The CoFA ANNUAL is the yearly exhibition of the works produced by (some of) its graduating students. It is a celebration of the blood, sweat and tears that were sacrificed and devoted to our craft as designers and artists. For my designer friends and I, this exhibition marked four years of neurosis and creative energy. For me, this is the defining moment before I embark on a new chapter in my life. 

I just had to sneak in a quintessential outfit post/self-portrait/reflection image in this post. As expected, the artistes and designers entered the event in their own unique styles. It was a lot of colour and excitement. (And with every celebration, there was more than enough alcohol to go around…)

This year’s exhibition was a far cry from the creative spew of sculpture that rested in the center of the Roundhouse last year. What made this year even more special was the fact that I was exhibiting with a lot of my close friends. It was quite emotional.  

Lachlan and Annie designed the most amazing textile prints for our major projects last semester. These two also endured the trials and tribulations of Honours with me. They’ll be famous someday. 

The lovely Kate designed amazing footwear. Her project was among my favourites when we worked on our major projects. She’s immensely talented. 

Monique is an amazing designer as well. She’s always had immensely good concepts and has a knack for combining creativity with intelligence. Yet another name to look out for. 

And here is my wall! I am quite pleased with how it turned out. I used the “less is more” mentality. The layout was as minimalist as my portfolio’s layout. 

Isabelle and Nicole. I love these girls to bits! They were inspired by kale (Issy) and their trips overseas (Nic). I’m immensely biased, so I’ll just save the accolades for when we next meet. Which is soon, I hope. 

Samara went to Japan with me. I loved her project, which has feminist undertones and a whimsical element to it. Would you believe that she spent three months or so spinning wool?

And Chris. I’ve been an admirer of his talent from the moment we started talking. He is a storyteller (and an amazing one at that!) He spent months developing these prints, as well as an application that presents an interactive, augmented reality to the viewer.

This work was created using push pins… and refers to the labour-intensive (and dying) art of making lace by hand. 

My mum and I also admired this artwork, which reminded us of Murano glass. 

The Annual was a brilliant success (again, I may be biased…) and it would be lovely if you can enjoy the experience as well. The exhibition is open until Wednesday, 28th of November 2012 at the Roundhouse, UNSW. 

Well done everyone. All of the hard work has finally paid off. 

As I am a part of the graduating class that featured in the 2012 CoFA Annual, my works were also featured on the Annual website. These works are only the tip of the iceberg and are among my favourites. 

The website can be accessed from here

It has been said that change is necessary for growth. I think that dreams can change as people’s mindsets shift and alter with time. I think that lately, I’ve been learning more about my preferences and have been thinking more about where I want to go in life. 

The same is true for my design practice. Although there hasn’t been a lot of new additions to this space in a long time, I think that I’ll be taking the opportunity to see what else I can come up with as a designer. Stay tuned.

For now, enjoy the offering of cake. The photograph is courtesy of one of my closest friends, Christine. 

Trains are conducive to creative thinking, especially when I have the company of my iPad. The Paper App has seriously saved me from having to rummage through my bag for the trusty old Moleskine and a pen. 

I’ve always enjoyed portraiture. I’ve been trying to hone my illustration skills and discover my own style. It’s getting there. I think that this is my favourite self-portrait to date. 

I apologise for neglecting this space. I’ve just been immensely busy with the final stretch of my university career… but that doesn’t mean that I’ve stopped being creative in my spare time. Whilst my friends from work demonstrate amazing talent with their musical ability, I on the other hand have rekindled my relationship with my watercolours and my paintbrushes. I’ve also had a slight obsession with painting sunflowers. I blame the Medici family for this. The works that they had collected throughout the Renaissance included a lot of amazing botanical pieces. I was impressed!

So, this is a design that I created over the past couple of weeks. It is meant to be for bedspreads and pillowcases. 

This second one is the striped coordinate. 

It would be lovely to see them rendered in soft Egyptian cotton. 

And here are some progress shots. I’ve missed creating hand-rendered works. And sunflowers make me smile. They’re pretty. 

Helen and I decided to pay Gucci a visit today. Artisans from Italy were in the store creating leather goods for this iconic brand. 

The pencil illustrations are quite beautiful. I love the detail that they managed to capture. 

Each artisan was so precise- from the stitching to the cutting and labelling. It was also lovely listening to them speaking in Italian. It transported me to Italy and my holidays there when I was sixteen. 

If we did not have to be in class, we would have stayed all day!

This is what I call progress- developing my repertoire of skills at a snap! Admittedly it took a few hours, but I understand the principle. Creating patterns for garments is remarkably similar to drafting in architecture. I enjoyed doing it on paper. Let’s see how I can cope with drafting using Illustrator. I enjoy a challenge! 

It was a wonderful evening of plum wine, Asahi beer, sushi, art and friends. The exhibition was a large success, based on the hard work that every single artist placed. I loved the diversity of the works, as well as the maintenance of the Japanese aesthetic. I am not biased… not at all! I am immensely honoured to have worked with every single person who was a part of the exhibition. 

I designed the invitations for the exhibition. It is one of the things that I am proud of. The simple design was inspired by the Japanese aesthetic and also the kanji for healing, which alludes to the public artwork that we created in Chikatsuyu, Japan.

Patrick and Justin… bits and pieces from their series of photographs. Talented photographers in their own right- I wish I had their eye for detail!

Tarekgeorge is a talented artist. Watch this space. He will be amazing. You can peruse his site here. Prepare to be amazed by sheer talent!

Rachel did such an amazing job with her pilgrim pack. This girl is such a talented designer! 

Nicola’s jewellery pieces were stunning! I loved her concept and also her finished range. 

Imagine my glee when people looked at my work. 

Jane’s work was simply gorgeous! It reminded me of black tulle skirts, fashion and sculpture. 

The people who go to my Campus have amazing style. 

Special guests also attended the exhibition. Professor Kumi Kato, Simon Wearne, the Japanese Consul and the president of Choya Umeshu graced us with their presence. I was glad to see Kumi and Simon again. Words can’t describe it. 

The exhibition is open at Kudos Gallery until Saturday afternoon. If you have the chance, please visit. It is worth it! 

Designing never ends- not even when one is feeling like death warmed over. Even while coughing my lungs out (please excuse the visual), I was attempting to complete some visual research for my project. I was also being a fanatic. Julie Taymor is an inspirational designer/director/creative person. I would love, love, love to meet her in person. Julie is the director/designer for The Lion King Broadway musical. She also did a lot of her own works- mostly involving puppetry. 

I felt most productive, even when my sketches looked like something inspired by scientific diagrams and the like. These are sketches of the layers of our skin, based on diagrams I saw online. It’s fascinating. 

I also thought I might use some eco-dye experiments, to see the potential of layering and textures. I love the colour, which can be attributed to boiled onion skins. 

Another day.