What is your artist background?
I am a self-taught artist. I never studied art past year 10 at high school (due to a mean art teacher!). I was a primary school teacher for over 10 years and teaching art was always my favourite subject. I’ve been steadily becoming more and more passionate about creative pursuits since I had my first child just over 7 years ago. This year I started studying a certificate in Māori and Indigenous Art through Te Wananga o Aotearoa. This is developing into a passion of mine, as I learn more about both Toi Māori and my Ngapuhi whakapapa.
When did you start doing your art?
After we returned from Switzerland in 2014 and I was taking a break from the pressures of school teaching. I worked in a local cafe and had plenty of energy left to be experimenting creatively.
When did you start your entrepreneur journey?
I got brave and set up a stall at the local Waihi Beach Market - some great sales and feedback early on really encouraged me to keep going.
How do you describe your artwork style?
I have a really mixed bag of styles - from the ultra fine detailed birds with accessories that I’m known for - to painterly florals - to more graphic designs using kōwhaiwhai and printmaking.
What is the best/ideal environment for you when creating your artwork?
I have small children so any time I can grab. Although I have a little home studio, it’s often at the kitchen table (trying to avoid food splatters and sticky fingers!). I like to listen to podcasts - mostly podcasts about art, Toi Māori or interior design.
Who is your hero? / Who do you admire the most? And why?
Recently I've been finding out more about my whakapapa - and looking to my ancestors, and ancestral knowledge to guide me on both this creative journey, and life in general. We were really close to my granddad growing up, and I hope I'm doing him proud!
What values are important to you?
The older I get the more I realise life is about being true to yourself. I’m an introvert and I’m actually sinking into that more and more. I express myself better with pictures than words. I am currently passionate about researching my whakapapa. I think it’s important to look back in order to move forward and I want to be able to pass on my knowledge and experiences to my own children and also to the children that I teach. Being an artist teaches you to really look and observe the world around you. I hope to leave this earth in a better place than I how I found it. I want to plant more trees, take less from mother nature.
Any advice for aspiring NZ artists?
Do what you love. Try not to get too caught up in what will sell. If you love doing something you’ll make it happen - when you find your creative buzz it becomes an insatiable drive, you can’t not do that thing. That’s how you get really good at something!
What was the inspo behind your artwork for your PieceHouse puzzle?
I adore birds, especially our native ones. I like to capture them in a quirky way that makes people smile and keeps them at the forefront of our minds. The decisions we make about how we treat our local areas, country, planet, directly affect their ongoing existence. Each of my birds represents a human character in some way - a person I’ve met or a family member, I try to imagine someone as I’m creating. This artwork represents the family tree, the whakapapa. I imagine it like a wall in my late grandparents house or from the marae.
Krystal is the artist that created Family Tree, which you can view here.
What do you do to help keep your mental health in a positive place?
Daily walks with our crazy hungarian Viszla, and making time to create art that’s just for me and just for the joy of it. Putting on some loud dance music and having a boogie with the kids!
Check out Krystal's amazing other work here.
