First year student Ruby Jarvis

Ruby Jarvis is currently studying the Bachelor of Design Arts majoring in Visual Arts.  We caught up with her recently to talk about his experience at the Academy.

ADA: Please tell us the title of your work?
RJ: My work is titled “Portraits in Pieces” and is about my inability to remember people’s whole faces.

ADA: Tell us a bit about the areas you’re studying?
RJ: My major is visual arts and my sub-major will be film and photography, however I’m thinking I will stay an extra year and become a double major as I can’t decide which one I like more! I like visual arts as it allows me to explore drawing and painting, which I use to create works I couldn’t photograph. However, I really enjoy short filmmaking as I like the idea of watching a story as opposed to reading one and so am looking forward to exploring that when I start my sub-major.

ADA: How are you finding transitioning from secondary school to first year university?
RJ: Coming from a small rural community it has been interesting getting to meet people from all different backgrounds that I wouldn’t have usually come across in Warburton. As I have to travel a fair distance, I have been staying with family friends who are a lot closer, cutting off an hour of travel.  It has been a big shift not living at home for half the week and I still only seem to just make it on time to class!  I’ve really enjoyed the change in scenery and being in a wholly creative environment.  Having come from a school with quite a small arts department, it’s been inspiring.

I was surprised at how well acquainted everyone has become so quickly as I had expected everyone to simply be there to get their degree, not socialise.

ADA: What do you enjoy most about studying Design Arts?
RJ: I think the best part about studying Design Arts is that I’m no longer being forced to take subjects that I have little interest/skill in such as mathematics and focus purely on things related to what I want to do.

The campus is a lot smaller than I had expected, but I prefer it this way as it makes the transition from the Yarra Valley seem less dramatic and it’s easier to find my way around. I’d also never really been to Collingwood before so it’s been fun to explore a new part of (what I’d call) the city.

ADA: What do you want to do when you complete your degree?
RJ: Whilst I would love to be a film director, I’m still not really sure what I’d like to do once I finish my degree, but I feel I’ve got enough time left at the academy to figure it out.