Swansea Print Workshop is run by volunteers and that includes all members of the Board of Directors, all of whom are registered at Companies House.
The Directors are responsible for the strategic direction of the organisation and the effective administration and management of all our activities. We all look after different aspects of the necessary legal and financial framework of a community organisation, the running and updating of the website, the workshop programme and the practical upkeep of the building and facilities.
Our Directors are: Jackie Ford, Judith Stroud, Sarah Hopkins, Peter Spriggs, Ceri Roberts, David LaGrange, Sarah Jackman and Sian Barlow.
Robert Macdonald is an Associate Director.
If you are interested in helping with the running of SPW please contact us. We are looking for Directors who have business expertise as well as artistic experience. Find out more about volunteering roles at Work With Us.
Director Profiles
Jackie Ford | Director & Secretary since 2000 | Co-founder of the studio
Studying Print and Typography at Reading University as my first degree, instilled in me a lifelong passion for all things print. Retiring from a teaching position in local higher education gave me the opportunity to focus on a more personal interest in fine art printmaking.
One of the problems facing a student graduating from a printmaking degree is further access to a press if they want to continue to develop their skills. In 1998, I had retired from teaching and my friend Alan Williams had just graduated as a mature student. We decided to look for a press and somewhere to put it.
We wanted to share this facility with others and through several successful bids to the Arts Council of Wales we established a good workspace where we could invite artists to run workshops and to develop a high technical level of expertise and innovation.
I helped to develop the organisation as a not for profit company at Companies House, vital for applying for grants. I also helped to formulate a series of projects and grant support which contributed to the development of the studio as a recognised centre of excellence in South Wales over the 25 years it has been in operation.
My role has always been essentially a collaborative one working with some amazing people along the way who give so much of their volunteer time. It has involved a considerable amount of admin at times and some precarious financial situations – but offset by contact with so many printmakers and the organisation of a whole range of printmaking activities.
Judith Stroud
I graduated in Fine Art at the West of England College of Art, Bristol.
I moved to Wales and after a career in teaching art, I now follow my own artistic interests.
My art practice today is mostly built around printmaking, although I still love drawing and enjoy watercolour painting. I have used combinations of media like printmaking with watercolour, to design logos, greetings cards and book covers.
My cards have been published by Green Pebble, Reliefprint Press, and Cardiau Nico Cards. I have designed book covers for various authors which have been published by Gomer Press and Cambria Books.
I joined Swansea Print Workshop at its very beginning and I’ve worked with all of SPW’s printmaking processes over the years, but I’ve always returned to the versatility of relief printing. This is how I develop my printmaking ideas now, using wood or vinyl.
Since these earliest days at SPW, I have helped as a volunteer with many practical and administrative tasks, and also with teaching support during Open Access and other workshop activities.
I have taught on a more formal basis a few times, by leading Workshops in various techniques, and I was pleased to be appointed one of the lead artists for the first ever “MiniPrint Cymru” project.
I’ve watched SPW grow and adapt over the years, and cope with many setbacks. It has become a great organisation linking and supporting many artists.
It’s been very rewarding to work with so many talented people who have such vision and tenacity.
Sarah Hopkins
Although I have exhibited as a solo artist for almost 40 years, collaboration has enriched my personal experience and broadened my expertise. It’s at the heart of my practice – the sharing of skills and resources inspires, and fosters creativity.
Through the development of projects at Swansea Print Workshop over the last 20 years, I have nurtured long-lasting relationships with printmakers, and set up residencies and printmaking opportunities for artists at home and overseas. I’ve worked extensively in education and have a long-standing commitment to community learning.
As a proactive director at Swansea Print Workshop, I have sourced funding for numerous projects, such as the year-long Festival of Muslim Print Project alongside Contemporary Pakistani Printmakers, an exhibition which toured venues in Wales and North England. I also initiated a reciprocal programme of events in Pakistan and an exhibition, Contemporary Welsh Printmakers, which toured to Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi. More recent funding was granted to develop MiniPrint Cymru | Wales, a programme designed to raise the profile of printmaking across Wales. Through the growth and development of this initiative, I have fostered partnerships with print studios and arts organisations to establish a biennial event.
Partnership development has become increasingly important to our organisation. Collaborations with Coed Lleol | Small Woods Association, Swansea Bay Health Board and Swansea Council have enriched project experiences and resulted in employment opportunities for our members.
On a day-to-day basis, I take responsibility for Membership and also contribute to the scheduling of workshops
Peter Spriggs
I have been a practising artist for many years after graduating in Fine Art (BA Hons) in 1985 from Cardiff Metropolitan University and in 1988 (MA(RCA)) from the Royal College of Art Painting School, London.
I was a Tutor in Art Practice for Adult Education Centres in Greater London between 1988 and 1990 and a full-time lecturer in Fine Art at Carmarthen School of Art, UWTSD from 1990 to 2019. I currently work (from 2019) as a part-time Technical Demonstrator in Printmaking at Swansea College of Art, UWTSD.
I was first introduced to Swansea Print Workshop when I was looking to expand my creative practice. After attending a series of workshops, I became a full member, then a keyholder member which allowed me scope to concentrate on developing my own collagraph printing techniques. I continue to develop a large body of work using these techniques.
As a Director I facilitate exhibition opportunities, most recently the Swansea Print Workshop’s 25 years Celebration Exhibition and workshop at Oriel Q Narberth in 2025.
Swansea Print Workshop is a special place run by a special team of dedicated volunteers. I continue to experience many happy times here within a community of accomplished printmakers.
Ceri Roberts
I grew up in an artistic household with my parents Carys and Alan Roberts, both printmakers and Directors of SPW, and was therefore introduced to the Workshop from a young age.
Creativity has always been part of my life, but after years working in higher education in Malaysia, Bristol and now Swansea, I’ve found my way back to my roots in printmaking. These days, I’m developing my practice with a particular love for collagraph, which allows me to explore texture and process in a very hands-on way.
One of the highlights of my journey has been helping coordinate the first MiniPrint Wales project and now supporting the second, working alongside other printmaking organisations across Wales. I’ve also supported Swansea Print Workshop in many ways over the years, from helping with events such as the Printed Festival in Cardiff, to day-to-day jobs such as arranging the workshop utilities and organising Director meetings.
For me, SPW is more than a workshop—it’s a community. I treasure the warmth, generosity, and shared knowledge that flows through its members and volunteers. Supporting small arts organisations like this matters deeply to me, because their impact reaches far beyond their size, inspiring creativity and connection.
David La Grange MSc. BA(hons)
After graduating with a Graphic Design degree in 1981, I went freelance, working for various agencies in S.Wales. A one-year contract with the Natural History Museum in London meant shifting my working week to London, where I continued freelancing for the NHM, ILEA, and various publishing houses.
In 1993 I started lecturing part-time in Swansea School of Art, this progressed to full-time and in 2004 being appointed programme director for Graphic Design until my retirement in 2015.
Retirement gave me the opportunity to start printmaking again, particularly etching and Swansea Print Workshop provided the ideal environment to do this. A weekend course with Andrew Baldwin kicked this off, then workshop supervision, and then being asked to become a director.
For me, the strength of SPW is in the membership, they are generous with both their time and expertise and this generates a very supportive and encouraging environment. This positive attitude also feeds into a very active workshop and project programme that is giving SPW a higher profile both within Swansea and Wales.
Sarah Jackman
Most of my working career has been with not-for-profit, charitable and social enterprise organisations.
I joined Swansea Print Workshop in 2005 and worked as Arts Administrator and Project Manager on a variety of projects until 2015.
Like any Arts Administrator in a small organisation, my role was diverse: administration, financial management, marketing, event management, writing funding bids, business strategies, editorial services, volunteer management … I learned a lot in those years and enjoyed it all (despite some challenges!).
During the pandemic I got in touch with SPW to volunteer time while I was out of work and living temporarily in Kendal. I supported the development of the online exhibition space, Swansea Printmakers, and began the process of updating our main website – in particular the Archive and Member sections.
I have since continued to work remotely for SPW on a freelance basis, on marketing and financial administration; and I am currently developing business processes and procedures that will support the organisation in the long-term. I have also been involved in Miners Imprint and MiniPrint Cymru | Wales projects.
Writing has always been my primary creative expression, however in 2020 as lockdown eased, I was finally able to dedicate time to printmaking, gaining a qualification at Kendal College.
There is a sense of community at SPW which I haven’t experienced anywhere else. There is an unfailing generosity to share printmaking with others – whether it’s amongst members, with educational establishments, community groups and more. I have seen this open up creativity time and again for many who would not have the opportunity or confidence otherwise. I feel that makes SPW unique and very special.
Sian Barlow
My printmaking work is exploratory, an on-going investigation.
The smell of the studio shifts time backwards to printmaking long ago in evening classes I took in Carmarthen School of Art when I was eighteen. Although in total ignorance of printmaking and prints, I did have a very good feeling for the print studio. This feeling is what I have built on. On looking back, I realise that I’ve learned printmaking through making body-memories; learning the movements, the feel, look and smell of the tools and materials.
Printmaking is humbling, which I take to be a good thing. It is difficult and can be frustrating, requiring a thoughtful approach. Following the processes with care takes time and patience, it is grounding. And printmaking is unpredictable, not fully in my control, which for me is the place of excitement and opportunity. At best, when making prints my awareness of time and self disappears and a space opens up for something interesting to happen.
Associate Director – Robert Macdonald
Robert Macdonald is a painter and printmaker who was on SPW’s Board of Directors for many years until 2025.
He is a strong advocate for SPW and during his time as Director was successful in sourcing several funding grants, particularly with Brecknock Art Trust, a number of which have supported young people in a variety of our projects.
As a printmaker, Robert has committed to many of our creative projects himself, including Dylan Thomas Dialogues | Deialogau in 2014 and most recently Miners Imprint in 2024. Representing SPW both as an artist and director, Robert was an artist in Residence for Import | Export, our exchange project with Edinburgh Printmakers in 2011. In 2007, he was a contributing artist to SPW’s Contemporary Welsh Printmakers international exhibition. Robert travelled to Pakistan with a group of other exhibiting artists to support the cultural exchange in Karachi and Lahore, where he delivered a series of artist talks.
We’re delighted that despite his official retirement from the Board of Directors, Robert will remain as a much valued member of our artistic community in the role of Associate Director.