Ted Judy

The Art of Printmaking

By Danielle Torry

In south St. Augustine, tucked into a modest studio in a business park, Ted Judy is living inside the art of printmaking—where image is earned through pressure, patience, and process. The space isn’t about spectacle. It’s about the steady rhythm of the press, the scent of ink, the tear of paper, and the quiet precision it takes to pull a finished work from a carved surface.

Ted’s creative path began with photography, a practice he honed for decades. But in the spring of 2022, a visit to master printmaker Kent Ambler in Greenville, South Carolina shifted his orbit. What captured him wasn’t only the imagery—it was the mechanics of making: the calibrated roll of ink, the balance of moisture and fiber, the way a press turns effort into revelation. Within months, he was producing his first prints, trading the camera for the brayer and committing to a medium that rewards both discipline and curiosity.

For Ted, printmaking is less about arriving at a single subject and more about pursuing mastery. “Almost every project starts with a technical objective or new challenge,” he says. That philosophy has led him into reduction printing—carving a single block away layer by layer to build color and depth. Each pass is irreversible, each cut a decision, each layer a conversation between planning and surprise. He continues expanding into chine collé, collagraph, and monotype, exploring how texture, adhesion, and pressure can change the emotional temperature of an image. His “Hound Yoga” and wildlife reduction linocuts reflect this devotion to craft: the final aesthetic is shaped by the medium’s constraints and the maker’s willingness to work within them.

Ted doesn’t call himself “self-taught.” In the print world, knowledge travels hand to hand—through workshops, shared studio time, and watching how another artist inks a plate or sets the press. Community becomes the classroom. He’s also quick to explain what printmaking is, especially in a world where “prints” are often assumed to be reproductions. Ted’s editions are not giclée. They are handmade originals—each pulled by hand, each one a true product of the press. He keeps his work intentionally affordable because he believes original art should be attainable, a source of joy without hesitation.

As he moves into 2026, Ted is turning toward juried exhibitions and fairs, and deeper exploration of monotype—where every pull is singular. In the art of printmaking, the goal is simple and profound: keep making, keep learning, and let the press teach you what’s next.

Learn more at oldcityprintmakers.com | Instagram @oldcityprintmakers

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