Public Art and Community Work

Part of the job of being an artist is to impact others. Often the comes with simply creating work that makes people happy and that they want in their homes, but for Krista it goes beyond that. She is moved to user her creativity to improve society.

Newpaper article
A woman holding a sign that says 'Community Unity' at a march or rally, with other people and trees in the background.

Community Unity

In response to the rise of violence by white supremacist and division in our country with the election of Donald Trump, Krista and an activist friend collaborated to develop iconic yard signs that have sprung up all over town. The signs are meant to invite unity in the community for people of all skin colors, genders, sexual orientations, religious beliefs. The signs reject racism, misogony, and all forms of discrimination. The need to act in the face of cruelty and violence became even stronger on August 11 and 12, 2017 when the KKK and other white nationalists groups came to our town of Charlottesville, VA. We’ve worked hard to make these signs visible in Charlottesville and beyond and were thrilled that they were used in non-violent protest during the Women's March in 2018 and the march from Charlottesville to Washington, DC to confront white supremacy. Read more about Community Unity efforts and activities and follow us on Facebook.

Art in Healthcare

Krista’s work has been acquired by the Emily Couric Clinical Cancer Center at The University of Virginia, Inova Schar Cancer Institute, Sentara Martha Jefferson Hospital, University of Virginia Medical Center, Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) Health System, and the Women's Center at Culpeper Medical Center.

3 paintings of Charlottesville city scenes on the wall of the UVA hospital
painting of 2 hens in a grassy field under a blue sky with a few clouds

Martha Jefferson Hospital exhibits “Freedom”, a portrait of two free range, sassy hens in the lobby near the neonatal care unit.

These paintings represent the downtown Charlottesville area and hopefully help bring some hope and sunshine to patients, family and hospital staff. They are located in the UVA Medical Center lobby near the gift shop on the first floor of the main hospital building.

Serving Scientific Research

When Krista is not painting, she applies her creative skills at the National Institutes of Health on a communications team that creates access to the latest life-saving infectious and allergic disease research and technology for scientists and the public. She works on the user experience team to ensure that researchers and the public can find what they need. She also creates scientific and patient education illustrations. Her work can be found on the National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases website and Flickr site. In addition, some of her works have appeared on the side of buses, in patient brochures, in public campaigns, and more. These are just a few examples below:

  • graphic describing herd immunity with symbols denoting people who are not immunized but healthy, immunized and healthy, and not immunized and sick/contagious.

    HERD IMMUNITY

    This image is one of the most commonly used graphics to depict the impact of vaccination to not only protect yourself from disease but to protect those who cannot get immunized because of age or health related issues. It has been used by PBS, Vox, The American Academy of Pediatrics, and many more. This image was even placed on the side of a bus that was going into communities to vaccinate people.

  • An infographic explaining what a virus is, including illustrations of virus particles. The text describes the structure, function, diseases caused, and habitats of viruses, with references to the NIH.

    THE IMMUNE SYSTEM

    This is part of a series of cards explaining the cells and other parts of the immune system as well as the microscopic pathogens that attack humans everyday. Each of these cards is available in English and Spanish and has been used to support scientific articles and on social media to help the public understand the science.

  • diseases that mosquitos carry and are dangerous to humans: Zika Virus, Dengue Fever, West Nile Virus, Chikungunya, Yellow Fever, and Malaria.

    MOSQUITO-CARRIED DISEASES

    Mosquitoes cause more human disease and death than any other animal. This illustration was used in social media and print to promote awareness of mosquito-borne diseases.