Meet the Maker : Judith Westrup
Describe your printmaking process.
I mainly make reduction linocuts, each one starting with a specific moment in time. A view opening up along a lane, a glow in the sky, a familiar tree from a new angle - it often catches me by surprise, but I know there and then that this moment will become a print. In some ways, it feels like I am already standing in one of my linocuts, and I just cannot wait to get home and start carving that moment into lino.
I don’t plan my prints beyond an initial rough sketch, I prefer working on each print intuitively and responding to the changes that each layer brings. I often print with 10 layers or more, and sometimes this means adding another reduction plate for a few layers. I start my prints with many imperceptibly pale layers and soft gradients so that I keep a sense of light and stillness for as long as possible before the darker layers start to dominate. I tend to make small prints and small editions, working on multiple prints at the same time because I can never predict how long each one will take me.
How and where did you learn to print?
I attended a linocut day run by Rachel Moore which was advertised in my local parish magazine. I’d never heard of linocut before, but I was looking for a bit of distraction from my rather stressful day job. I came with a sketch of a wild carrot seed head, and I knew from the very first stab into the lino (not into my finger, thankfully) that my life would never quite be the same again. If my life was a film, they’d put some very dramatic music over that moment. In reality, I just quietly came home from that workshop via the craft shop, I bought a random assortment of printmaking equipment without any kind of clue, and every day since, I have carved and printed and learnt along the way. I fully expected this new obsession to wane at some point. So far, it hasn’t, and I hope it never will. I can no longer imagine a life without lino.
Why printmaking?
I love making things with my hands, and I enjoy the sheer physicality of linocut, and the slow, repetitive and slightly risky nature of it all. I lose myself in hours of fiddly carving, carefully rolling ink and slowly winding the cast-iron press. I’ve always been a ponderer and dreamer, and the slow, deliberate and quietly magical nature of linocut suits me.
Where do you work?
I print and teach in my kitchen, where almost every surface can and will be repurposed for printing, and where all of life happens as well as printmaking. Two Victorian book presses live in my kitchen, little Alma on the chest of drawers and my big press Albert is head of the dining table. My printmaking equipment is stored everywhere in the house, in and under cupboards and under the sofas and the kids’ beds. There are family dinners with lino shavings on the table, inky cuddles on the sofa, chats under the drying lines, and meals cooked while also finishing the next layer on a print, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. While I don’t have space for a studio, I’m not sure I would like one. I like printing in the middle of my home, and somehow, I think that also comes out in my prints.
Describe a typical day in your studio.
I start my days very early, with coffee and admin tasks, and often some housework - because I print in my kitchen, the dishes just have to be done before the inks come out! On teaching days I start my days baking, and while the cake is in the oven, I set up for my students so they have an orderly and homely environment to learn in. I teach individuals and small groups, and no two teaching days are the same.
Printing waits until my kids are out of the house, and there is usually more coffee while I inspect the drying lines to check which prints are dry enough to take the next layer, and others where I need to carve and add an extra layer. Sometimes, I’ll rifle through my pile of sketches to see if I fancy starting another print. I tend to group tasks together to make the most efficient use of time - so if I am cutting paper for one new print, I’ll also chop paper for all the other upcoming prints while the guillotine is out, or I’ll spend a whole day framing everything that needs to be done. It’s easier to set yourself up with all the tools and work in a production-line fashion.
To get through my least favourite task - attaching Ternes-Burton tabs - I usually line myself up with a good documentary and striking bargains with myself with snacks and coffee. 20 papers tabbed = 1 coffee. And before you know it, the papers are all prepared and you are running on caffeine.
On some days, there are trips to the post office or the framers at some point during the day, or dropping off wholesale orders. But many days, I just swan about in my printmaking apron, pinging between carving, printing, packaging or whatever else needs doing to keep this whole operation going. With the exception of attending art fairs and running workshops, printmaking can be quite a lonesome existence. I relish my solitary printmaking days in my kitchen studio where I don’t see another soul, and then spending my weekends exhibiting or teaching and meeting very many wonderful people in a short space of time - it is a lovely balance.
I particularly love my teaching days - passing on the love of printmaking is second only to carving for me. I like giving people time to experiment and ask questions, and the magic of seeing students lift their first print will never get old.
I also use my Instagram account as a teaching tool, and I feel strongly about posting the whole process of printmaking including the things that don’t always work out. Printmakers definitely don’t just lift perfect finished prints all the time! The printmaking community out there on Instagram and in real life is a very special thing to be part of.
How long have you been printmaking?
I have been printmaking for 7 years - the speed and intensity with which linocut took hold of me really should have come with a health warning!
What inspires you?
I spend much of my time roaming the countryside, looking for things - ancient trees, sunken lanes, fossils, field patterns. I am completely and utterly in love with the wonderful rolling Chalk Downlands that I live in, and I want to understand and preserve this landscape. When I am not printing, I’ll be somewhere in the undergrowth laying hedges, or recording ancient and veteran trees.
What is your favourite printmaking product?
Cranfield Caligo Extender. 10/10 No notes.
And my two Victorian book presses - solid, dependable, no nonsense.
What have you made that you are most proud of?
‘Last Light’ was an edition that meant a lot to me. It was my first foray into doing a multiblock reduction print at a larger size, and it coincided with a period of bereavement - I poured my heart and soul into this print. There was something about this print that made people stop and want to tell me what it meant to them, and there were many shared hugs and tears. It was the first print that made me realise that I print with layers of feelings as well as layers of ink. ‘Last Light’ was my fastest selling edition, it lives on as a little greetings card it still sells out regularly.
Where can we see your work? Where do you sell?
All my prints are available from my website, and I am regularly out and about showing my work at art fairs and exhibitions. There’s a full list pinned on my Instagram grid and on my website.
I only sell original linocuts, so once an edition has sold out, some live on as greetings cards. I have a large range of cards that I sell wholesale and individually at events. The whole range of cards is available on my website.
My work is also available from my lovely galleries and stockists: Ethel Loves in Rye and Tenterden, Natasha Pearl Gallery near Canterbury, and The Horsebridge in Whitstable.
What will we be seeing from you next?
More landscapes, more big moody skies, more teaching…and maybe travelling further afield for fairs.
Do you have any advice for other printmakers and creatives?
Don’t give up! Linocut is such a physical art form, and much of it is down to developing new motor skills - a bit like learning to play the guitar! Carve and print many little pieces, often, without a plan or a purpose. Keep examples of all your prints - the good, the bad and the ugly - in a sketchbook and date them. Especially keep the ugly ones! You’ll soon be able to look back at your early works and see just how far you’ve come. Once you have the motor skills nailed, you’ll be able to experiment and find your own printmaking voice.
To see more from Judith, follow her on Instagram!
Photo's of Judith at work were taken by Lena Bruce.
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