Krista Nicole is an illustrator and graphic designer from Arizona. She makes illustrations to produce on various products such as buttons, stickers, and postcards. She has even made a coloring book, which is also available on her site. Recently, she designed stickers to support immigrant families, with 100% of proceeds from the stickers donated to The Florence Project, an Arizona project offering free legal services to men, women, and unaccompanied children in immigration custody. We talked to Krista about her charitable work, her future plans, and what challenges she has to overcome to create her final products. Check out some of her work below and be sure to read the interview that follows!
You recently designed, produced and sold stickers for a great cause. Can you tell me about that project?
I actually drew the design that I ended up using for the “no one is illegal” sticker several months before the sticker was even a thought in my mind. I originally drew it to honor the way that people of color took care of the earth before the land was taken from them by colonizers. I knew I wanted to do something like donating the drawing or raising money to donate by selling it, but couldn’t figure out how to go about it. When ICE started putting children in cages and brutally separating families I wanted to do something, but like most people I felt helpless, so I researched non-profits that were helping immigrants through this traumatic ordeal and found the Florence project, which is an Arizona project offering free legal services to men, women, and unaccompanied children in immigration custody. It was the perfect opportunity to use my art to help, so I added the words “no one is illegal on stolen land” and printed stickers. Within 2 days we raised over $500 which was so incredible and humbling. The stickers are still for sale at http://artbykristanicole.storenvy.com with 100% of proceeds continuing to go to the Florence Project!
That was awesome of you to do and I’m glad you were able to raise a good amount of money for the cause! Do you plan on doing anything similar in the future for other causes too?
I definitely want to continue making art that is for something bigger than me. It feels great to be able to use what I love to make a difference, no matter how small. The next sticker I’m planning is going to be from a design I made that says “I love you more than all the plastic in the ocean” with the proceeds going towards cleaning up our oceans. I’m still researching nonprofits to send the money for that project to, but I’m very excited about the idea and can’t wait to execute it!
Do you create any other forms of artwork?
The medium I have fallen in love with is illustration, but I have dabbled in almost everything at some point. I do some painting, I’ve done ceramics and sculpture, I work full time as a graphic designer, and I recently started getting into stick n poke tattooing. My favorite work is definitely illustrating by hand and then converting and editing digitally to create a final piece.
Who and what are your biggest inspirations?
My biggest inspirations in the fine art world are Frida Kahlo and Georgia O’Keefe because of the way they were both ahead of their times and created art the way they wanted to even though nothing like it existed at the time. My biggest inspiration in the illustration world is Kate Bingaman-Burt because her style is so unique and weird and she is completely self taught and self made. She does really cool things with line and color, and recently opened a really cool print studio. I got the chance to go to one of her lectures and meet her, and it was the most inspirational and motivating night.
Do you ever struggle to find motivation? And if so, how do you push past it?
Oh god, yes – all the time. Being an artist is hard, and finding creative energy after working a full time job all day is extremely exhausting, and drawing things that aren’t turning out the way i want is incredibly frustrating. The thing that keeps me motivated is remembering the feeling of creating something that came out exactly how it was in my head, sharing my art and seeing people have positive responses to it, and just the fact that it’s the one thing that makes me happy despite being a hell of a lot of work.
Follow Krista onTwitter and check out more of her work here.