Meet the Maker: Matthew of Bonfire Cherry

Do you recall a short while ago I tweeted some pictures of my first ever attempts at lino cutting and block printing? One source of my inspiration was this camera picture which I occasionally see popping up in my news feed. Let's get to know the maker behind Camera No.2 (turquoise)! 

My name is Matthew and I am from Northampton, UK. I am the owner of the printing business BonfireCherry. I do have blog. When I am not working I am a print maker making linocut prints

Lovely to meet you Matthew. Sorry we should make sure we know your refreshment requirements!! Tea or coffee?

Neither, I'm weird not a big fan of caffeine. Hot chocolate for me :) 

Interesting...loving this added option! I'm a big hot chocolate fan. So biscuit or cake?

Such a hard choice!! I would have to say biscuit.

Excellent. So, tell us a bit about the item you're sharing. 

I am sharing one of my favourite linocut prints called Camera No.2 (Turquoise) I made it so it can stand out in any room and be noticed. Art is to be noticed and talked about. There is a lot of camera prints for anyone who loves photography but a lot of them are Polaroid so I wanted to think outside the box. I made this print by drawing the idea that I wanted to use into a piece of lino then carved out the areas I didnt want to be printed with a carving tool. When you are ready to print roll some block printing evenly over the lino then apply some card using a dry roller to apply pressure. I have produced a video showing how to lino print 

Great! So now all the Crafty B's can have a go too. How long have you been lino and how did you learn?

I have been lino printing as a business for over a year but I learnt how to lino print at college 6 years ago. While at college I learnt how to produce screen prints too. 

So how did BonfireCherry come about?

It all started as a fictional business that  I produced as a final major project at college 4 years ago selling t-shirts but loved the name & the logo so much that I wanted to make it a real business. At the time I didnt have a job so after college I was on the dole for 2 years til I got a job that helped me bring Bonfirecherry from ashes. During the time from finishing college to getting a job my direction changed from producing t-shirts to lino prints instead. 

What are your inspirations and motivations?

Many things like art, Japanese anime and manga, really anything quirky that gets my attention

Any crafting heroes?

Many but my favourite is the pop artist, Roy Lichtenstein 

And do you have a crafting space?

Yes I have a bedroom/studio combo :) 

So can we join you in your virtual world? 
You can find me on a few sites :) 
Twitter https://twitter.com/Bonfirecherry 
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/bonfirecherry 
Vimeo https://vimeo.com/user3195412 
Website http://www.bonfirecherry.com

Thank you so much for telling us all about yourself and your make. Let's finish off with a few random quick fire questions.

Favourite colour? 

Blue! 

The best season?

Autumn, summer is too hot! 

Your favourite food?

Anything with prawns...or chocolate buttons! 

The best day of the week?

Friday! 

What is the best word?

Quirky 

Favourite place?

Leeds, my home town or London

Your biggest achievement?

Too many achievements to say which is my biggest

Thanks Matthew. Don't forget to visit Matthew at his various virtual places guys and say hi from here.

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