Ahead of Christchurch’s Adobe Creative Jam: 5 Minutes with… Natasha Vermeulen
Ahead of our Thursday September 7th Adobe Creative Jam in Christchurch, we grabbed a quick five minutes with guest speaker and creative industry star: designer/illustrator Natasha Vermeulen.
Hi Natasha, can you tell us a little bit about who you are, what your background is, and how you first got started in the industry.
I studied design and illustration at Massey in Wellington, which was an excellent introduction into this world. Working at Studio Alexander in Auckland was another important milestone. I learned so much and met some amazing people along the way. Grant Alexander was a great supporter of illustration in design, and I had a lot of opportunity to explore and develop that side of my practice there.
These days I’m focusing a lot more on illustration, which I love. It’s been a natural progression, and having the design experience is a huge benefit – especially if I’m working on one component of a larger project and collaborating with a team.
What project, personal or professional, are you most proud of and why?
I’m stoked to have worked on Serious Popcorn with Kelvin Soh. I still get a kick out of seeing that bear everywhere. It’s fantastic when you can inject a bit of fun and humour into a commercial project.
What excites you the most about what you do?
Working on personal projects, which then lead onto commissioned work. It feels pretty good when people like what you’re most excited about, and want you to create more of what you love.
Where do you go to find inspiration?
It’s pretty varied really, depending on what I’m working on. For personal projects it’s usually everyday life and observation based. I might see an awkward taxidermy animal in a museum which then sparks an idea for a weird illustration. Random things like that.
Can you give us a sneak peak into your creative/design practice ahead of the Christchurch Adobe Creative Jam?
There’s always a massive sketch component to anything I work on, design or illustration. I keep it broad, loose and fast in concept phase. Usually no-one but I will be able to decipher the sketches at that stage, and it will need tidying up for presentations.
Where can we see more of your work?
fromthemill.co.nz
instagram.com/natfromthemill
So, what’s next for you in 2017? What have you got lined up?
I moved to Christchurch and went back to commission work at the start of this year, so I’m letting go and making more time for experimentation and learning. More analogue, more painting, bigger formats… these are a few of my goals for the year.
Thanks for your time, Natasha.
If you’d like to hear more about Natasha’s practice, make sure you head along to our Adobe Creative Jam in Christchurch:
Adobe Creative Jam Christchurch
Thursday, September 7th, 6.00–9.00pm
XCHC
376 Wilsons Road
Christchurch CBD
Book here for our Christchurch Adobe Creative Jam.
Tickets are FREE but numbers are strictly limited so book yours asap!
