Freya Boothroyd - BA (Hons) Product Design and Craft
From the Ground Up is an explorative investigation into the materiality of the Peak District National Park. Through the journey of exploration, uncovering unique clay in the caves of the landscape, and investigating this site-specific material's capabilities, this project has been an all-encompassing discovery into the beauty of the Earth in its raw state and the importance of keeping it that way.
With my focus being on the rich history of millstones, the most iconic feature of the Peak District National Park, I have questioned human interference of the natural landscape and the juxtaposition between spaces of the land, which are created by unnatural precision and structure, compared to those which are left wild and full of life. Thus, reflecting both the symbolism of the environment and the production of my making.
By working in harmony with the Earth, which I hold such value and connection, I acknowledge the caves of the Peak District for allowing an interpersonal connection between geology and craft to be formed.
Alongisde my personal studies, I have been a part of a collaboration project as part of the Holden Gallery commissions. Common Ground brings together three artists and designers with the aim of connecting people with nature during the global climate emergency. Through investigating the landscape of the Peak District on foot, we surveyed the earth from the ground up, to explore and express its complex tones and textures, history and folklore.
