Australian of the Year Trophies

Designed and created by Melbourne-based artist, Kristin McFarlane, the Australian of the Year Awards glass trophies are truly unique works of art. They are designed to be a representation of Australian symbols and a lasting memory of the Australian of the Year Awards recipient's achievements.

Kristin was first approached by the National Australia Day Council after we saw her work in the 2004 Ranamok Glass Prize. We were looking for a unique artist who would capture the essence of Australia within the trophies.

The trophies feature Australian symbols and icons including the Southern Cross, a map of our coastline and the words of the national anthem. The names of the awards recipients are embedded in the trophy itself, rather than etched in after completion, making these trophies truly one of a kind.

"It is certainly a great honour to be part of the Awards and I look forward to making the trophies each year. I feel very proud to be a small part of the awards and feel very privileged to have the opportunity to learn about the incredible achievements of each nominee," said Kristin.

Making the trophies

It takes about a month to make the four large national trophies. The first step is to make a plaster, silica and fiberglass mold to contain the glass during the firing process. The preparation stage involves cutting the glass into segments and printing inclusions with text and images. These elements are layered within the glass and carefully placed into each mould and fired. The firing process takes a week and the kiln reaches 780 degrees celcius before cooling slowly to dissipate stress which builds up in the glass through the fusing process. Each piece is then polished on its base and sides with various machines to bring the glass to a glossy finish.

The State awards also take around a month to make. The awards are smaller and are braced with kiln 'straps' for firing rather than requiring individual molds. Each piece is polished on its base and sides and this is the most time consuming part of making the State award trophies.

Meet Kristin McFarlane

Kristin studied graphic design and worked in the design and advertising industries before returning to university to complete a Graduate Diploma and Master of Fine Arts in glass, focusing on methods of transferring type and image into glass.

Kristin considers glass a perfect medium for allowing a permanent memory of an event, time and place to be recorded in a sculptural work or piece of jewellery to hold, treasure and revisit at will. Her objective is to "capture memory".

Kristin's studio is located in Melbourne, Victoria. To see some of Kristin's other work please visit her website at http://www.kristinmcfarlane.com or email Kristin at glass@kristinmcfarlane.com