A quilt-based textile artwork exploring women’s hidden histories through family genealogy, cyanotype printing and inherited fabrics.

Project Overview

From Roots to the Sky is a quilt-based artwork developed through my ongoing Family Tree Project, an exploration of ancestry, memory and the often unseen histories carried through generations of women.

The work began with research into my family tree, focusing on my father’s side of the family. Through archival investigation and creative interpretation, I have created artistic representations of the women whose shoulders I stand on.

Artwork Details

Medium: Quilt, cyanotype on textile, re-used fabric and trimmings, hand and machine stitch

Dimensions: H 225cm x W 165cm

Year: 2025

Exhibition history: Material Power, National Trust Hardwick Hall (2025)

Audience reach: 120,000+ visitors

Availability: Exhibition / installation / talks & workshops

Invisible Histories

Many figures appear faceless, a deliberate decision reflecting how women’s identities have historically been obscured or lost. Tracing women through historical records is frequently difficult: surnames change, documentation is incomplete, and personal histories remain unrecorded. The work therefore embraces interpretation and informed guesswork as part of the research process.

The project explores not only lineage but the experience of family history research itself, the excitement of unexpected discoveries, fleeting connections to larger historical narratives, and the compelling urge to keep searching.

Everyday Lives, Extraordinary Resilience

The most meaningful discoveries often emerge from ordinary lives. Women and children working in mines, mothers striving to feed and clothe their families, and generations shaped by resilience and hardship form the emotional foundation of the work. These lives, often absent from official histories, are centred and honoured here.

Materials and Process

To commemorate these women, my drawings have been transformed into cyanotype prints and applied to a quilt using vintage fabrics and trimmings. These fabrics carry personal and material memory, turning family textiles into a living archive that connects past and present.

By creating the artwork as a quilt, I am able to quite literally wrap myself in the legacy of my ancestors: holding history as something physical, intimate and protective.

Exhibition History

From Roots to the Sky has been exhibited at National Trust’s Hardwick Hall as part of Material Power (April–October 2025), where the work was seen by over 120,000 visitors. The exhibition was installed within a historic setting renowned for its textile heritage. It placed contemporary responses alongside historic collections. This opened dialogue between personal histories and material culture. It also opened dialogue between contemporary lived experience and heritage textile collections.

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Ongoing Project

The Family Tree Project continues to evolve. Future stages will turn towards my mother’s side of the family, another journey into hidden histories and the lives that continue to shape my own.

From Roots to the Sky is available for exhibition, residency and participatory programme contexts.