I am currently interested in exploring the loss or replacement of skills and industry, looking at the impact of those losses on communities.
The Paper Maker Felt, 2025, Graphite on handmade paper, W 25cm x H 25cm
For example, the Lake District National Park is now known for its challenging hiking trails, quaint towns, dramatic scenery and the opportunity for outdoor adventure. It was once a wild and, as the Victorians put it, savage landscape, reshaped by sheep farming and mining. People lived in slate cottages, worked high up or deep within the fells, and even eventually in mills and factories such as the Derwent Pencil factory. Now the Lake District is half full of second homes, farmers struggle against high prices and low income, the mines and mills gone, and locals struggle to find the balance between embracing change and preserving heritage.
I wanted to explore the links between the skills and industries in the Lake District.
I discovered the Paper Foundation, a heritage handmade paper company that is bringing back the skills and preserving the equipment and knowledge of handmade paper. The Paper Foundation has found its home just inside the Lake District in a slate barn in Burnside, near Kendal. I went for a tour of the buildings and demos of making paper, learned about the origin and maintenance of the equipment, the wool felts used, the skills learned, and the jobs created. I was able to look through archives and books on paper-making.
The thing I found the most interesting was the wool felts, and one inparticular that had some old dried paper pulp stuck in it. It tied it all together for me. The fell-dwelling Herdwicks that have reshaped the Lake District and the paper mill that has found its home there to reignight a dying craft.
The Pape Makers Felt: A closer look, 2025. Graphite on handmade paper W 51cm x H 63.5cm
I have used handmade paper from the paper foundation to draw these felts. At first, a smaller piece on a higher-quality paper, then a much larger piece on a lower-quality “scrap paper’ produced as a test piece. The lower quality paper was much more delicate and fibrous, the edges were frayed, and it was very thin. It felt right to use this paper over the premium handmade papers. I felt it better reflected the fragile balance I was trying to show.
As the paper was so fibrous, it was hard to draw on, often fibers putting away from the paper as I put my pencil to it. This made for a challenging drawing surface and also wore my pencils down much faster than smoother paper would. I felt this process further added to the story I wanted to tell.
It is important to me that the final piece isn’t framed, rather displayed using pins and clips, like it is a felt hung to dry. The monochrome nature of it resembles a scan or an X-ray, and so I want it to feel archival in its display.
I like that the dobbled edges are dirty looking with graphite, giving the impression of being handled a lot.
I am very happy with how this piece turned out. But it took between 150 and 200 hours to complete, another message in the final piece, I want people to feel that it is a lot of work and wonder if they could have done it. Is it worth it?
It was almost exhausting to do, but also a meditative process. I am keen to explore these themes further, but I need to evaluate whether there is more of a story I can tell here.
