In July of last year I was invited to have my very first 'RAW: Natural Born Artist' showcase on the Gold Coast for their second event 'Communique'. I had not previously heard of RAW and after receiving a very kind and informative email from the Byron Bay RAW event organiser, I checked out the website and found out for myself what this great promotional experience was all about. Basically RAW started in the U.S. as a way to showcase local Artists in all creative fields in a professional and interactive one night only showcase. Artists who participate invite guests from their network of contacts to purchase a ticket and come along for an entertaining night of creativity. Consequently the event ends up connecting different people from all walks of life with other like minded individuals, while also bringing a new audience to the work of the Artists involved. Now those of you who read my blog will know just how much I love the opportunity to connect with other Creatives, so naturally this idea appealed to me and I said yes. |
On the morning of the big EVENT we had been scheduled a time to have professional head shots taken…by an actual professional Photographer! And yes we got to keep these to use for promotional purposes. Here is one of mine, which has come in handy for various other blog interviews such as LIVE WORM Gold Coast's feature on me late last year. Click here to read the interview. On top of the photo-shoot we were also give questions to prep for a video interview….again filmed and edited by a local Professional Videographer. The interview questions allowed for us to discuss our inspirations, the ideas behind our work and any aspirations we may have. They were all uploaded onto YouTube to be shared or used for further promotional purposes. You can view my interview by clicking here. |
I had planned my display methods in advance and decided to use a white peg board as the back drop for my pop up gallery. It allowed me to hang and move my works with ease and I felt it looked more professional then the construction fence that it was to hold onto.

While the set up took longer than I anticipated I was fortunate enough to be there while other creatives were also setting up. I met the very lovely Kim of 'Jewellery by Kim' and her beautiful Daughter Kelsie and I had some great chats about giant budgies with the MC for this night the 'Ambassador of Smiles' Tommy Franklin. It was a really fun day and we were all getting excited for the night ahead. I'd also like to mention the lovely Amber Kingi, another talented Artist I was fortunate enough to meet and have great chats with on the night. Find her work on Instagram as well @Amber_Kingi
Earlier this year I received an email informing me that I was eligible for nominations for the 3rd Annual RAW Awards for having taken part last year. A finalist for each category in every Australian host city would be selected and then one National winner for each category would be selected following that.
Voting for nominations were open for one week only, so I used my social media accounts to drum up some support and votes.
