Beth Munro: Exploring Printmaking, Nature, and the Print in Action Festival

Beth Munro by Jimmy Swindell

In this insightful conversation, we sit down with artist Beth Munro, the creative force behind the highly anticipated Print in Action Festival in Plymouth.

Beth's journey from sculptural landscape design to the world of printmaking is a testament to her enduring passion for creativity and her deep connection to the natural world. Her work, often inspired by the ocean's mysteries, brings attention to the fragility and beauty of marine ecosystems through various printmaking techniques.

As the organiser of Print in Action, Beth is bringing the magic of printmaking to Plymouth, offering both seasoned artists and curious newcomers the chance to explore, learn, and celebrate this dynamic art form. Join her at Ocean Studios on 26th and 27th April for a weekend full of masterclasses, workshops, demonstrations, and live events.

Beth, can you tell us a bit about your journey into printmaking? How did it all begin – and what drew you back to it in 2013? 

I did a Fine Art degree at Middlesex Polytechnic Graduating in 1990, which included printmaking, drawing and sculpture. During my degree I became very interested in the environmental art movement and ended up creating large sculptural pieces in the landscape which led me to my first career in Garden Design and landscaping. I ran my own business designing gardens in London, Bristol and Hampshire until 2003 when I moved to Cornwall with my young family to live and work by the Sea. It was during this time, that I was able to re-engage with my creative side working for creative partnerships in schools in Devon and Cornwall as an outdoor learning practitioner. As the children grew, I started to re connect with my own practice by taking classes in drawing, painting and printmaking. I fell head over heels in love with Printmaking which led me to taking printmaking courses at AUP and Joining Mary Gillett’s Tamar Print Studio in 2013 to study predominantly Etching. In lockdown I persuaded my family to turn the living room into a print studio, bought my own Gunning press and started to explore other printing processes such as Monoprinting, Drypoint and Linocut.

Your work often explores the natural world, from seaweed and bones to the lives of insects and coastal detritus. How does living by the ocean and walking those beaches shape your creative practice? 

Beneath the Surface Series - 3 - Beth Munro

I was brought up by the Sea, our holidays consisted of getting the bus to the beach and spending the day rockpooling and guddling about in the shallows. I know it's a cliche but I feel that the sea is in my bones. I love exploring what lies beneath the surface of the sea, the intricacies and the beauty of complex eco systems that exist within reach but out of sight. I’ve been walking the beaches of Downderry and Seaton for many years, collecting the flotsam and jetsam left behind by the ocean. Some of it frustrating [ human rubbish], some destressing [ sea birds with Avian flu] but much of it the remnants of the marine world that reflect natural cycles and weather systems. My work reflects my concerns and my love of the marine world, it’s partly about exploring connectiveness and partly just the pure celebration of how incredible nature is.

You've worked across sculpture, landscape design and now printmaking – how do those different disciplines influence the way you make and see your work today? 

That’s a hard question. I guess that everything you do informs what happens next. Sculpture in the landscape informed how I designed landscapes and gardens. I discovered that I had good spatial awareness and problem-solving skills, I love learning process and being in control of outcomes. Printmaking is all about process and problem solving. Garden design is also about narrative, creating atmospheres and telling a story through plants, spaces and colour. When I make work about the marine world, I always have a narrative, a suggestion, a reminder, sometimes it’s obvious, sometimes a little hidden human influence. 

You use a mix of printmaking techniques — etching, drypoint, linocut, monoprint — and often experiment with scale, colour and texture. What excites you most about the printmaking process right now?

I’ve come to describe myself as a hybrid printmaker as I love exploring different printmaking techniques and often combining them as I develop work.

In the last couple of years, I have become very excited about Monoprinting. A process that enables layering colour and forms using stencils, found objects to create texture and incorporating sand, salt and other elements that emboss and disrupt the surface of the paper. 

I start with an idea, begin the process of preparing the plate for printing and wait for the reveal, which is always surprising and unexpected. I then respond to what I see on the paper and prepare the next plate; It’s now become a conversation between me and the evolving print, often a narrative presents itself as the print evolves which is the bit that excites me most. My work is gradually getting bigger and bolder as I become more confident with the process and have access to larger and larger presses.

You talk about exploring life 'beneath the surface' in your recent work. Could you tell us more about what that means for you — visually, emotionally or conceptually?

Beneath the Surface series compilation

The life beneath the surface series explores complex eco systems that exist under the surface of the sea. Incredible beauty, colour, form and diversity which I love to capture in my prints but also the fragility and survival of these complex systems that are at the mercy of human activity. I’m interested in how we create meaningful connections with what we know, see and understand as our responsibility in a fast-changing world.

Beneath the Surface series compilation

As the organiser of Print in Action, what inspired you to create a dedicated print festival in Plymouth — and what do you think it brings to the city’s cultural scene?

I’ve been involved with Real Ideas now for about 7 years and down at Ocean Studios for a least 5 years. We have wonderful print facilities here and a growing creative community that we need to shout about. I talk to printmakers at all stages of their creative careers in Plymouth all the time about building communities, sharing knowledge and space, becoming more visible within Plymouth and beyond. Print in Action is about celebrating printmakers and printmaking, it’s an opportunity to discover what printmaking is all about, to have a go, be curious, collaborate, be visible,

Why do you think it’s so important that events like this happen outside of London, and in the South West in particular?

Well, I suppose that as you get further away from London printmaker communities become more fragmented and isolated from each other. Cities like Plymouth are well placed to offer events that can capture what’s going on in Devon and Cornwall and beyond.

Print in Action feels incredibly collaborative — masterclasses, workshops, tasters, talks, print stalls and live demonstrations. What kind of atmosphere can visitors expect when they walk into Ocean Studios during the festival weekend?

I’m hoping that anyone walking through the door on 26th and 27trh April will be excited to explore all the different print making processes that we have available to try, seeing printmakers demonstrating their craft, meeting printmakers who can explain how they make work, listen to some very inspiring people talk about their careers and experiences, and many beautiful original prints to buy! 

I’m hoping it will be buzzing so come down and get inky and printy with us!

Can you tell us about some of the highlights for this year’s festival? Are there any workshops or artists you're especially excited about?

We have Bench Allen who is a returning Plymothian who lives and works in London and is part of Jealous Gallery – he is going to be doing a drop in demo and make ‘In the spirit of disco’ We have Jemma Gunning RWA who is part of the Bristol Print Collective and will be leading a Masterclass in Mono Printing, giving a talk about her residency in Venice and exhibiting her work in the Hubbox. Matt Holmes will be rebuilding a 125yr old Platen Press over the weekend and attempting to take a print off it by Sunday afternoon. Sue Lewry is getting out her Colossal Screenprinting Station and doing a performance piece on Saturday which invites you to watch the printing process in real time. We have lots of lovely printmakers that will be sharing their printing processes with you, demonstrations or drop in tasters, there will be plenty to fill your day!

What has the process of organising Print in Action taught you about the creative community in Plymouth and the wider South West?

It has been an interesting process reaching out to printmakers across the South west. Printmakers who are at very different stages of their careers, different stages of their development and having taken many different paths to get there. There are a lot of us printmakers out there that want to be part of something bigger than themselves and seek to have more visibility as part of our creative city. I’m hoping that |print in Action can play a part in achieving this.

Finally, what would you say to someone who’s never been to a printmaking event before — why should they come, and what might they discover?

The Print in Action weekend is as much about being curious about making, creating and trying something new as it is about exploring the world of printmaking. If you love making, being crafty or arty you will love this weekend. This is a truly inclusive weekend for anyone with or without experience to learn about the world of print.