It’s January and time to kick start our creative selves after the hustle and bustle of Christmas. We’ve had a brilliant year of Meet the Maker interviews
in 2018. Scroll down for a chance to remind yourself of who we’ve talked to this year and take a look at the advice they offered.
“For anyone just starting out, I’d say to be a little bit brave, start showing your work & put it out there. The creative community is incredibly supportive
and can offer so much advice and networking opportunities. Take things one small step at a time and keep believing in yourself”
“Experiment and don’t be put off if you don’t have all the equipment you think you need, someone, somewhere will have found another way
of doing things!”
“The same advice as I’d give for anything, work on what inspires you & do lots of it. Immerse yourself & enjoy it.”
“Work hard and be determined! Find other printmakers and support each other. It’s really helped me a lot to work collaboratively and get advice whenever
I get stuck. I love going to the mokuhanga conferences and listening to the experiences of other printmakers and seeing their work first-hand. Being
able to do what you love is such a privilege, enjoy it as much as you can!”
“Be creative, have fun and original. Don’t be afraid to experiment and to fail at things sometimes. That’s how we learn.”
“My advice for creatives is to be patient and be true to who you are, even if the tide of work is landscape and animals and you are doing
figurative prints, I spent a number of years trying to be who I wasn’t and the work was not good.“
“Look for a proper job would be the sensible advice. But having said that, if you are prepared to take the rough with the smooth, it can be wonderful to
work to your own agenda, doing the thing you love doing best.”
“I have found social media to be a very helpful source of both inspiration and support. The printmaking community on Instagram is particularly friendly
and everyone I’ve ‘met’ is very happy to provide advice on techniques and materials.”
“I think my advice is hang in there! Problems can always be solved either by asking around or by having a little tuition. Looking back, my learning process
has been quite slow and incremental and I’ve solved one problem at a time. Be patient and keep on printing!”
“My only advice really is to keep working. Try to do a little every day if possible and not be discouraged by rejection. So many talented printmakers don’t
get the recognition they deserve because they get put off by how hard it can be. I guess you need to develop a thick skin.”
“It’s the cliche one, but practice. I spent so much time scrolling through Instagram admiring other artists and wishing I had their talent, but didn’t
do anything about it. Once I finally got to work, I grew tremendously. I’m amazed at how much I’ve grown in just a year and I’m already at a place
where these artists I once admired are now my peers. Another thing I would suggest is to just put your art out there. It’s easy to doubt your own ability
when the internet is saturated with talented people, but you have to just go for it. People are really encouraging and involving yourself in a creative
community makes it easier to trust your own skills.”
“Make time and go for it!”
“The best advice is never to stop working. If you want colours to be registered perfectly, talk to, or email a printmaker who really knows how to do this.
There is nothing worse than poorly registered lino blocks. Learn to sharpen your lino cutters yourself as they must be razor sharp to produce professional
work.”
Don’t undersell yourself. When we started we did so much for no money and people seem to take advantage and see a design service as something that can
be given away for free. Your time is your cost so ensure you get paid for your hard work. Also stick to your guns and create items that you love so
you remain passionate about what you do.
“My advice would be to find a medium/s that you feel comfortable with. Try not to master too many techniques at once. All Printmaking processes take a
while to become fluent in. Also, buy the best materials that you can afford as they do make a huge difference to your learning experience.”
“Meet other makers, and take your work out into the world. Other makers can support you and inspire you, and meeting the people who love your work will
spur you on to make more and more. And on that front, never stop learning and experimenting. Take other random classes – everything you do will feed
back into your work.”
“Print what makes you happy!”
“My way of working came about in my final year of University, I think before then I’d tried too hard to create a style. When actually it should come naturally
by doing what you love, in my case combining photography and printmaking, my two passions. And enter competitions, they are great for getting noticed.”
“Don’t feel like you have to have access to expensive equipment in order to get started and if you’re unsure about a process, reach out to printmakers
and ask them questions. I would highly recommend attending courses and talks and don’t be afraid to get your hands dirty. It’s the best way to learn!”
“Don’t be put off by what you sometimes perceive as failure, the more you explore and experiment the more the creative process blossoms.”