What people are saying about Crista…
“Having worked with Crista, I’ve had the opportunity to see how she somehow manages to simultaneously calm and challenge students who have something to contribute but are perhaps nervous about the what and the how. With immense charm hiding her steely determination, she creates opportunities for participants at her workshops to both shine and to build confidence. I can only conclude that this ability derives from her willingness to release conventional activities – albeit highly successful in her case – in order to free herself up for seeking her life’s true purpose. This is, it seems clear to me, to help others be the very best they can be through their creative activities. A remarkable woman.”
Max Comfort, Facilitator, coach, author, artist.
“As a featured guest speaker over several years of teaching the business of the arts at Arizona State University, Crista is always the class favorite. It’s not just that she is incredibly experienced and profoundly knowledgeable. What makes her special is that the stories she shares and the insights she imparts are empowering to university students in ways that they rarely derive from people in academia. Her unique talent is to reveal the realities, pitfalls and frustrations in the path ahead – yet do so in a way that emboldens emerging artists to take them on with smarts and passion. I have no doubt that she has cut years off the learning curves of countless artists – and propelled a great many to success with her clear navigational guidance.”
Matt Lehrman, Professor, Arizona State University
“It was our pleasure to have Crista join us for Artexpo New York 2016. She was an asset to our Topics & Trends Education Program and we received many positive comments about her presentations. Her realistic approach and sound advice gives artists and anyone thinking about entering the art industry an excellent approach to finding success. We look forward to having her as part of our program again in the coming year.”
Linda Mariano, Managing Director Marketing, Redwood Media Group
“Whilst at the University for the Creative Arts, I developed a dedicated Social Entrepreneurship Programme open to all of its students from all the creative disciplines. It was an annual programme called Creative Challenge, and I had the pleasure to engage Crista over a number of years to work with students on each of UCA’s five campuses. She ran several professional development workshops based on her The Working Artist experience and expertise. She proved to be an excellent and popular tutor, mentor and role model for the students, which helped them prepare for their post-university professional life and indeed the completion of their degree course. Because of Crista’s strong communication skills and emotional intelligence, I was pleased to be able to invite her to participate in a unique creative arts educational residential programme that I held in Le Havre in France as one of the student group leaders. Needless to say Crista had great impact on the students’ learning experience. It has been a wonderful experience and privilege to work with Crista and I hope that there will be further opportunities in the future.”
Uwe Derksen, Margate School of Art
“Having Crista as a guest speaker for the International Decorative Artisans League’s Annual Convention Meeting, was an exceptional delight. Crista has a way about her speaking, that just seems to connect with the creative soul. Her stories of encouragement and facing fear are one’s we all enjoyed and could relate too. Many of our members have said she was the best guest speaker, we have ever had.
Many more of the members signed up for her workshop and it was workshop was the best 4 hours of the conference. Many of us were able to utilize her knowledge and directing skills to dig deep and push past our fears and stagnation in the areas we were seeking help in. Crista showed genuine care and concern for our members. We owe many thanks to Crista for making our event even more exciting.”
Glenda Mosley, IDAL 2016 President