The Book

Unearthing Dartmoor
pages 8-9
pages 12-13
pages 14-15
pages 18-19
pages 40-41
pages 46-47
pages 56-57
pages 68-69
pages 70-71
pages 80-81
pages 88-89
pages 90-91
pages 92-93
pages 98-99
pages 102-103
pages 106-107
pages 114-115

We have produced a beautiful colour coffee table book, 120 pages of artwork and poetryIt is on sale for £15 and is available by mail order for £20 (includes packing and UK delivery) by ordering from Jane Ellis tel: 07818 454375 janehellis@gmail.com. Please contact Jane to find out the postage if you want to order multiple copies.

Audio visuals and poetry readings

These can be arranged for bookshops and book clubs. Please ask.

Our Exhibition

Unearthing Dartmoor represents the creative collaboration of local poets and artists working together on Dartmoor over two years starting in spring 2020. This is an ongoing and evolving project, with much work yet unexhibited and unseen, many word strings unprinted and unheard. More exhibitions continue to take this evolving project on tour. Watch this space.

A large and varied body of artwork, poetry, prints and photographs chronicling and reflecting different dimensions of Dartmoor, this treasure trove of creativity was first on exhibition at the Dartmoor National Park Authority’s Visitor Centre at Princetown in 2023. Please get in touch with Avenda Burnell Wash on 07954 682062 if you would like to discuss a new exhibition or pop up poetry sessions. Two of our Contemporary Markmakers, Avenda and Rachael Bennett, are directors on the board of Devon Artists, giving us access to around 550 creatives across all areas of Devon. We welcome any discussions which can further the love of art in this rich vein of creativity that is perfectly placed on the southwest coast of the UK. We have rocks and sea, and wind and sun, and history back to the dawn of time. Devon inspires.

Moor Poets and Contemporary Markmakers Unearthing Dartmoor

Over two years we laughed and picnicked together, drenched by relentless rain but enjoying many warm sunny days. We witnessed the birth of a foal, heard countless cuckoos, met wild campers, stood silently among ancient stones, granite circles and burial cairns, walked the lengths of double and triple stone rows and followed mediaeval leats (human-hewn water courses running along land contours).

We traced Bronze Age reave field systems on Holne Moor that demarcate some of the earliest enclosures of farmland in Europe; we sat within the ruins of a 13th century farming village at the Hut Holes; we heard about the challenges of traditional upland farming and the rewards of meadow rewilding; and we watched many moorland birds leaving and returning.

The book shares our journey with you. 

Contemporary Markmakers

We refused to be separated by Covid 19. We looked for, and found, zoom several weeks before the government briefings press office and, despite a few tears, got up to tech speed in no time. We started our remote togetherness by continuing the format we followed when we met physically, except we concentrated on our smaller domestic, inner worlds … drawing in our gardens as darkness fell, or making quick sketches as the kettle boiled. These previously ignored inspirations quickly spiralled into intensely personal and absorbing projects which we allowed to fly, and in that process our relationships as a group changed profoundly, and deepened as time went on.

Our group has been, and continues to be, an important lifeline to us all, both artistically and emotionally. For many of us it has meant change and integration of our individual creative practice, and has brought strength, stimulation and hope for the future.

Our latest venture Unearthing Dartmoor, is a joint venture with the Moor Poets. And there is a new collaboration coming down the tracks.