Art:

The ability to control what cannot be controlled has been an underlying theme in my work since graduate school. Reflecting on my life over the past ten years, I can easily spot the difficult times: the end of a ten-year relationship, coming out in my mid-thirties, being rejected by the community I called home for my whole life, moving far away from that home, starting a new career, and then starting another new career three years later. My need to control something/anything during those times when I didn’t know what to expect next in life has become a coping mechanism. 

My work has evolved from articulating the terror-filled beauty of a hurricane to meticulously drawn accounts of coastal surface textures such as the sea’s surface, piles of shells washed up from the waves, and textures from weathered driftwood. These textures are built through many layers abstracting the original image and concentrating on mark making. I’m asking viewers to view something they perceive as tangible, but through the lens of intangibility. The tiny marks and details in my line work is an attempt to capture that moment when I felt safe and in control.

Me:

I’ve lived in Savannah, GA, for the past seven years, where I teach in the Foundation Studies Department at the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD). My love for the ocean continues to shape and inspire my artwork, while my primary focus is my role as a full-time Foundation Studies professor and Lead of the Foundation Studies Exhibitions Committee. Outside the academic year, I dedicate my breaks to travel—seeking out new places, cultures, and landscapes for inspiration. Recent journeys have taken me from the vibrant markets and deserts of Morocco, to the rugged coastlines of Acadia National Park in Maine, to the heights of Machu Picchu and the surf breaks of Lima, Peru. I’ve even spent time living in a historic dune shack along the Cape Cod National Seashore. Next on the horizon: a surf trip to Costa Rica.

kristindraws@gmail.com