Drawing on her experience as a former illustrator, Christy uses an array of media (acrylic, collage and drawing media) along with a finely honed visual vocabulary to connect with viewers on multiple levels. Over the years her work has transitioned from subject based into abstraction, as she pushes the process of playing with line and shape and fields of color. Compositions both large and small invite the viewer to approach, investigate, and discover the surprisingly sophisticated mark-making that is visible only from an intimate distance. Christy received her BFA in Illustration from Kendall College of Art and Design (Grand Rapids) in 1992. Shortly after, she relocated to San Francisco and found work in the “Multimedia Gulch” at a small software company as a digital illustrator. In 1996, she moved to Long Beach to pursue her master’s degree at California State University. The experience broadened her perceptions of what it means to be an illustrator and fine artist. Under the guidance of an exceptional mentor, Christy fine-tuned her skills and began to embrace the idea of becoming a “painter”. Upon receiving her MFA, she traveled the country for a while and then resettled back in Grand Rapids. Christy taught illustration for a few years at Kendall, she now lives and works in Spring Lake, Michigan as a full time painter.