Printsy Interview - Dee Beale

Etsy - www.deebeale.etsy.com
Web - deebeale.blogspot.com
Flickr - flickr.com/photos/deebeale/

Brief Bio
I’m a print maker/designer living in the UK with my husband and 2 small children, after studying graphic design and illustration I worked in Design agencies for over 10 years. 4 years ago I left full time employment to look after my 2 small children. I started print making and selling my prints on Etsy earlier this year.

How did you get started in printmaking?
Like most art students I was introduced to print making at Art College, although I thoroughly enjoyed it I couldn’t see it as a career path so went on to study Graphic Design and Illustration. After my second child looking to become more focused on illustration I came across some beautiful Letterpress work online I also started to read blogs and found Gocco. I acquired a Gocco in 2008 and started to experiment with it. I started print making and selling my prints on Etsy earlier this year.

Describe where you work.
At the moment I work at a table in a corner of one of the rooms in my house and all printing is done on the kitchen table.


Describe your work.
Graphic and bold.

What is your favourite printmaking process?
At the moment Gocco, but I’m hoping to try more printing processes in the near future.


What's your creative process for any given print?
I usually start by taking my own photographs and work from these, I always start sketching in my sketch book first and from my sketches I create a finished drawing, some times I print from this and other times, if I want a more graphic look I’ll scan this in and create a drawing in Adobe Illustrator and print from that.

What do you enjoy most about printmaking?
Pulling the first print off a new master screen.


What's your least favourite part of the process?
Lack of space, I live and work in a relatively small house and constantly have to move stuff around when printing.

What are your inspirations (other artists, people, places, events, etc.)?
That’s a tricky one because there are just so many, I love mid century art and design so a lot of the artists I admire are from that period including Lucienne Day, Jessie Tait, John Clappison, and Stig Lindberg but I could go on and on.


How has your work changed and evolved since you started?
Ask me in a few more years.

How do you get past creative slumps?
I think with information being so accessible these days it’s difficult not to be inspired by something, but if I do I find taking a break and getting on with other day to day stuff helps me refocus.


How do you promote your work?
I use my blog, flickr and twitter at the moment. I’ve also been lucky enough to have had my work featured on some of the Design blogs which is always really successful.

Any other comments or advice for others who want to try making hand-pulled prints?
Try some part-time courses or print workshops they’ll supply you with the equipment, checkout some of the great Print maker blogs online. The great thing about print making is it’s so accessible.