CH - Who are your influences? Are there illustrators, artists, books or designers you look to for inspiration?
M - I really like 20th century modernism and at the moment I am looking at the work of Jean Arp and Alexander Calder but have eclectic interests including; architecture, textiles, outsider art, eastern European film posters, graffiti the list goes on…
CH - Your work is full of colour and shape do you plan these aspects out before you begin a piece of work or is it a natural creative process which occurs while you are producing?
M - Drawing and collage always forms the starting point for my work. I want my work to to have a balance of order and improvisation so some aspects my work is planned, a certain amount is down to spontaneity and feeling, it is the tension between these two opposites that makes the creative process interesting.
CH - When producing a zine or print to sell, what method of productions do you use? For example to save costs or make it easier to produce more of?
M - When producing zines I tend to favour photocopying because it is relatively cheap and accessible, it has that DIY aesthetic but you can also produce interesting effects.
CH - You utilise a number of skills within your work, collage, screenprint, sculpture, drawing and painting, do you have a preferred method? if so why this method?
M - I don’t really have a preference, I like them all. I see them as a creative family, each process supports the other and helps stimulate ideas.
CH - Your most known work would be your prints, paintings and zines, so how did sculpture become part of your practice?
M - I have always made things, models, textiles, sculptures. I get ideas and I have to do them. It goes back to the idea that everything you create stimulates something else, I have to keep working it is a constant process.
CH- When producing your collages, where do you get the inspiration and the images for these? Again is this a natural process or do you plan them out before beginning?
M - Firstly it starts by collecting imagery, I will collect interesting and obscure magazines and printed matter. I will cut out things that catch my eye it might be a bit of printed texture or part of a face but then the rest of the design process is very improvised.
CH - How important do you feel it is to keep screenprint and other traditional means of print going in today's world which is very digitally heavy?
M - It’s not really a conscious decision. I find the process intriguing, I like to work with limitations and these hand produced methods have technical limitations that allow me to focus on other things like shape, form colour and textures, this forces you to think more creatively.
CH - What, in your opinion, are the benefits of traditional print methods over other methods?
M - You have to pare things down and work around limitations, I think this is a good thing. With digital technology, there are so many possibilities but this has its own problems, it can get complicated and overwhelming.
CH - What is the best piece of advice you were given when you were learning your practice and how did it help you?
M - When I was at college one of my tutors said the hardest thing to deal with isn’t people hating your work but indifference to what you do. I always remembered this, most of the time people are not particularly interested, so you have to find ways to get your work seen and appreciated, it is important build connections with like- minded individuals.
and finally
CH - It says on your website that you have 'a fascination with the creative possibilities of print processes and techniques' - When did this fascination begin? And what are your best tips or methods for creatives experimenting with print?
M - When I did my Foundation course I tried etching, relief printing and screen printing and from that moment I was hooked. But even before this as a kid I had a fascination with printed matter, comics, posters and packaging.
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