After an intense first year, both academic and personal, I still found myself chasing after the next creative endeavour. I couldn’t stop. Expressing myself in multiple creative forms has helped me carry myself through many walks of life, and it felt only right to keep myself busy over the summer holidays.
I know no other way to relax and invite a breathing space into my days unless it is through some form of creativity. But this summer, I dove into it, wanting to make the most out of being at home and having more space.
Jewellery making
Just before the summer began, and even after moving back home, I was amazed by seeing jewellery being made by hand, in so many ways, by simply bending some wire into swirls, and using clay, crochet, expanding creativity outside of the standard beads in a row. It seems obvious, but it intrigued me to give some of these a try.
I chose to specialise in making earrings, something I’d never be able to attempt with string and beads as a child. It didn't take long before I was hooked – literally. Buying French hooks and headpins, and finally having a use for my lonely box of seed beads. I made a birthday pair for my friend, and a welcome gift for my mum when she came to visit me.
The idea of getting creative in my free time and using that to make others smile is the best part about it, in my opinion. In my case, it was about using up old art materials rather than throwing them away when they had years in them. It’s also a super easy hobby to pick up in between all the lectures and seminars – a quick relief from the hard work, and doubles up as an accessory to adorn your outfits or someone you care about.
Redesigning from IKEA – my first writing desk
By far, my favourite creative project this summer was my humble writing desk. It took around a week of consistent, dedicated searching, designing, sanding, painting, decoupaging, and assembling, but it was all worth it and incredibly exciting to create.
It began as the basic white HAUGA desk from IKEA, but to save money and be better on the environment, I chose one from the Re-shop and Re-use section of my local IKEA store, and it was in perfectly good condition. It was urgent to me that I change the colour – I wanted something that felt like me and reflected the woman I am becoming, so I chose a vintage, dusky, and mature pink paired with one slightly lighter and youthful, painting the second colour on the legs of the desk to represent poetically how my younger self always dreamed of having her own desk to be creative with and write stories on, and how this dream carries what I’ve been able to achieve now.
But it still felt too bare, and that’s where my old scrapbook paper came into great use. Finally, after many years of sitting in my drawer untouched and ‘preserved’ from being cut (it has always been something I was proud to own), I mustered the courage to shape it into tiles to decoupage onto the short ‘wall’ my desk has around the sides and back. The process was simple but required precision, something I was accustomed to because of the skills I learned on my course so far, but the end result was phenomenal.
I have since treated it like my precious treasure and kept it from scratches, dust, and heavy books. I truly wanted a space that I could creatively express myself and remember memories of my late grandfather working in his garage, dedicated to his carpentry. It was not just a dream made real, but a labour of love, an ode to one of the most important people in my life who I will never forget.
Diary entries
To be honest, my first year was a largely isolated experience to what most students would likely have. While many would share natural feelings of homesickness and confusion, there were also bereavements and health issues that clouded what I was fervently hoping to be a beautiful year of self-discovery, social connections, and gaining independence.
Unfortunately, it was more of a teaching curve for me, where I endured many experiences I wish I hadn’t, but I am simultaneously proud that I did. And it led me down unchartered territory on the grounds of my self-discovery. Creatively, this inspired me to log as many beautiful moments, turning points, realisations, and synchronicities as I see fit – so rather than a rigid list of commandments or regular scheduled entries that would overwhelm my brain, I preferred an intuitive-led approach to my diary. Writing in it whenever it felt right, when a moment was too important to let slip away. And so it began. I’ve found it so creatively engaging that I continue to write in it, and enjoy looking back at the best moments that would otherwise have passed unnoticed through my days. I’d highly recommend this to anyone, especially other students, as an outlet to calmly channel creativity and invite gratitude for each seemingly mundane day.
Carrying it all forward – beyond the summer
Whether transforming something old into something deeply personal, or reawakening an old talent that had been in slumber too long, creativity lives at the core of me. And doing these little projects over my summer reminded me why I love design in the first place: how it can hold meaning, memory, and identity – all at once.
It also shifted how I see my creative practice going into second year. I unraveled how much more confident I am in trusting my instincts, and treating design as storytelling rather than just “solving a brief”. It feels, dare I say, somewhat miraculous, to be able to make something yourself, pour all that effort and care into it, and look back on it to see just how much creativity lives in you.
Our lives in this era are being lost in a sea of social dysphoria, and honest, humble creativity and individuality must be preserved – it is something so beautiful about humanity. AUB has definitely been part of the helping hand that reminded me that I have always been a creative person, and it’s been my salvation in difficult times, and should become my way of life completely. Being creative is not just art – its a way of thinking, a way of survival – and if you’ve got it, you should honour it, and use it every day in your own unique way. It doesn’t just live in the studio – it’s what shows up in the moments you aren’t being graded, too.
