Slide | 2012 | collagraph and block-print on paper | 76 x 74cm

The prints that Katherine Jones creates are wonderful discoveries of light, form and space. Unlike many printmakers, Jones marries printing techniques, such as using collagraph alongside etching. Her marriage of the combination of two techniques and her chosen palette create a beautiful luminosity, with an undertone and harmony of poetic narratives.

In 2013, Jones was voted Printmaker of The Year. In 2009 was awarded the London Print Studio Award, the T N Lawrence and Son print prize, the Oriel Wrexham – Intaglio Printmaker Award, the Northern Print Biennale Solution Group Prize and the East London Printmakers Great Art Prize. In September 2008 Katherine was asked to make some work for Sienna and Savannah Miller’s Fashion Label Twenty8Twelve. It took the form of an artwork to be printed onto thin paper and folded into the hangtag of garments for the Autumn Winter 09 collection. The collection also included a t-shirt, for which she designed the graphic, as well as a silk scarf and a dress for which she made the fabric patterns.

Jurassic Glass House | 2008 | Etching and collagraph on paper | 59 x 43cm A structure supporting a membrane which protects and accelerates growth.

In her own words

Can you please introduce yourself and explain what motivated you to become an Artist?
My name is Katherine Jones and I am an artist living and working in South East London. I became involved in printmaking when I was fairly young and have continued to use its various techniques to resolve my images for the last 20 years.

You are well known for Printmaking. Why did you specialise with Printmaking and do you use other disciplines such as Drawing in your process? If so how?
I initially gravitated towards print as a way to make a drawing that could be modified by adding or subtracting colour and tone. I like the physical process of making a print and its inherent aesthetic qualities. It’s also a very satisfying way of working.

Sketchbooks are still an important element particularly at the beginning of a project and I draw a lot before transferring an image to print.

Climbing Beacon | 2012 | collagraph and block-print on paper | 85 x 64cm

You tend to mix different printmaking techniques, such as collagraph and block-print. Could you please tell us something about your technique and creating process and why you use two techniques in the same piece?
I think that it helps if you try to use the materials which best communicate your idea. Although the materials I use are fairly limited, being on the whole print – or drawing-based I try to apply them in their various forms as efficiently as possible to make the piece say what I want it to say. This often (although not always) involves mixing the various processes.

Enfold | 2011 | 59 x 43cm | etching, collagraph and block-print on paper

How does a piece of work evolve for you? What stages do you go through to get to a finished image?
Projects are based on various ideas and most begin as a rough mass of scribbles, photographs and increasingly small maquettes and 3D sketches. After this initial stage I go to do research either at the library or in whatever way is best, depending on the theme. I then make drawings. Most of the drawings are rejected or ignored and then one or two things normally start to seem more important than the rest. Eventually the drawings are taken to the studio and go through the difficult process of being made into finished pieces.

What are your biggest challenges when creating art and how do you deal with them? How do you navigate the art world?
I have no idea how the art world works. You need to be lucky enough to meet one or two people who are on your side. Going out and meeting people is always a good idea and entering open exhibitions etc. is also a great way of getting work seen.

My biggest challenge at the moment is finding time to make work as I have two very small children. I currently manage two days per week in the studio and try to fit anything else in around them during the rest of the week.

Sienna and Savannah Miller’s Fashion Label Twenty8Twelve.

What do you want to convey in your work? What do you use your Art to say and communicate?
I often work in series and the themes are fairly wide-ranging.

Recent work has been about structures in playgrounds and has focused on the way we play both as child and adult. Previous work has focused on themes from coastal erosion through fairy tales to Joseph Paxton’s revolutionary Victorian glass buildings. There is always an element of the autobiographical and the overriding conflicting ideas of fragility and security permeate it all.

Back 1 (series 2) | 2005 | Watercolour and silkscreen on paper | 56 x 77cm Bathing man's back.

Where do you hope to take your work in the next few years?
I have a few projects on the go at the moment. One is a project with a scientist from Newcastle University about a plant used for bio-diesel. I am also trying to resolve a piece for a show at Westminster reference library in June.

My main body of work will probably involve play and experiment for the next couple of years, as this is a fairly new area of work for me.

Physically I want to focus more on making artists books and 3D and small-scale work having just recently finished a lot of large-scale prints I’d like to make something that is less cumbersome both to make and to distribute.

Silver Hands | 2008 collagraph

Katherine Jones is a British artist, living and working in London. She frequently exhibits in the UK and internationally. International exhibitions include, Germany, Japan and South Africa. Originally graduating from Cambridge School of Art with a BA in Fine Art Printmaking, she went on to graduate in 2003 from Camberwell College of Art with a MA in Printmaking.

All images courtesy of Katherine Jones www.katherine-jones.co.uk

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