Meet the Maker: Fiona Wallin
Hi, I’m Fiona, a printmaker based in South West London. I work mostly in screenprint, collagraph and linocut, taking inspiration from lots of sources, including coastal environments and the urban landscape of London.
Describe your printmaking process.
I usually start from a photograph I’ve taken when I’ve seen something I’ve felt inspired to make a print of. I find different images lend themselves better to different printmaking mediums, so I spend time considering how I'm going to translate an image into a print using different tools and techniques. A lot of my work is very detailed and multi-layered, so planning and making my plates and stencils can take a long time - it’s probably the part of printmaking I enjoy the most! I then spend sometimes weeks layering up different colours and textures, often combining printmaking techniques, to get me to my finished print.
How and where did you learn to print?
I actually studied painting at art school and printmaking came later for me. I first took a beginner's printmaking course at a local adult community college about 8 years ago and have been printmaking ever since.
Why printmaking?
The fact that it’s so process-driven really aligns with how I like to plan and be very considered in my work. On the flip side of that, I also love never quite knowing what is going to come off the press - I love experimenting with combining printmaking techniques and how I layer colour and texture, and even if I plan a print for weeks, I am often surprised with the result. I love the tactile, physical nature of printmaking - the carving, inking and wiping. I just love everything about printmaking!
Where do you work?
I work both out of a small home studio in a cabin at the end of my garden and from the studios at an adult community college a couple of mornings a week. My home studio is very humble when it comes to equipment! So I tend to use my time at home for planning, stencil making and working on small prints, then I do a lot of my actual printing in the college studios where I have access to the larger presses and the exposure unit.
Describe a typical day in your studio.
It really varies day to day depending on what I’m working on and where I’m working. If I’m at home, I’ll usually be making plates or stencils down in my cabin studio in between the school runs, and if I’m in the college studio I’ll be mixing colours and inking up and printing my collagraph plates, getting a new colour onto a linocut print or printing layers of a screenprint.
How long have you been printmaking?
I started printmaking about 8 years ago, but 2 years ago I left my day job so that I could work full time on my art whilst being at home more to spend time with my children.
What inspires you?
I find inspiration in lots of different places, including small, everyday moments and scenes. I’m often drawn to colours and shapes, including those found in nature and coastal environments, and I also take lots of inspiration from walking around London, looking at the structures and buildings.
What is your favourite printmaking product?
That is such a hard question because I work across lots of different techniques and use different tools and products for each! I love my Pfeil carving tools and Hawthorn rollers for relief printing, and my Ternes Burton registration tabs are an absolute essential! The one commonality across all my prints is paper - I print everything using 300gsm Somerset paper as I love its versatility and beautiful deckled edges.
What have you made that you are most proud of?
I’m really proud of my print called Thou Shalt Have a Fishy, as it’s the first time I combined screenprinting and monoprinting with collagraph. I recently had this print accepted into the Ironbridge Printmaking Competition and was lucky enough to win the Lion Picture Framing Prize - it felt very validating to know someone else saw something in my work.
Where can we see your work? Where do you sell?
I have recently joined Greenwich Printmakers and have a selection of my work available in both the physical gallery in Greenwich Market and in their online shop. I’m also a member of several local art societies and exhibit in my local area, and I also sell my work through my Etsy store.
What will we be seeing from you next?
I have been recently making prints inspired by London scenes, combining collagraph with other techniques, and I definitely want to do more of this. I took lots of photos this summer, capturing the shadows made by different trees and plants across paths in my local area and have a series of prints of these planned in my head too. Plus lots of photos I’ve taken of every day scenes I want to capture in print, including a local coffee shop, which I’ve just started as a reduction linocut. I have so many ideas of things I want to print and never enough time!
Do you have any advice for other printmakers and creatives?
Something a friend taught me a while ago was not to dismiss my work instantly if it doesn’t turn out how I’d planned it in my head. Printmaking can be so unpredictable, and learning to embrace that has been so helpful for me. I’ve started putting finished prints away for a few days, then getting them out to look at with fresh, objective eyes and some of my favourite prints I’ve made would’ve ended up in the bin if I hadn’t!
To see more from Fiona, follow her on Instagram!