Ink and Inspiration : a Look Inside Jo Hollier's Printmaking Practice

I’ve always drawn and always been a keen observer in the natural world. In my work I am exploring my connection with the environment and a concern for the changes we see and experience. Everyday details are food for creativity. Australian native plants and birds are unique and constantly fascinating.

The process of printmaking is also endlessly fascinating. Sometimes very technical sometimes very freeing. There are so many possibilities to try and ways to express yourself.

How ever it all starts with jotting , drawing and lots of it. From sketchbooks the works progress to intricate drawing into wax which is then etched in an acid, or in this case, a CuSo4 (copper sulphate) bath.

The textural quality or colours which I am trying to achieve will dictate the print medium I will choose to use. For example, collagraph will give strong colour and texture, Etching with aquatint looks linear and atmostpheric or linoprint which will give you a harder edge but allow for transparent layers to build up tone and colour. This also determines the type of paper I use so a good knowledge of papers is essential. The rule of thumb is to use the best quality you can.

I am using water soluble inks and using non toxic methods as much as possible.

I have a limited range of colours which I use and these I mix on the plate making it quite a challenge to create an edition. Having said that I can usually manage a small edition of prints which are “essentially” the same. A limited number of artists proofs (monoprints) are printed at the time of editioning before I make a final colour choice. I use a MES etching press with which to print and lots of surfaces are necessary in the studio for soaking paper, inking up and drying prints. Staying organised and keeping clean areas can present a challenge!! 

Images are built up in layers. Layers of meaning as they all have a ’back story” and physical layers with multiple blocks then collage plus then also hand colouring.

A recent change in working patterns has led me to monoprinting on a “gelli plate” as a way to break free from the etching press. This is a more ‘portable’ process which can travel with me everywhere. The work is strongly textural, adaptable and can incorporate collage or drawn elements with ease.

2. How do you stay inspired and motivated in your work?

Once I start to work on a piece or a body of work ideas start to flow. One thing leads to another. I am constantly observing and collecting bits and pieces from nature or reading about plants, animals. Walking in gardens. Looking about there is no shortage of ideas. Visits to galleries etc. Time is probably the major restriction to workflow. Making notes helps. Music provides balance.

3. Can you walk us through your process for a particular piece?

I don’t often record how the works are made but because it was an epic process I can share “Nature Table I” and II. This may be very boring to some people but ‘bear with it’, as they say

Collections of seed pods, leaves, feathers and bugs “grow” in my studio space and images of these make their way into my works I feel like an old fashioned botanist recording my finds first as a drawing then carefully etched in zinc plate and printed.

The inspiration for the works was a drawing I made for an earlier exhibition ”Pods”

For the Nature Table I wanted to represent my collections of Eucalyptus seed pods and leaves as well as Banksia bits but have them organised in a table referencing systems for botanical classification as well as initial recordings of Australian native plants by Joseph Banks.

First I worked up a new detailed drawing with all the seed pods I wanted to use then calculate the sizes of the plates of each individual so that they fit within the dimension of the bed of the press. 16 small plates of varying sizes had to be cut by hand from a sheet of zinc plate. All plates covered with an acid resistant ground and drawn into with an etching needle. Then the lines were etched and aquatint applied to achieve a deeper tone and give the forms dimension. Each plate was then proofed individually and reprocessed if needed. Or proofed again to get the colour right.

In order to fit them together on each run through the press I traced a registration sheet with all of the plates positioned with extra room for leaves to be printed on top.

I also created image transfers onto Japanese Kozo paper of Joseph Banks writings and lists of botanical names to include as chine colle՝ elements under some of the plates.

All of the plates were inked up and placed on the bed of the press and printed in one pass. Often a tricky manoeuvre as little plates and bits of light paper and leaves are prone to move!! The leaves were inked up and printed after the paper had settled a bit but not completely dried. I managed to print about 3 good copies of each Nature

 
Table I and Nature Table II. 4 weeks work for each.
4. How does your personal background and culture influence your art?

It is well known that culture and background have always motivated artists to create in certain ways. In my case I had parents as examples who were always ‘doers’. If we had no furniture my dad made it, if we needed clothes my mum made them. If we had no toys they were made or bought 2nd hand and fixed up. So I also was never happier than when I was making something. If it wasn’t drawing, it was sewing or knitting or quilting or spinning. Well, you get it. I spent a lot of time in the garden or the paddocks as a child exploring or daydreaming. Everyone in the family was keen on plants and birds. Australian natives were special and amazing. As Immigrants post war from the Netherlands my parents were curious about everything new and passed that curiosity on. Road trips were particularly memorable as we could never be bored with so much to look at as we drove through the countryside!! ‘So much space’ they’d say. So much variety, woodlands, grasslands, subtropical forests, rivers, the sea. So precious and so vulnerable. How lucky we were!!

I was not encouraged to take up art studies once I left school but did so as soon as I could once the family had grown up. As a family we have had travels and lived as expats in remote places. The experiences of arts and culture of these places has been reflected or given my love of the natural world a different flavour. I am inspired by the work of prominent Australian artists such as John Wolsley, Jorg Schmiesser, Margaret Woodward and the works of many other more contemporary printmakers interest me greatly.

5. How has your art evolved over time?

At the start of my arts career, like many others I was tempted to try a range of mediums. However, I soon realised there is so much choice that you can’t be good at everything and it made much more sense to focus my skills in areas that I knew I could improve. I still think I am improving. The more I work, the more confident I feel.

6. How has technology and social media affected your arts practice?

Social media has Increased access to information and global reach and created friendships and connections which were previously not possible. Exhibitions and sales can now be conducted in a virtual space. My website has been more about promotion of what I do and who I am and has been invaluable in communicating nationally and further afield. Technology has the potential provide a new and exciting platform for presentation of my art creating more commercial opportunities.

A computer or laptop has been an invaluable tool in storing documents and photographs. I have been able to index , store and edit photographs I might use as reference material. Design tools are also helpful for deciding on tone and colour. I do remember the days of printing off photos including lots of really bad ones. I’ve always considered a computer an essential tool and they are much quicker now.

7. Can you discuss any specific themes or messages you hope to convey through your work?

From all accounts the world today is a different place from what was recorded by early explorers and will continue to change due to human interventions such as urbanisation, agriculture, mining, logging. I hope to record what I see so we remember what we had. There is so much that is lost and forgotten. If we don’t depict nature NOW, future generations will not know.

Stop to admire the beauty of nature, experience joy in the natural world beautifully made and as seen by an artist. I would like to encourage the viewer to look beyond the image, see the world and marvel at its wonders. 

You can see more of Jo's work on her Instagram https://www.instagram.com/johollier/ and facebook or on her website https://johollierartist.com.au/