FK chats to Sydney based designer Matthew Roland Bannister about his work.
Tell us a little about your label.
Oh gosh, I guess I’ve never really considered my work to be a label before. Matthew Roland is my design and my drawings. It’s my pens, my pencils and my love/hate relationship with watercolours. I guess it’s just all my creative endeavours and all of my strange, strange thoughts.
What’s your creative background, and how did it result in where you are today?
I’m currently studying a Bachelor of Design in Visual Communication, with about two more years to go. I haven’t always been the creative sort though. For most of my high school years, my creative capacity was limited to dodgy vectors and Photoshop filters, and I was never really happy with anything I did. So when it came time to start my HSC Major Project, I decided to paint. For the first time in my life. From then on, my paintings, illustration and style have been slowly changing, and I’m still changing what I do all the time. I’m always on trying new mediums and new ideas, and I’m loving it.
Who or what inspires you?
So many people and so many things. I love hand drawn type and lovely paper stocks. I love the smell of old books and music from the 40s. I love to read blogs and diaries and journals. Oh, and I love my Dad’s perfectly timed cups of tea. And then there’s the people that inspire me. My uni and work friends, especially the ridiculous ones like Bec , Megan and Ash. And other designer friends too, like Sam and Frankie. Then there’s the lovely bloggers I’ve never met, people like Dawn and Jen, who have a really strong handmade focus which I love! I’m always inspired by Frost’s perfectly simple ideas. And I love Jon Burgerman’s elaborate doodles. Then of course there’s people like Timba Smits, I’m pretty sure that he can do anything.
Can you explain your creative process.
I’m not sure that I even have my own process just yet! When I’m working on something, I won’t touch it for days, but I’ll be thinking of it non-stop. Then I’ll sit down and work like crazy for an hour or two. And I’ll just keep going like that. It’s madness. Oh, and coffee is definitely vital when I’m working on a project! It’s always a Large Latte. Unless of course I’ve had too much milk that day, and I’ll drop down to a regular!
What do you love most about handmade?
I haven’t always loved handmade. Up until a year or two ago, I would do anything to work on the computer. But then I realised that everything I had been doing wasn’t me at all. It was all digital and anyone could have created it. That bothered me so I started to draw more. I struggled at first, but now when I finish something, I can actually look at it and see myself in it. And I think that that is so important. I love the tactility of something created by hand. The mistakes and the flaws, and little piece of someone that is hiding inside.
What are you working on now?
I’m getting into a lot more watercolour and pencil illustration. I’m submitting things all over the place! I’ve been working on a number of little A5 paintings, one of which has just been accepted into the Food Fight exhibition at Sweets Workshop in Summer Hill, so I’m very excited about that. Right now I’m really open to whatever opportunities pop up next. There are so many things I’d like to get involved in. I’d love to make cushions and I’d love to make cards. And I’d love to get involved in an exhibition or two. But right now, I’m just blogging away as I wait to see what comes next.
My, what wonderful work!! This is great. x
thank you finders for your very kind interview!
it’s so very much appreciated.