FOR DARCY Vescio, football and art are inextricably linked.
The inaugural Carlton NAB AFLW star finds solace in combining one with the other. It makes them feel whole.
When it's time for a reset, the arts precinct of Melbourne's CBD beckons, which includes the National Gallery of Victoria, the Arts Centre and Hamer Hall, sitting on the Yarra River and the Southbank precinct.
"I really love exploring art and design. Since I was little, footy and art or creativity work really well together, I see them as something I need balanced in my life in order to feel happy and be able to do both things well," Vescio told AFL.com.au.
"I've got a graphic design background, and I'm venturing into art now, that's what I've been doing more of in my spare time. I love going to the NGV and I love seeing theatre in that area with my partner, Emily, or talks. I recently saw a conversation with Fran Lebowitz, it was really great.
"Anything art or in the creative space, I always feel really enriched having it in my life. I feel really lucky that Melbourne has so many opportunities to engage or immerse yourself in that culture."
Vescio's interest in art and design started at a young age. They loved anything related to lettering or typography, and working with paper.
Growing up on a farm outside of Wangaratta, in Victoria's north-east, their days were spent outside playing with the footy alongside their brothers, attempting to weave the ball between trees, before returning indoors to a "craft explosion".
Whenever an AFL team came to town for a community camp, Vescio would take it upon themself to create their own paper replica guernsey – complete with sponsor logos – and laminate it, taking it to training to get it signed.
Art and footy, two sides of the same coin.
"I feel like sporty people and arty people are often placed quite far apart, on a spectrum. You're either a sporty jock who doesn't touch art, or just really arty and don't feel like you belong in the sporting world," Vescio said.
"But for me, it's together. I like that interplay and being able to lean on both sides, I feel like that's a really fun way to live.
"I see football as a really creative outlet. Certainly, the way I try to play football is to try and bring the creativity and problem solving, I like that part of the game.
"The shape of the ball is ridiculous, there's no formula you can plug in that'd work. You have to figure out what's happening in front of you. I like that there's so many different layers to get the same outcome, I think that's a really fun part of the game."
Vescio has a graphic design background, but has been venturing into the world of painting of late.
They're playing around with the idea of the language of football – a "daisy cutter" is a low kick that figuratively takes the heads off flowers, while a "sausage roll" is rhyming slang for a goal.
"I've been trying to create artworks that are to do with footy, but not quite footy. I've been working on creating things that I find amusing," Vescio said.
"There are so many things about footy that are just funny, like sayings, or the things that are hard to explain if you're not in footy. I've been trying to explain that through art.
"I've been trying to get into rug making as well, I've got tufting set up at home, and ultimately I've been trying to create all these things, and I want to have an exhibition at some stage where I can share all these thoughts and expressions.
"All those small layers of understanding help build your connection to footy. I hope that through the art, it explores that through a different lens and bring that play into it. A lot of footy is stats and wins and losses, but I think from the moment you start playing footy, to even if you're not playing, it's all those other layers that enrich the experience."
Darcy wears looks by búl (Emporium Melbourne), Radical Yes (Queensberry Street, North Melbourne), Kuwaii (Swanston Street), Trend Optic (Little Collins Street) and Ngali (Aurora Lane, Docklands).
