ABOUT ME
MY STORYHi! My name is Rachel Lister and I am a 22-year-old Gradate from Ara Institute of Canterbury.
I have been studying at Ara since 2020 when the pandemic had just begun, setting the scene for the chaos that would be my time studying at Ara.
Not being able to come in for what felt like a year impacted my experience but it made me stronger as an artist, my ideas developed on their own and in my own space as I figured out how on earth someone can work at home without getting distracted with everything around them.
Before I made it to Ara I went to Cashmere High school where I powered through the loud noisy environment that comes with a class with over thirty people in it and produced work that I am still proud of today.
At Ara, I studied Book Making, figure drawing, and illustration, and at High School, my art subjects were photography and design.
My Art away from Ara
As cheesy as it sounds I have been a figure skater for the past fifteen years, representing New Zealand in the Christchurch synchronized skating team on two occasions, in the Australian nationals competition and when a skate camp was organised and run in Australia inviting a few kiwi skaters to come and join them.
When I skated in Kia Kaha, the Christchurch synchronised skating team, I created a logo for the team so we could wear it on our shirts and put it on a banner to display when travelling around the country. They wanted something to go with a font they had already picked a few years ago plus a silver fern, today I would recreate the logo to be better, however, I created the logo when in high school.
What I am working on for the skating community now
As a skater, I also welcome the new generation of skaters by teaching them how to skate. From ages of three years old to adults who have decided to pick up skating as a hobby later on in their lives. Through this program I noticed there are many things missing in the community, for example, we use flags when coaching children to help them understand where their groups are on the ice, but the flags that we use to use on the ice were old and outdated, and some low quality and others not making sense, working with the skate school coaching director I redesigned their flags to more child-friendly looking flags that all relate to skating in some way. The idea was to make sure that these kids of all ages would be excited to see them and to reach each level. six out of seven designs encluded.
Changing Centaurus Ice Skating Club Website
https://centaurusiceskatingclub.com/
This is one of the drafts I have mocked up for the ice skating club in Christchurch as I help them create a new one.
A few months ago I was asked by the figure skating club in Christchurch to come and help them remake their website. A way that their skaters will be able to navigate it better and use it on their phones, as at the rink skaters will typically only have their phones on them and it’s more accessible when at competitions.
By working with the club I will ensure the website has up-to-date information on it and will not hide things from whoever is using it. When the website is finished I will upload what it looks like and how much the skaters benefit from it.
