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Finally, I feel confident enough in my original uni pieces to share them here as well. I think this particular project from my MA Illustration course would be a good place to start. The brief for this piece was to create a "road map", in essence to sublimate our experience as international students in our university and our creative journey so far into a linear, tangible vision. This journey so far has been a fascinating and bizarre experience for me - not just in terms of the course, but the whole concept of studying abroad. This marks my first time studying abroad as well as living by myself, and for the first few weeks I felt like was in a sort of trance, or a Matrix-like simulation. It did not feel like I have travelled several thousand miles to get here, but like I had jumped inside a parallel dimension of sorts. At some point, my partner, who has had similar experiences, helped me put into to words, by describing studying abroad as "leaving one bubble for the next one".

This idea of a "bubble" along with the idea of a world separate from the one I know culminated into the idea of a terrarium. Also known as ecospheres, terrariums are miniature gardens kept in jars and other containers not unlike fishbowls and aquariums, but with goal of having them sustain their own independent ecosystem. I felt that this idea of a miniature world could equally and accurately represent the tiny ecosystem of my university life properly. I started as always with brainstorming and visual research. I then thought about and categorized what I felt were my most important experiences and turning points during the course itself. My most memorable experiences ranged from experimenting and practicing different materials, to new and unfamiliar feelings and situations. I initially thought I could represent the locations with simple map icons, but I soon found out that the more details I added, the better and more complete the composition looked.

By the end of the process, this road map, much like this experience, had both turned from unfamiliar and uncertain to things that I cherish.

Description
Finally, I feel confident enough in my original uni pieces to share them here as well. I think this particular project from my MA Illustration course would be a good place to start. The brief for this piece was to create a "road map", in essence to sublimate our experience as international students in our university and our creative journey so far into a linear, tangible vision. This journey so far has been a fascinating and bizarre experience for me - not just in terms of the course, but the whole concept of studying abroad. This marks my first time studying abroad as well as living by myself, and for the first few weeks I felt like was in a sort of trance, or a Matrix-like simulation. It did not feel like I have travelled several thousand miles to get here, but like I had jumped inside a parallel dimension of sorts. At some point, my partner, who has had similar experiences, helped me put into to words, by describing studying abroad as "leaving one bubble for the next one".

This idea of a "bubble" along with the idea of a world separate from the one I know culminated into the idea of a terrarium. Also known as ecospheres, terrariums are miniature gardens kept in jars and other containers not unlike fishbowls and aquariums, but with goal of having them sustain their own independent ecosystem. I felt that this idea of a miniature world could equally and accurately represent the tiny ecosystem of my university life properly. I started as always with brainstorming and visual research. I then thought about and categorized what I felt were my most important experiences and turning points during the course itself. My most memorable experiences ranged from experimenting and practicing different materials, to new and unfamiliar feelings and situations. I initially thought I could represent the locations with simple map icons, but I soon found out that the more details I added, the better and more complete the composition looked.

By the end of the process, this road map, much like this experience, had both turned from unfamiliar and uncertain to things that I cherish.