Teaching is not about assignments, textbooks or authority. It’s about the pedagogy, connection and approach that creates the conditions for a willing student to change their mind. Everything else is simply grunt work. Sooner or later, we are all self taught.

Inferno, Canto X: Many artists have attempted to illustrate Dante Alighieri’s epic poem the Divine Comedy, but none have made such an indelible stamp on our collective imagination as the Frenchman Gustave Doré. Doré was 23 years old in 1855, when he first decided to create a series of engravings for a deluxe edition of […]

Two hundred years ago, there were a lot of violinists. Many made a living at it. If you were of means and wanted to hear music, your best option was to hire someone to play it for you. Of course, the invention of the phonograph and the radio changed all of that. Now, one great […]

There isn’t much place for dodecahedra in modern life, at least in those modern lives with  tabletop role-playing. In the ancient Roman Empire, however, those shapes seem to have been practically household objects — not that we know what the household would have done with them. Thus far, well over 100 similarly designed copper-alloy second-to-fourth-century […]

I’m Alex Williams, a printmaker and illustrator based in Somerset. I mainly make linocut prints in bright and bold colours - I very rarely use any black ink! I also create illustrations, murals and bespoke window paintings and run printmaking workshops for adults and children. Describe your printmaking process. I generally start with sketches, drawn largely from life but I also love browsing antique and auction catalogues and the V&A website on the look out for interesting patterns and shapes. I use a range of lino techniques, often the ‘jigsaw’ method but also sometimes cutting multiple blocks or reduction so I think about what I want from the finished piece before deciding which process to use. I then transfer the image to the lino very simply with tracing paper often leaving out much of the detail and then just go for it. I like things to look perfect but not too perfect.   How and where did you learn to print? My degree was in fine art and we had an amazing print studio at the School of Art. I dabbled in lots of different printmaking methods from etching and drypoint to screen printing, but I don’t remember exploring much relief printing. I still use some of the Japanese woodcutting tools I got in my first year there about 20 years ago though, so we must have done some! A few years ago, I made some mini linocut prints to give as wedding favours for my sister’s wedding as we thought it would be a good way to make lots of mini artworks and from then on I’ve been hooked. I’ve taught myself a lot and am always learning and trying out different things. Why printmaking? I love the puzzle, the layering, the problem solving and the multi- step processes involved. The “no going back”-ness and the flatness of the colour you can create. I love that I can print an edition and then move onto the next thing. I also love how accessible it is - both for printmakers; requiring little to no specialist equipment - and also for people wanting some original art in their homes. Where do you work? My ‘studio’ is a corner of our spare room on the top floor where I’ve filled various surfaces with piles of paper, books and art supplies. It’s boiling in summer and freezing in the winter. Luckily for linoprinting you don’t need a lot of space. However, when people come to stay they might have to duck under a string of drying prints to get to the bed. My set up is very homemade - a big piece of mdf plonked on top of a chest of drawers is my printing table and a clothes airer donated by a neighbour with some bulldog clips on it serves as a drying rack - but it works for me. Describe a typical day in your studio. I’ve only recently been able to spend much time in my studio regularly as we have two small children. I try and plan beforehand what I want to get out of my available time as it’s sometimes only a couple of hours - be that planning new pieces, carving or spending a big chunk of time printing - that’s the one that’s harder to dip in and out of so I try to make sure I can do that on days when everyone is at school/nursery. How long have you been printmaking? I had been dipping in and out of making in different forms - sometimes making linocuts or screenprints - since I left university nearly twenty years ago.  Whilst working as a teacher and later for the NHS, I always had creative projects on the go but I’ve been consistently printmaking for about the last three years. Working from home after lockdown allowed me more time to explore my practice and begin to make it the main part of my life and last year I was able to go fully freelance which I’m really enjoying. What inspires you? My work is all about colour and pattern and I'm inspired by all sorts of things from the kitchen shelves to museum displays, auction catalogues, vintage fabrics and beautiful flowers. It has a hint of history or nostalgia about it but with colours maximised, and distillation of form and pattern. What is your favourite printmaking product? I really like using the Caligo Safewash inks, although I also use Schmincke water based inks a lot too as they dry so quickly. I love the range of printmaking papers from Handprinted - I get through a lot of the Kent paper. I also have a big Woodzilla-type press that I found in a junk shop for a fiver - they didn’t know what it was - I couldn’t believe my luck! Plus I have a lovely small Pfeil gouge which I wouldn’t be without now, I’d like the whole set! What have you made that you are most proud of? I’m most proud of sustaining my practice and having got to a stage where I’m making work that I like and am able to make a living from it. When I left university I didn’t really have any idea how to do that or the confidence to just go for it. It’s only now with the benefit of age that I care much less what people think and am more prepared to ask about things I’d like to do and create opportunities for myself. I’m also very proud of a really nice reduction print of a patterned vase I did - the registration was so perfect - it takes a trained eye to really appreciate that though! Where can we see your work? Where do you sell? I sell from my website and I stock my prints and cards in several galleries and nice shops championing handmade products. I’m also a regular at my local Independent Market in Taunton as they have a monthly Arts market, it’s always so lovely to meet the people who are buying your work. What will we be seeing from you next? There are so many ideas I’m desperate to get started on, but the next things I want to work on are a series of larger reduction prints of ceramic figurines - I find them so amusing. I’m also building up my workshop programme for the rest of the year as I’ve been enjoying teaching so much. Do you have any advice for other printmakers and creatives?  I think my main piece of advice is not to overthink things, care less about what other people think and just keep making/drawing for yourself. You will find the strands that link everything that you do and find your own unique style that brings you joy. I spent a long time thinking my work wasn’t good enough because it didn’t have an overt political ‘message’ or deep philosophical meaning, but I now realise that making colourful prints in the way that I do, often of things that may seem quite quotidian, appeals to people quite deeply, and brings a lot of joy and that’s just as valid. To see more of Alex, follow her on Instagram! Image credit Becky Tea Photography