Today we’d like to introduce you to Kristin Cronic.
Hi Kristin, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
Since I was a child, creating was a joyful experience I found refuge in. That manifested itself in taking every art class I could while in school. I also felt called to serve in the Navy.
These two seemingly opposing paths forced me to make the choice which was “now or never,”, but didn’t close the door on creating. While attending the United States Naval Academy and serving as an officer in the Navy, Art continued to be part of my life. Even if it was just a small drawing, I made regular space for creating. The less I was around art, the more I craved it.
The birth of my oldest child in 2016 prompted another choice, this time, to hang up the uniform. A few days after I officially left the Navy, pregnant with my second, we flooded during Hurricane Irma and lost half of our belongings and the entire downstairs. In that space of navigating the complete identity shift both in becoming a mother and no longer being a Naval Officer, as well as dealing with the aftermath of catastrophic storm damage, I was in a dark place.
Once again, I turned to painting.
This time, I got to choose art. Under the guise of staying home with my second baby, I gave myself 6 months to paint and see where it went.
Seven years later, I’m a working artist and adjunct drawing professor and grateful every day.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Is anyone’s path smooth? 🙂
Besides starting the journey under pretty challenging circumstances, the inherent path of making art is hard. By nature, the art world is a lot of rejection and risk.
The “making a living” part has to happen alongside “building a career.” The latter involves so much (seemingly) unproductive work. Writing, getting honest with oneself, experimenting, digging deep into what one wants to say as an artist. Painting A LOT, and figuring out how to put oneself out there, get feedback, and sometimes even get paid for that work.
Like almost every working artist, I struggled (and continue) to find the balance between the two. All those things require time and resources. Paintings fail. I learned some of my most meaningful work was worth making but likely couldn’t also sell, which is necessary not only for typical bills, but also continuing to fund the creative process.
For example: One of those means of “making a living” was becoming a live wedding painter. In 2019 it was becoming something I could actually depend on and plan around. Within about a ten day period in March 2020, that entire safety net disappeared. Like everyone, I had to adapt (quickly).
While that was an extreme circumstance, every year has thrown new curveballs and uncertainty.
I’ve come to understand that tension never really goes away, and every artist has to figure it out for their work. Demands of motherhood and family life are different than they were 5 years ago, and my practice has to adapt.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I’m an artist who shows up every day to my practice.
I create paintings and drawings of nature forms and figures, with an emphasis on expression, rhythm, and shape. I am fascinated by the way living things express themselves and interact with one another.
With a sensitive eye towards color and unapologetic markmaking, my work investigates the wisdom, warnings, and delight drawn from moments of pause in the natural environment. Work tends to take up space, which responds to the larger dialogue of humankind’s complicated relationship to nature and the need to amplify reflection in an overstimulating world.
My figurative work explores moments of domestic scenes, using fractured mark-making and unconventional notes of color. These paintings are made as I navigate my identity as a mother, the fleeting nature of childhood, and the tension between work and play.
My textile works and soft sculptures are investigations of the journeys we take and the relationships which shape our lives. Often derived from friendship bracelets, these forms tend to take up space and nod to the rich history of craft while embracing a playful side to girlhood. Forms twist and weave to highlight both tender and complicated moments within the larger picture of relatedness. Knots express how people and entities come together, stay together, wrestle with another, and part from each other. Fibers allow me to explore the soft side of relatedness and to celebrate interconnectivity in a way only something so irresistibly touchable can.
We love surprises, fun facts and unexpected stories. Is there something you can share that might surprise us?
I love ghost tours in historic towns, especially if they involve a pub crawl. And restaurant tshirts. A well designed restaurant tshirt is irresistible.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Www.kristincronic.com
- Instagram: HTTPS://www.instagram.com/kristinraecronic
