1. Where are you from?
JW: Born in the UK. My parents were Australian, so I came back to
my roots.
2. When did you start printmaking?
JW: I hated getting my hands dirty until I was about 12. I tried
a few linocuts at school but I first got hooked at St. Martin's school of Art in
London, 35 years ago.
3. Where did you learn how to make prints?
JW: I had some very experienced teachers at St. Martins and Harrow
Schools of Art, London, but I also had a great teacher in Somerset, UK, about
ten years ago. His name is Chris Tucker, and he spends his weekends playing
with steam engines. More recently I learnt how to do solarplate here
in South Australia from Pauline Muir and Janet Ayliffe.
4. What is you favorite style of printmaking?
JW: Monotypes. The simplest and the most expressive - and the most
fun!
5. Can you describe this printmaking technique?
JW: Easy - you roll up a piece of glass, metal or acetate (mylar)
with ink, and draw into it, with anything that comes to hand. Then you print the
image, by hand or with a press. You can add colours, use stencils, work
over the top afterwards with paint or pastels, or just use the image as a
base for another kind of print - such as solarplate.
6. Do you currently have your own printmaking "area",
such as a studio or class room?
JW: I have a studio at the back of the historic Hahndorf Academy,
which was once a school, then was a hospital, and is now a museum and art gallery.
My studio used to be the bedroom of a self-contained unit, but for
some reason it has a laundry attached to it, which is very handy! It's minute,
so I have to tidy up all the time in order to find out where I've put
everything. I have a very small etching press and an even smaller block printing
press.
7. Who would you say is your favorite printmaker? Both living or
dead?
JW: Rembrandt - for me he's still living. I have so many favourite
contemporary printmakers, but one I have discovered recently - Dennis Nona -
is my favourite at the moment.
8. How do you find your subject matter in your work?
JW: Out of my head, in my sketchbooks, or in front of my eyes.
9. Is there something in printmaking, whether it be a style or
process, that you do not like?
JW: I still don't like mess. And I am not a detail person - if the
print takes more than a day to create, I get fidgety - I love the way you can
churn out dozens of monotypes in a day.
10. Are you a neat and orderly person and messy and like to "spread
out"?
JW: I'm both. I don't like mess but I'm good at creating it. So
I have to discipline myself enormously, or I disappear under a pile of paper
and ink and I lose the plot.
11. Was there any one person or artist that was the reason you
started printmaking?
JW: My parents both enjoyed etching and lithography, so it's in
the blood. But Chris Tucker showed me some intriguing short cuts that suited my
impatient nature; a lady in Exeter, UK showed me how to edition so I began
to produce prints that looked clean and tidy; and Josephine Severn of Print
Australia showed me how I could get involved internationally by doing print
exchanges.
12. What would you say is your favorite print that you have ever
made? And do you have a picture of it?
JW: Dog and Bird has to be one of my favourites. It sums up the
beauty of the Adelaide Hills, and celebrates my crazy little dog, who used to
think she could catch magpies.
13. How would you describe yourself as a printmaker?
JW: I love printmaking as much as some people love sailing, hang
gliding, or diving - because it's about exploring, it frequently delivers the
unexpected, and it's always challenging. I try all the techniques,
because they all fascinate me, but I don't like to get too caught up in
the process - the message is all-important to me, and the design has
to be right in order to convey the message.
14. How often do you make prints?
JW: As often as I can. I get withdrawal symptoms if I haven't printed
for a week.
15. Do you think that your printmaking will change much in the
next five years? Why or why not?
JW: Yes, it will. That's because of my short attention span. Ten
years ago I was seriously into etching. Five years ago I was just starting to
do solarplate. Three years ago I took up wood engraving again. Now
I want to work large, so I'm thinking about lino or waterless lithography.
16. Do you teach at all?
JW: I teach drawing, and that leads inevitably to printmaking. I
teach small group workshops in basic printmaking, specialising in monotypes.
17. Are you active in any printmaking organizations or artist groups?
JW: I belong to the SSNW web forum. I founded my own group in the
UK, Print South West, with other likeminded printmakers who wanted to exhibit
without having to apply to join prestigious groups or pay huge commissions
to galleries. In SA we just have printmakers' lunches every now and
again, to encourage each other. I sell my prints in small galleries that don't
charge huge commissions.
18. What advice would you give to those people just starting to
get into printmaking?
JW: Be careful - it's addictive!
19. Is there something that you find fulfilling when you have finished
a print? What is it? or Can you describe this feeling?
JW: It's great when I get something right, but it can be much more
exciting if I have a happy accident. Usually the feeling is a mix between the
two. There's something very satisfying about getting a clean print without
having to make too many proofs beforehand.
20. Would you say you have been successful in printmaking? Why
or why not?
JW: I am satisfied that I'm beginning to strike a balance between
self-indulgence and successful marketing. I feel unsatisfied if
people don't buy my work, but I worry if I'm liable to be labelled as a
slick performer.
21. What other forms of artwork besides printmaking do you enjoy?
JW: Drawing, drawing and watercolour. And black and white illustration.
22. Who are your "heroes"? (they do not have to be printmakers)
JW:Gandhi, Buddha, my parents, my husband, my children.
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