Alumni Art Exhibition

Held in February this year in the Pat Bourke Gallery, the third Alumni Exhibition showcased past students of St Joseph’s College whose careers range in talents and skills across various creative industries. The exhibition featured watercolour, acrylic and oil paintings, drawings, mixed media, architectural rendering, furniture design, printed digital illustration and animation.

Guests at the opening included past students and their families, current students, teachers, management and the wider St Joseph’s College community. The Arts Curriculum Area Leader, Leanne Adams and College Principal, Tony Paatch spoke to guests about the important role that creation plays in personal development and the impact it can have collectively. Alumni exhibitor, Charlie Purdy, also spoke of his time studying and how his arts education led him into the role of Visual Arts Teacher at St Joseph’s College. The Alumni Exhibition gives us the opportunity to stay connected to past students and shows current students the potential of their talents and how these can lead to creative career possibilities.

Laura Martin & Leanne Adams

Alumni Exhibitors

John Bohan (SJOC 1940) Surveyor, painter John enrolled as one of the first students at St Joseph’s College in 1935 at 12 years of age. John was employed as a surveyor’s assistant for Clive Thomas Surveyors, retiring from there in 1982. John discovered his talent in art during his conscription in the Australian Army, where he drew fellow comrades. It wasn’t until the 1970s, where John took an interest in learning to paint, drawing inspiration from places he travelled to.

Thomas Lentini (SJOC 2009) Furniture designer/maker Thomas completed the Diploma in Furniture Design & Technology in 2011, followed by the Associate Degree of Furniture Design in 2012 at RMIT. His education led to employment in the highly regarded studio workshop, Lowe Furniture. In 2017, Thomas established his own workshop in Melbourne, Studio Thomas Lentini, in which he specialises in custom and made-to-order solid timber dining and boardroom tables.

Charlie Purdy (SJOC 2014) Secondary school art teacher

Charlie studied Bachelor of Visual Arts and Bachelor of Secondary Teaching at Australian Catholic University, and is now employed at St Joseph’s College, teaching Art and Visual Communication from year levels 7 to 10. Charlie also enjoys making art works in his spare time, some personal and some commissioned.

Stuart Murray and Leigh Ryan (SJOCs 1997)

(Illustrators/animators)

Using their skills and talents in illustration and 2D/3D animation, Stuart and Leigh started Geelong’s sole animation studio, Pillowfort Creative. Collectively, they have worked for commercial companies such as, Toyota, Coca-Cola, Aeroplane Jelly, and have worked on animated TV shows for Galaxy Pop (Get Ace) Working Dog (Pacific Heat) and The Grossery Gang (Moose Toys/ Cartoon Network) and smaller commissions.

Dominic Versace (SJOC 2011) Architect

Dominic studied a Bachelor of Architecture at Deakin University and completed his Masters of Architecture in 2016. Currently, Dominic works at Plus Architecture on Melbourne’s St Kilda Road where he is exposed to exciting design challenges and continues to develop his skills.

Jimmy Vo (SJOC 2011) Visual merchandiser, artist

Jimmy’s Fashion Design and Technology VET studies in VCE led to an interest in the fashion retail industry leading to the completion of a Diploma of Visual Merchandising and a Diploma of Interior Design and Decoration. Jimmy landed the role of Senior Visual Merchandiser at Gluestore, the flagship store in Melbourne’s CBD. He is currently studying an Advanced Diploma in Building Design and Construction to start a new journey of his creative career. In his spare time, Jimmy creates mixed media artworks, both personal and commissioned.

Calling All Creatives! Join the Exhibition in 2020

Have your work displayed in our gallery at our next exhibition. Open to all past students in creative industries. Contact: Julie Cole. Phone: 5226 8149. Email: julie.cole@sjc.vic.edu.au.