St Cuthberts Mill : Printmaker Jemma Gunning captures the Mill’s past

We are thrilled to present a special project by local printmaker Jemma Gunning.

Jemma specialises in creating magnificently large fine art prints celebrating the beauty found in fading heritage. After a visit to St Cuthberts Mill, Jemma captured the unused parts of the historical building by creating detailed etchings and lithographs on her favourite paper, Somerset Satin.

We have enjoyed watching Jemma’s creative process and her final prints are so impressive! She has recorded in print the beauty of these unused areas where nature comes and reclaims and will be treasured for years to come.

Visiting the Mill

When Jemma came to visit the Mill it was a wet Autumnal day which added to the atmospheric feeling of the unused parts of the buildings. Rain dripped through the cracks in the roof and formed puddles with reflections from the windows.

As we entered the old boiler house, Jemma pointed out, it smelt of mushrooms, and we saw that many of the areas were taken over with plant life. Due for demolition soon, it felt important to capture this part of the Mill’s history before it goes.

We stopped at a mezzanine to view the huge space and take some photos from up high. Then Jemma put on protective gear before stepping down to explore further.

Jemma shares her experience of her visit:

“Being invited to look round an old traditional working paper mill with areas of decay felt like an offer I couldn’t turn down! Plant life was creeping into the redundant areas of the workshops that not many people get to see.

Reclaiming the forgotten parts of the factory, it won’t be long until the natural forms get under the surface of the building and erosion and weathering starts to happen, forming fragments of the past."

"Being shown around the disused parts of the factory felt like I was going back in time, where the paper makers were a portal to the past. Old machinery conjured up stories of a bygone era where my imagination wandered back in time to all the people who possibly once stepped foot inside.

It was a true privilege to see these discarded parts. Not much has changed apart from electrification and new members of staff."

Capturing the past

"Learning about traditional paper making and seeing the factory, created an appreciation for the craft, one that I was keen to document using St Cuthberts Mill paper! My practice is based around the recording of abandoned heritage spaces and landscapes that are in a state of flux, to capture a moment in time. It seems appropriate to create a series of work based on the fading parts of St Cuthberts Mill before they are demolished, and those historic elements are gone forever."

Print process

Over the last few months since her visit, Jemma has been creating a series of impressive artworks with a variety of print techniques on Somerset Satin 300gsm White paper.

Jemma describes her creative process:

“When I first start a new project, I begin with a series of drawings and monoprints to help get the creative juices flowing. This is generally after a site visit where I will make quick sketches and take reference photographs. When I am photographing a space I find I am drawn to high contrast lighting where reflections become those portals to the past."

"When I am back in my studio I use monotypes to help me decide on compositions and tones. The loser more painterly marks I then use in my etchings. Once I have decided on which composition I want to turn into an intaglio print, I start with a hardground etching. A hardground is where I apply a wax ground to a copper plate that is an acid resist. I then smoke the plate to make the copper go a dense black so I can easily see where I am drawing."

"Then the magic truly begins (actually, every step of the etching process is rather magical)! I take my etching needle and glide it over the plate to reveal the shiny copper underneath. Once I have completed my drawing, I then submerge the plate in a bath of acid to eat away at the exposed lines. Once etched, the areas that have been incised will hold ink when I come to print. When put through an etching press these lines will transfer to paper… usually Somerset Satin 300gsm.

My copper plates go in and out of the acid multiple times using multiple processes. I use sugar lift aquatint to create a range of marks and to build up tone resulting in the desired outcomes.”

Somerset Satin

“I've been using Somerset Satin for nearly 10 years now. For me, no other paper can compare to its quality. Due to it being a cotton paper, it picks up all the subtle tones and marks that I make. The fibres of the paper suck the blacks out of an aquatint creating dark rich velvety areas of tone. It's consistent and reliable which is another reason why I choose this paper over others. It's also made local to me, which helps with trying to keep my practice as sustainable as I can.”