For anyone who might be hesitant to try new mediums or techniques because they’re not formally trained, Krista’s advice is to embrace the potential to fail—as failure, for her, is where the greatest takeaways lie. She, after all, began with no programming background, but was handy with a camera, and just began snapping photographs of lights. It took years to develop into what it is now—and she got here, she says, mostly by tinkering with software and training herself to keep up with new technology.
“My whole M.O. was making mistakes, finding beautiful discoveries along the way,” she says. She takes the raw images, modifies the colors and composition through a program like Photoshop and sees what sticks.
Krista recalls that when she was first starting out, a lot of people told her that what she was doing wasn’t art—it was “just Photoshop.” Or that, “Anyone can do this.” It’s unlikely that anyone will question the merit of her work in the years to come.
But, at any rate, to Krista, the artistic process isn’t about the end result. She estimates that out of everything she produces, only about 20 percent gets shown to the public. “The rest, I’m still sitting on or it’s just not ready,” she says. The point, for her, is getting into that zone where the rest of the world fades away.
To Krista, hitting her groove is “almost like a spiritual practice.”
Going forward, Krista hopes to incorporate more interactivity in her artwork, even possibly explore virtual reality. She wants to encourage artists to not be afraid of technology, but instead to enter into collaborative dialogues with all the brilliant minds working across each field.
Krista’s own definition of success is to remain in awe of the things around her, to stay humble and open and to work for herself. The best place you can wind up is “where you don’t care what people think and you’re happy. Being comfortable in your own skin, loving yourself.”