GIRL MEETS BONDI
BEFORE BONDI
As most of you know through Instagram, I was recently asked to become an #AgentOfYes for Optus. I really wanted to do a full on blog post about the whole process and everything that happened for my Yes Moment with Optus.
So rewind back to Feburary (?).. It all started with an unexpected life size paint brush delivery (not joking it was 2m tall) and an early skype meeting. With only one coffee in Fuel Communications let me know that they thought I would be a perfect match to be one of Optus' Agents of Yes.. and as a part of that I would be able to choose my own Yes Moment where I got to choose to do something - anything. Now that something big to lay onto a girl that early with only one coffee down. Of course I said yes straight away with no idea what I was going to do or what I could do.
I knew that whatever I was going to ask for, it was going to be something I would probably have never done otherwise and something I could share with others. After a late night brainstorm with Michael came up with the idea of taking my typography from an a4 sheet of paper to a large scale mural.. and of course Optus did what they do best and said yes.
Once it was all approved it all hit me ... shit... I don't know how to do this. Now I am someone who in my personal life likes things that are comfortable to me most of the time. But it wasn't until then that I realised I can't be/am not like that in my work. I say yes to things that terrify me. Whether it be projects that are new to me, clients that I thought were out of my reach or just basic that just terrify me like talking for 45 minutes in a cinema full of people without a script. I have to chase that fear of being uncomfortable because without that I will never feel satisfied. My true fear is being satisfied with being comfortable.
So back on track.. I had no idea what I was doing but after a few weeks of planning & organising Jesse from Optus we had my wall's location sorted. Now it was up to me. I had a huge wall on Bondi Beach.. now what am I going to do with it?
My brainstorms led me to what Bondi is.... more than just a beach and one of Australia's key tourist attractions. I wanted to create something that the people of Bondi could use and relate to which is where I came up with the concept of a postcard from Bondi.
Simply and honestly.. wish you were here.
Not only is it the perfect postcard but the pink floyd song always reminds me of a family member we lost too soon. And without a second thought I knew that was what I wanted to paint and we got approval from the Waverley Council to do so and within months I was packing for my few days in Bondi making it happen.
THE TRIP
I would say there is not much worth waking up at 4am on a freezing cold Saturday morning for but to fly down on this amazing trip was. Michael & I touched down on Saturday the 13th, dropped our bags off and headed straight for Bondi. Nervous, anxious but excited we walked along the beach to find my new hang out spot for the next few days. We met Jesse from Optus who got me sorted with everything I could possibly need and more.
We got started by around 11AM painting over the previous artwork (sorry!) and doing layers and layers of black. Shoutout to all the dads that came up with the same line of "Looks great, I think you should leave it like that" it was welcome even after the 5th dad tried it out :) After we watched paint dry for many many hours I was able to start tracing out the artwork onto the walls in chalk then roughly outline in white. At that point we called it a night and headed across the road for burgers.
Day 2 we took it a bit easier thinking we had got so much done in the first day and all my nerves by this point were at bay. So we had a lovely breakfast at Bronte then walked around to Bondi. By 10AM we were back to it, filling in all the letterforms and perfecting the outlines. This took a little longer than expected but we handed it over to the humans of Bondi by 3PM.
I am not going to lie, the feeling of stepping back after we had finished and just looking and what I had created cannot be beat. After so much anxiety and fear of not knowing what I was doing to then create something that I never thought I would ever get to do was just so so rewarding. I can not thank Optus enough for going hey.. you... what do you want to do? and making it happen 100% to my vision. No compromises. I feel so incredibly lucky to have the opportunity to do what I love and constantly push myself. I also want to give a huge shout out to the team at Fuel Communications (Jesse especially) who run around making it all happen even on your weekend. Lastly but certainly not least.. Michael. Not only did you come along for the adventure but you kept me sane, helped me paint and ordered pizza when we were too tired to go out (even though I already got dressed & did hair and makeup) - you are the best partner in crime I could ask for.
For now I hand my Bondi Wall over to the people of Bondi.. enjoy it, destroy it... it is all yours. And as for me.. I am working on the next thing that scared me.
jasmine x