Moving to Tauranga meant waving goodbye to her favourite etching printing technique, but unwilling to wave goodbye to her artistic side entirely, Jackie Knotts re-discovered her passion for linocut.
One of the founders of the Imprint Gallery at The Historic Village, Jackie Knotts first fell in love with printmaking at John Drawbridge’s evening class at what was then Wellington Polytechnic (now merged with Massey University).
Etching caught her attention straight away and it was one of the artworks in this technique that she used as a submission to study advanced printmaking at Central Saint Martins in London, where she also got a chance to dive deeper into the world of linocuts and lithography. After graduating from Saint Martins, followed by another two years of etching at Camberwell School of Art, Jackie Knotts had her first solo exhibition at New Zealand House in London.
LINO PRINTING OR ‘LINOCUT’ is a technique in which an image is cut into linoleum
with a sharp knife or chisel. The linoleum is then inked with a roller and impressed onto paper or fabric.
ETCHING uses strong acid or mordant to cut into the unprotected parts of a metal surface
to create an incised design that holds the ink.
Some of the materials and equipment needed for etching were not available in Tauranga, so after leaving London, Jackie put her passion on the back burner and devoted herself to learning new skills and discovering new talents: scuba diving, tramping, jogging, sailing, house renovating, gardening – she tried ‘em all!
It was only after she retired and moved to a quiet Omokoroa, that Jackie got back into printing. Only this time, she focused on lino printing. “I could print them at home and without a press if I used Japanese mulberry paper. However, my own printing press became necessary for thicker paper and to explore all the possible ways linocuts can be printed,” explains Jackie.
Known for her ‘what if’ approach, Jackie is never satisfied with following the obvious route and simply perfecting something she’s already good at. She loves pushing boundaries, discovering new techniques and creating unique artworks. “I have more ideas than time to explore them!” she says. “My latest goal is to figure out the perfect way to combine lithography, linocuts and drawings – that’s going to be a real rabbit hole.”
Her love for experimentation was recently recognised by Tauranga Art Gallery’s The Miles Art Awards.