In January 2013 a project was launched by Alstonefield residents Nicholas and Ruth Pitts-Tucker to create a new series of wood engravings of the Peak District
Described as ‘at once the simplest and one of the most exquisite forms of printmaking’, wood engravings involve engraving a reversed picture on a block which is rolled with ink and printed. Although many prints can be taken from one block, each will be an original image.
The picturesque and distinctive countryside of the Peak with its woods, crags, river valleys and farmland is particularly well suited to wood engravings and Nicholas and Ruth invited 12 leading wood engravers to stay for a series of long weekends, explore the area and create their images. The result is a series of 40 stunning wood engravings, each hand-printed in a limited edition of 25 and signed by the artists. They cover both Dark and White Peak and range from a heron and a hedgehog to Thor’s Cave, a field barn and bellringers, from Chatsworth’s maze to millstones, Arbor Low and a garlic wood – as intense, unique and lovely as the county they portray.
The engravings are being exhibited at venues around the Peak District until October. In June they can be seen from 15th to 28th at the Ridgeway Gallery in Bakewell. On the 28th June, engraver Peter S. Smith will be at Ridgeway Gallery from 11am to give a demonstration of wood engraving.
The complete collection can be viewed online at www.woodengravers.co.uk
