I write about technology and its uses in the varied world of heritage, from 3D scanning prehistoric petroglyphs to the use of ChatGPT in museums and archives.
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Announcing the Curatorial Research Centre
At the beginning of February 2019 Tehmina and I launched our new business, the Curatorial Research Centre. The words “curated” and “curator” have become fashionable in recent years, used by thousands to describe lots of different concepts. We help people to grasp the concept of curation, providing clients with advice, skills, facilitation and research. We…
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Developing my creative practice – funding from Arts Council England
I’m pleased to announce that I have received a grant from the Arts Council England Developing your Creative Practice fund. Self-employed individuals within the arts sectors often find it difficult to conduct development projects to improve their skills or experiment with different techniques. There just isn’t the time. Or the money to pay for the…
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Imaging the Tintagel early medieval inscribed slate
English Heritage have just announced the important and rare discovery of an early medieval stone inscribed with writing, dating from the 7th century. As a specialist in digital enhancement of archaeological material, I was called in by Cornwall Archaeological Unit (who discovered the stone in the summer of 2017) to help produce the clearest possible…
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3D capture of historic costumes at the Museum of Cornish Life
In December 2017 I was asked by Helston Museum to train staff and volunteers in how to use photogrammetry to record their historic costume collection in 3D. The costume gallery had closed and become a much-needed storage area. They decided that online 3D models, and possibly through screens in the museum, would be an interesting…
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Hendraburnick ‘Quoit’ – the most decorated stone in southern Britain?
In 2016 I was asked by Dr Andy Jones from Cornwall Archaeological Unit to record and study the surface of Hendraburnick Quoit on Bodmin Moor in Cornwall. The work, funded by Cornwall Archaeological Society, involved detailed 3D recording of the surface of the two stones that comprise the monument (which isn’t actually a quoit, but…
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2017 so far
This year has been a strange one so far. The first months of this year saw me suffering from chronic back pain, and finding the road towards being pain free. I’m on that road, but not at the end of it yet. So, a bit of a setback. I’m typing this on my new sit/stand…
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HMS Colossus Diver Interpretation
I have just completed a project creating an interactive diver interpretation for the wreck of HMS Colossus with marine archaeologist Kevin Camidge. Commissioned by Historic England, we have created a mobile-friendly website where divers and non-divers alike can explore the wreck. It is situated south of the island of Samson on the Isles of Scilly, and sank in…
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Point Cloud Penzance – the town in 3D
Using 3D data (LiDAR) collected by the Environment Agency through the Government Open Data initiative I have created an interactive 3D model of the town centre of Penzance, Cornwall. It’s a very detailed model, with a measurement point every 50cm or so across the entire town. There are 12.9 million vertices (points) in this model. You…
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3D Printed Replica of the Mermaid of Zennor
In August 2015 I was commissioned by National Maritime Museum Cornwall to produce a 3D printed replica of the late medieval bench end in the church of St Senara in Zennor. It depicts a mermaid, which is famously known as the Mermaid of Zennor. This has, along with another medieval bench end, been incorporated into a…