Meet the Maker : Jay Caskie
I’m Jay, a full-time printmaker originally from Canada but currently living in Cornwall. I use wood engraving to create intricate and narrative landscapes that explore themes of home and solitude, and our connection with the natural world and each other.
Describe your printmaking process.
I work primarily in wood engraving, which is a niche form of relief printing. It’s the process traditionally used to print book and newspaper illustrations, so it’s perfect for capturing small details. It’s similar to regular woodcut or linocut in that you’re removing the areas you want to keep white (drawing with light), but it uses speciality end-grain wood and engraving burins instead of carving tools. I also create collages with pieces of my wood engraving prints. I deconstruct and then reconstruct the landscapes to create a series of new compositions in collage.
How and where did you learn to print?
I started printmaking at NSCAD University back in Canada. I went to art school thinking I was going to be a painter, but I took my first printmaking class and was instantly hooked (and never did any more painting!). I signed up for every print class I could find. I learned lithography, etching, screenprint, typography and relief print. I actually never tried wood engraving until I came to the UK. I saw people online doing engraving, and I was really interested in the process and how they were able to get such small details.
Why printmaking?
I love the whole process of making prints. I’ve always been drawn to the repetitive mark-making and all the different steps of preparation involved. I can get quite anxious and stuck in my head sometimes, and I find that the satisfying and meditative processes like engraving, tearing paper, and printing editions can help me feel more relaxed.
Where do you work?
Currently I work from my studio in Krowji, Redruth.
Describe a typical day in your studio.
Honestly every day is different depending on what I have going on. Some days are big admin days filled with answering emails, making social media posts, organising work for galleries, applying for exhibitions, and my least favourite of all, doing my taxes.
But on the creative days I’ll have breakfast/coffee, drive to my studio, and spend the day working on my prints. My favourite days are the ones I spend engraving. Once I have the basic composition planned out on paper, I transfer it to the woodblock and create the image slowly by building up different marks. I love watching the image emerge from the darkness. It’s exciting because I never know exactly how it will turn out. If it’s a small block I can finish in a day, but the larger ones can take a week or more.
How long have you been printmaking?
For around 10 years (with a few years in the middle where I was working regular jobs and not making any art).
What inspires you?
I’m inspired by the vast Canadian landscapes where I grew up and the rugged Cornish coastline where I live now. My landscapes explore themes of home, solitude, and our intrinsic connection to the natural world and each other.
What is your favourite printmaking product?
The woodblocks. I love them as beautiful objects in themselves. And they’re so satisfying to work with. Sometimes I like them more than the prints!
What have you made that you are most proud of?
To be honest, I’m quite self-critical, and I’m always looking ahead to my next work. When I look back, I can see parts of different pieces that I like, but I also see everything that I would do differently.
Maybe I’ll answer that I’m most proud of my growth as an artist, and that I’ve been able to find my own niche and style, and build a life for myself where I can be creative and self-employed.
Where can we see your work? Where do you sell?
I share a lot of the process on my Instagram page, and I sell through my website.
If you want to see my work in person, I show with Cambridge Contemporary Crafts in Cambridge, The Biscuit Factory in Newcastle, Mōr Studio in North Yorkshire, and The Poly Guild in Falmouth, Cornwall, as well as other group shows around the UK. I’m also a member of the Society of Wood Engravers, which has an annual exhibition that tours different venues in the UK so keep an eye out for that! Maybe it will come to your city.
What will we be seeing from you next?
I’m excited to make some large scale work this year. I’m looking forward to pushing myself to work larger and get more expressive with my mark-making.
Do you have any advice for other printmakers and creatives?
My advice for other printmakers and creatives (and myself!) is to not let perfectionism paralyse you. It’s okay to make ‘bad’ work, and to try things and have them not turn out. Just keep showing up and making things regularly, and something good and meaningful will emerge.
To see more from Jay, follow him on Instagram!
Feeling inspired? If you want to try out wood engraving, have a look at our website where we have everything you need to get started!