Meet Rebecca Cristante | Painter, Printmaker, Poet

We had the good fortune of connecting with Rebecca Cristante and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Rebecca, where are your from? We’d love to hear about how your background has played a role in who you are today?
I grew up in the little town of Bainbridge, in SouthWest Georgia (USA), although I have lived in Atlanta now for the past twenty years. Bainbridge is the kind of place where everybody knows everybody. There is only one high school for the entire county and the school promenade and football games are important cultural events, even for those who don’t have kids participating in them.There are a few beautiful tucked away springs and caves, but mostly the trees have been deforested and it is surrounded by farmland. Growing up in that environment definitely had a profound effect on the way I approach my audience and my work, both positive and negative. On the one hand, because in a small town when eyes are always on you, in the beginning I took myself too seriously, and was too concerned with what others would think, and that created a standard for myself that felt stifling and may have stunted my artistic growth. I think that to fully stand in your power as a creative, one does need to create a bubble of freedom around the creation process, and that can be harder when eyes are always on you. As I am thinking about this, though, I am seeing how much of a similarity this has to young creatives who are growing up with social media, which can create a similar dynamic. So, for anyone trying to find their own way through that I would say, find your bubble. Make some art or write poems that you can keep for yourself. To truly know yourself, you need the freedom to be the first judge. I am a big advocate for intuition, and if you are too focused on the reactions of others it is harder to look within. If you are in this for the long run, there will be time for all to be revealed. On the flip side of that, I see where there is so much freedom for my children, growing up in the crowds of Atlanta. Being in a city is humbling, and in many ways can take the pressure off with so many people doing so many amazing things. Or not so amazing things.
What I love most about being from a rural town, though, is how I learned to really connect with others and with nature in a deeply meaningful and caring way. Before it becomes second nature, though, it is forced in our small town culture because you never know who somebody is and how they are connected to you. The lady you think you can smirk at in the grocery store might just be friends with your Mom, and she’s going to call her to tell her about it before you even get home. Personally, my spiritual belief is that we are connected to each other and everything. In a small town that is just a little easier to see.
Recently, I had a reminder of this when I was late and stressed in traffic and rage honked like a fool louder and longer than necessary at someone who pulled out in front of me, only to then see that it was actually my kid’s teacher I was honking at! Now I try to think when I am driving in traffic that everyone might be someone I actually know, (or might know my mother), and miraculously it has quite the calming effect.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I am a multi-disciplinary visual artist, photographer, and poet. Much of my work is inspired by human interaction with environment and ecology. I think one of the things that sets me apart in my profession is that I actually studied Religion and Ecology in college, fully knowing that I planned to pursue a career as an artist at the time. I didn’t want to go to school to learn how to make art, I wanted to learn more about why I even felt compelled to make art in the first place. Religious Studies gave me more insight to humanity and ecology gave me more insight to instinct. I learned that as an artist, I actually have some things in common with a robin gathering sticks for her nest. The compulsion to create is universal, and I certainly do not think I am unique in that aspect. I feel so truly lucky that I have been able to find a way to make that compulsion my livelihood. I like to have many projects ongoing at once, so if I get stuck in one area, I can move to where my energy flows more freely. In the short run, that might not sound ideal, but 20 years in and I have managed to raise two kids as a single parent, publish my first book of poetry, and put my art into the hands of thousands though my block printmaking shop. I still work alone, although that may change as my business continues to grow. My work philosophy is to be as honest with myself and others as I can, and to keep moving forward. I don’t actually spend much time patting myself on the back because I am always thinking of the next thing. I do, however, meditate and take daily walks in nature to quite my mind and be fully present with the birds and the bees.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Ah,there are so many things to love about our city (Atlanta). My kids and I love to take friends to the Hmart in Doraville for bubble tea and freshly fried mozzarella dogs from the Food Court. We would probably spend a long Sunday brunch at My Parent’s Basement in Avondale Estates, where I’d order a delicious half nitro brewed coffee, half guniess pint, and we can browse comics, and play vintage arcade games. We might visit the Carlos Museum at Emory, and picnic on the grassy lawn surrounded by historic architecture and old trees. We would definitely visit the gorgeous champion Magnolia Tree that once stood in the outfield of Atlanta’s professional baseball field and is now still standing, surrounded by concrete in the back parking lot of the Whole Foods at Ponce City Market. And while we were at it, we might check out the Champion Tree map on google maps created by Fernbank Ecologist Eli Dickerson to visit other trees. I recommend seeing the red clover in bloom at Etowah Mounds, and the diamorpha in bloom at Arabia Mountain in the Spring.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I dedicate my shout out to poet and nature writer, Janisse Ray. Before reading her book, Ecology of a Cracker Childhood, I had never given much thought to the trees that had to be clear cut to make way for the farms that surrounded my childhood. I knew about forests being cut down else where, but somehow had not opened my eyes yet to my own backyard. Janisse woke me up to what has been a lifelong pursuit of environmental justice and hyper local activism.

Website: www.rebeccacristante.com

Instagram: @rebeccacristante

Twitter: @rebecacristante

Image Credits
Joanne Kent Photography