucestershire College of Art in Cheltenham. He is a painter/printmaker with a special interest in wood engraving. A member of the Royal West of England Academy since 1979, and the Society of Wood Engravers since 1985, he has also been a frequent exhibitor at Royal Academy summer exhibitions where he received the Contemporary Print Award for colour engraving. In 2003 & 2004 he received the landscape print prize at the National Print Exhibition in London. His drawings are all made on location and the resulting wood engravings create an image which captures a recognisable spirit of place.
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ABSTRACTED MILLSTONES, STANAGE By Sue Scullard THE PRINT Stanage Edge, or simply Stanage (from “stone edge”) is a gritstone escarpment – the nor thern part of the edge forms the border between the High Peak and Sheffield. Its highest point is High Neb at 458 metres (1,503 ft) above sea level. Areas of Stanage were quarried in the past to produce millstones, and some can still be seen on the hillside—carved, but never removed. This ‘millsone grit’ is the surface rock of the Dark Peak, and there are many places where millstones and querns (small grinding stones for domestic use) were cut. These were often considered sacred places in the prehistoric past. THE ARTIST Sue Scullard studied wood engraving at the Royal College of Art and since graduating, has worked as a freelance illustrator on a wide range of projects including greetings cards, children’s books, giftware, book illustrations and independent prints. Sue has demonstrated wood engraving to the public at festivals and exhibitions around the country.
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DOVE STONES By Peter S Smith THE PRINT A wild place in the Dark Peak on Saddleworth Moor, east of Oldham. THE ARTIST Peter S Smith is a painter and printmaker in London. He studied Fine Art at Birmingham Polytechnic and Art Education at Manchester. In 1992 he gained an MA (Printmaking) at Wimbledon School of Art. Examples of his work can be found in private and public collections including Tate Britain and the Ashmolean Museum Oxford. The Way I See It (Piquant Press) is a book about his printmaking.
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DARK&WHITE THE PEAK PRINTS COLLECTION
JENKIN CHAPEL, SALTERSFORD By Peter S Smith
THE PRINT Jenkin Chapel was built in 1733, in Saltersford in the parish of Rainow. It lies in a remote spot at the junction of 3 ancient trackways known as ‘salters ways’ because salt was carried across the Pennines, on packhorses. It was built by local people, and until the tower was eventually added would have looked just like a Georgian house, with its windows and chimney. It was first dedicated to St. John the Baptist, but it was not consecrated for another 60 years, when the Diocese of Chester insisted it was rededicated to St. John the Evangelist. There seems to be some mystery here, and those wanting to investigate this further should refer to a lecture given in 2006 by Alan Garner, on the publication of Thursbitch, called Valley of the Demon: the writing of Thursbitch. “When I visited Jenkin Chapel it was locked. Looking through the window I could see through my own reflection into the interior to the opposite window but at the side, in the window I was looking through, the landscape and church yard behind me were reflected. I have a great respect for Alan Garner and this view, with double landscape, seemed to be a fair visual metaphor for the the way the Chapel finds a mysterious place in his novel Thursbitch.” Peter S Smith THE ARTIST Peter S Smith is a painter and printmaker in London. He studied Fine Art at Birmingham Polytechnic and Art Education at Manchester. In 1992 he gained an MA (Printmaking) at Wimbledon School of Art. Examples of his work can be found in private and public collections including Tate Britain and the Ashmolean Museum Oxford. The Way I See It (Piquant Press) is a book about his printmaking.
Contemporary Art
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DARK&WHITE THE PEAK PRINTS COLLECTION
NEAR THURSBITCH By Peter S Smith THE PRINT This stone and its intriguing inscriptions were stumbled upon in 1952 by the author Alan Garner, who came back to the place time and again, eventually writing his novel Thursbitch which suggests the events behind the inscription. The stone records the death in a snowstorm of John Turner, in 1735 (shown incorrectly as 1755 on the stone). Other nearby places which feature in Alan Garner’s book include Saltersford Hall Farm and Jenkin Chapel, which are also subjects of other engravings in this collection. Peter Smith says “I chose a very old and cracked piece of boxwood which has its own interesting history. It was an attempt to create a visual metaphor for the two worlds in Thursbitch. I have made some gaps in the dry stone wall deliberately very white - just like the cracks in the block - to reinforce the sense of ambiguity”. THE ARTIST Peter S Smith is a painter and printmaker in London. He studied Fine Art at Birmingham Polytechnic and Art Education at Manchester. In 1992 he gained an MA (Printmaking) at Wimbledon School of Art. Examples of his work can be found in private and public collections including Tate Britain and the Ashmolean Museum Oxford. The Way I See It (Piquant Press) is a book about his printmaking.
Contemporary Art
www.gallerytop.co.uk
DARK&WHITE THE PEAK PRINTS COLLECTION
EYAM TRIPTYCH By Geri Waddington THE PRINT This triptych has been composed by Geri. The centrepiece is Eyam Cross, the eighth century Anglo-Saxon cross now set in Eyam churchyard but originally a wayside preaching cross. The nearly-complete shaft is covered in complex designs. On either side are carved stones from Norbury and Ilam. THE ARTIST Geri Waddington trained in painting at the Slade School of Fine Art. She has exhibited regularly with the Society of Wood Engravers, the National Print Exhibition (later named ‘Originals’), (prizewinner 1999 and 2005), The International Miniature Print Exhibition, and with numerous independent galleries. She makes and sells independent prints and also illustrates hand-made private press books, where her engravings are printed directly from the wood, and has work in collections in the UK and abroad.
Contemporary Art
www.gallerytop.co.uk
DARK&WHITE THE PEAK PRINTS COLLECTION
BAKEWELL STONES By Geri Waddington THE PRINT Bakewell Parish Church is located in a beautiful market town in the heart of the Peak District. Two Anglo-Saxon stone crosses can be found in the churchyard, each bearing intricate carvings. These are some of the other carved stone fragments, displayed in the porch. There must once have been enormous numbers of carved crosses along roadsides in this region, and also carvings on gravestones and the church buildings themselves. THE ARTIST Geri Waddington trained in painting at the Slade School of Fine Art. She has exhibited regularly with the Society of Wood Engravers, the National Print Exhibition (later named ‘Originals’), (prizewinner 1999 and 2005), The International Miniature Print Exhibition, and with numerous independent galleries. She makes and sells independent prints and also llustrates hand-made private press books, where her engravings
Contemporary Art
www.gallerytop.co.uk
DARK&WHITE THE PEAK PRINTS COLLECTION
Contemporary Art