Somerset Almanac

Somerset-based artists Helen Carnac, Alice Kettle, and Carinna Parraman worked on a project at the Centre for Print Research titled The Somerset Almanac. Drawing on the almanac as a form that charts cyclical relationships between nature, belief, and human activity, the project responded to the urgency of the climate crisis highlighted in the 2021 IPCC report. It sought to acknowledge this profound environmental shift by reconnecting with ancient wisdom and examining the balance between human life and the planet, focusing on local experience as a reflection of global impact.

Using the almanac format, the three artists mapped interconnected dimensions of place—subterranean, terrestrial, and celestial—within the shared landscape of Somerset. They reflected on the county’s geological history, its legacy of extraction, and the evolving ecology shaped by both industry and renewal. Through walking, observing, recording, and collaborative exchange, they considered sustainability, environmental change, and material practice, bringing together their distinct disciplines—sculpture and enamel, painting and embroidery, paper and print—into a shared creative dialogue.