Meet the Maker: Jo Boddy

I’m Jo Boddy, I live on the Surrey/Berkshire border with my husband, our two children and my furry (and often muddy) cockerpoo, Hops. Printmaking is a second career built out of a need to do ‘something for myself’ when the children were very small. An evening art course turned into a Foundation Diploma at West Dean College (2018-2021) which lead to an MA Fine Art at Central Saint Martins, completed in 2024. I’m fascinated by landscape; how we experience it, how we respond to it and how it roots us. I build connection to place by walking with Hops, a sketchbook and occasionally a press.

Describe your printmaking process

I always start by sketching in the location I’m making work about; I print on location too. I’m a bit of a magpie when it comes to printmaking techniques, I simply love trying out new ones! I’m probably most confident in reduction linocut but depending on the effect I’m after I’ll play with etching, lithography, collagraph, drypoint and monoprint. I’ve also recently started trying mezzotint. I love finding ways of making marks that can’t be achieved any other way; the burr of a drypoint line, rainbow rolls on etched lino, litho tushe as an etching ground. There are so many amazing ways to make marks that only print can achieve, it’s exciting!

How and where did you learn to print? 

I tried screen printing at West Dean as part of the Foundation Diploma and loved it but couldn’t find facilities near me to continue, then I discovered monoprint a couple of months later and I was hooked – so simple and I could do it on my kitchen table! I signed up for weekly printmaking sessions at South Hill Park and met a wonderful group of printmakers, when I started my MA I bought a Gunning etching press so I could print at home (I studied online) and our kitchen became my studio. I taught myself basic etching and lithography from books and online tutorials during my MA and continue to learn from fellow printmakers and simply trying things out.

Why printmaking? 

For the peel. For that moment when you find out what you’ve got; it’s absolutely thrilling! I love the process of creating the plate(s) - the constant trial and error. I love that you have to proof plates and re-ink, and change things and try again. I’m definitely process led, the end result can be very satisfying, but it’s the process which I find so appealing. I grew up in a house filled with prints, my parents are huge Chris Orr and Norman Ackroyd fans (among others!) so I think I learned to love the look of a print without even realising it.

Where do you work? 

We moved house 18 months ago and I now have a studio at home which is a complete game-changer. I used to have to pack everything up off the kitchen table so we could eat dinner but now I can leave things out, have sketchbooks lying around and stick things to the walls. I feel much more immersed in what I’m working on as I can see it all the time rather than having to put it away and carry it in my head. I still use the oven for heating/drying things occasionally and the kitchen sink for washing as there’s no water in the studio, but generally the family and my practice are far less inconvenienced by each other these days! I do miss the sociability of a studio, having people to talk with and learn from is so beneficial but for now the flexibility of working from home suits.

Describe a typical day in your studio

I love that my days are pretty varied depending on what I’m working on. I walk my dog every day, usually with a sketchbook and usually in the morning. We either visit the forest at the end of the road which has been an ongoing source of inspiration, or we drive to somewhere nearby that I’m contemplating; currently Chobham Common. Once home I often get distracted by admin but I try to spend the afternoon making, either working on a plate or putting ink onto paper. I love that the different techniques happen at different speeds so sometimes I’ll work solely on a big lino plate for days before I’m ready to ink it and other times I’ll produce multiple small monoprints in a few hours.

How long have you been printmaking?  

I pulled that first print in 2019 and didn’t really look back. I started selling my work in 2021 when I turned to lino in the second COVID lockdown, I’d spend the mornings cutting whilst supervising homeschool and the afternoons inking whilst the children played. I was making prints about the local forest which seemed to strike a chord in my village; everyone really valued having a huge forest on the doorstep to escape to and the prints sold well which was very encouraging!

What inspires you? 

Landscape, nature and history. Growing up we’d always go for walks, especially on holiday in Norfolk. My dad enjoys fishing and taught us as children, then I discovered sailing. I’ve always been drawn to the outdoors and I adore watching David Attenborough programmes (who doesn’t?!). We recently had our first skiing holiday and I was fascinated by how much I adored the mountains, sitting in the snow, drawing in a blizzard was my favourite bit! I’m fascinated by the way landscapes change us, how we react to them and how we feel connected to particular places. I want to delve into how we’ve altered the landscape over time and find all the layers. Although I’m interested in the human experience of landscape, I’m only really interested in depicting natural features, I actively edit out the human elements, electricity lines annoy me (unless they’ve got birds to watch on them).

What is your favourite printmaking product? 

It would have to be my Open Press Project postcard press. It’s a 3D printed mini etching press which is small enough to pop in a backpack and carry about with you. I bought the smaller one first but I love the extra width of the new postcard one. I make a little damp pack of a few sheets of paper, take a tube of ink or a pre-mixed pot of colour, a couple of perspex or tetra-pak plates, a needle and a rag and I can make drypoints or monoprints wherever I fancy. I love that I can get the immediacy and freshness of a sketch in print form whilst being out in the landscape.

What have you made that you are most proud of? 

Following my MA I won the Clifford Chance / UAL Sculpture Award 2025 which was incredibly exciting. I installed a 1.5x2m ‘Welcome Buoy’ and a 5m long collage between two tower cranes all made out of prints in the Clifford Chance client reception in Canary Wharf. The work was all about the Isle of Dogs and I spent months researching the history of the land, the stories of the docks and looking at other artists who’d depicted the Isle of Dogs, the Thames and its surroundings. I’d never made anything quite so big, with so many processes and tried to get so much meaning and back story into a visual piece before. It was incredibly challenging but I learned so much; I could have kept working on it for years. It’s on display until late March 2026 (see my website for viewing details).

Where can we see your work? Where do you sell? 

I take part in several fairs and exhibitions throughout the year, the biggest is the RHS Wisley craft fair over the early May bank holiday. I also sell via my website and I run linocut workshops at the Lightbox Gallery, Woking and usually take a little selection of work along to those too.

What will we be seeing from you next?  

My aim this year is to produce a lot of prints; almost everything I made last year ended up in the Isle of Dogs project so I want to take what I learned from that and apply it to some new bodies of work. I’m exploring a couple of new places that are local to me and continuing to make work about the Norfolk coast and broads. I want to do more of the technique combinations I used in the Isle of Dogs collage and look for opportunities for more large-scale sculptural works as I enjoy finding different ways of presenting prints.

Do you have any advice for other printmakers and creatives? 

I’m not sure I’m qualified to offer any advice as I still feel rather new to the art world, however, I do think that when you make the work you really want to make it’s always better than what you think you ‘should’ make or what ‘will sell’ etc.

I worry that my work looks eclectic as I refuse to stick to one or two processes and I do envy artists who have a particular style with beautifully harmonious Instagram profiles, but I know that I’d feel stifled if I couldn’t explore.

There’s so much advice out there it’s terrifying, but I think staying true to what you want to make is key, Instagram likes and sales be damned – you’ve got to make the work you want to make (and then hope someone else finds it interesting!)