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Printmaking could easily be subtitled ‘The Art Of Thinking Differently’. Whether it’s trying out a surprising new technique, reaching for materials that shouldn’t work together or collaborating with someone with a different specialism, printmakers seem to have a confidence in the ‘let’s try this and see what happens’ realm. This newsletter bring plenty of updates from innovative thinkers and curious makers, be that classic artists playing with print instead of paint, or modern-day printmaker playing with old, discarded CDs to open us up to new worlds.

With news of other publication launches (see below), it only seems right to update you a little on our own. We’re busy beavering away on our summer issue, taking notice of the themes running through Issue 35 and bringing the stories to life with our designs. Most of the content is in now and I’m enjoying some well-earned design time on the layouts. The print challenge has been judged and the showcase is looking splendid – a real celebration of what artist’s can do with just Black and Blue. I’ve been enjoying curating and writing about my time over in Barcelona, where I’ve been exploring the benefits of residencies, of carving out time to make art and connect with like-minded people.

I’m back in the print studio this week, working on my ‘end-of-year’ project and trying to keep ‘play’ central to my practice. Having lots of fun mark-making with my gel plate, creating paper-cuts and experimenting with graphic and Indian inks. I probably enjoy this stage where the possibilities are ‘wide open’ as much as I do the eventual printing. Perhaps I like ‘thinking differently’ too…

Keep well and keep on rolling…

John Coe

Founder of Pressing Matters magazine

Buy our latest edition - Issue 34

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From finding joy in the unexpected to carving a deeper groove, the stories in our recent back issues are wide-ranging and full of inky inspiration. Master printmakers rub shoulders with stamp pattern designers in our latest grouping of magazines. We are pleased to be able to offer a discounted bundle for issues 31, 32 and 33 – at a special price of £25 + shipping (whilst stocks last). Packed with 300 pages of printy goodness, it includes our three most recent back issues.

Reimagining Discarded CDs Through Printmaking

DISC.CUSSION is an upcoming group exhibition exploring alternative printmaking practices through the use of discarded CDs as matrices for intaglio. The exhibition, which runs from June 18 to July 18 at West Gallery, Quezon City, Philippines, examines material transformation, sustainability and the afterlife of digital media by repurposing compact discs into surfaces for image-making. The use of a circular disc offers up a unique compositional challenge, as participating artist Noell El Farol
explains, “the void at the centre becomes an integral part of the composition – one cannot make a focal point due to its absence at the centre,” instead encouraging radial compositions, where balance must be carefully negotiated against the object’s inherent sense of motion.

Waterless Lithography

Artist Annie Day, along with friend Robin Ezra, come together creatively as the Printmaking Sisters – a dynamic duo passionate about art and sustainable printmaking techniques. Over the past 15 years, they have tirelessly shared their knowledge and expertise, teaching these sustainable methods in various parts of the world, including the UK, Italy, New Zealand, and their home country, Australia. Annie brings a selection of these teachings together in her new book Waterless Lithography – a technique not that widely known by many printmakers, but which offers the expressive tonal range of traditional stone lithography without the hazardous materials or complex chemical processes. Interested? Read more about it on her website and order a copy for your print studio.

Print pal and writer for the magazine Lisa Takahashi has pulled a variety of landscape and botanical-themed relief prints fresh from the printing press. "I'm looking forward to bringing these pieces to a number of print events this summer, including the Hepworth Wakefield Print Fair, The On Paper Festival Grand Fair in Bath and the Dulwich Picture Gallery Art and Print Market,” she enthuses. We are loving this print, Papaver Rupifragum – a woodcut printed on masa paper. Use the discount code APPLAUSE on her website to get 10% off any print purchase until 23rd June.

Drop a stone into water and watch it ripple. We’ve been ruminating on how small changes in your process or your approach to a technique can lead to different outcomes. Issue 34 is full of explorers and innovators who are seeking out new, creative terrains with their artworks and projects – whether they are searching out inspiration in their local environments or displaying their works for others to react to. We hope that the stories in this edition inspire you to cast your own creative stone and see how your process emanates.

Come Along To Fold Print Fair

Jo Norman and Carl Middleton have been super busy orchestrating an exciting new print fair in Bruton, Somerset. On from 10am to 4pm, Fold Print Fair takes place on 13th and 14th June at Sunny Hill studios. The line-up includes a wonderfully talented bunch of printmakers and I’m happy to say that we are involved. You’ll find us there with plenty of copies of our current edition and a variety of back issues, our trusty Keep On Rolling tote bags (so you’ll have something to carry your magazines and goodies home in) and I’ll also be selling a bunch of my own prints, plus artworks that I have made for the magazine over the years, including some massive Make Time To Make letterpress posters. With street food and coffee stalls and the backdrop of the Somerset countryside, what more could you ask for? Hope to see you there!

Beyond Impressionism at Holburne

Bath’s Holburne Museum are currently host to Beyond Impressionism: Printmaking from Manet to Picasso – an exhibition celebrating the resurgence of printmaking from the mid-19th century onwards. Taking a broad view of Impressionism and Post-Impressionism, the exhibition spans the reappraisal of the artform in the 1850s through to the 1930s and brings together prints by key artists of the movement including Manet, Bonnard, Toulouse-Lautrec and Picasso amongst others. It explores how these artists, primarily known for their paintings, made remarkable contributions to the medium of printmaking. On until mid-September, we’re looking forward to heading over to see the show ourselves soon.

Help With Evelyn’s Studio Rebuild

Suffolk-based printmaker Evelyn Polk’s beloved studio and a lifetime of work were destroyed in a fire recently. “The heart-breaking second photo shows my gorgeous press still standing,” she says, “It’s very hard to put into words how devastating it all is. We're unsure entirely how it happened but it was a huge fire which not only destroyed my studio but affected my neighbours outbuildings as well.” Luckily, no-one was hurt, however all of her printmaking equipment, materials, furniture and artworks have gone. Her father was also an artist and his paintings were sadly also a victim of the fire. Evelyn has set up a GoFundMe page and is looking for donations towards the many costs of rebuilding her art practice and print studio from scratch. “I’m so very grateful to the printmaking community and my followers for their generosity, kind words of encouragement and support. It’s down to their advice that I've started this fundraiser as so many people wanted to help in some way,” she’s says.

June sees the publication of A Galloway Year: Impressions of a naturalist and an artist. A collaboration between printmaker Karen Menarry and writer Ian Carter, the book is a beautifully illustrated celebration of the wildlife, landscapes and changing seasons of Galloway in south-west Scotland. Blending evocative nature writing with stunning original artwork, the book explores Galloway’s ancient forests, silver lochs, rugged coastline, rolling farmland, heather-covered hills and the vast Solway shore. Richly atmospheric and visually inspiring, A Galloway Year is an essential read for anyone passionate about Scottish nature, environmental conservation and the beauty of the British landscape.

On 10 June 2026, printmaker Kerstin Rice will open the Printmaking Studio Rittergut Schönberg at the historic estate of Rittergut Schönberg in the Altmark region of northern Germany. The new studio marks the beginning of a sustained artistic and research project dedicated to the reconstruction and contemporary development of early experimental printmaking techniques from the region. Between 1906 and 1908, Ferdinand Nigg, a professor at the progressive Magdeburg School of Applied Arts and Crafts, developed the Kleisterdruck technique — an innovative relief printing method using coloured starch paste.

Inky inspiration...

David Shrigley on absurdity and the
art of ageing disgracefully

Loving these wonky sculptures and paintings by Søren Behncke

Viola Wang putting the recent

bright weather to use – exposing
screens in the sun

One for my never-ending ‘buy this’ list

Tara Axford having fun with found materials and a gel plate

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