Cristy Road
Cristy C. Road is floating in a pool of her own blood, sweat, and occasional tears. Cristy is a 28-year-old Cuban-American artist and writer. Blending social principles, sexual deviance, mental inadequacies, and social justice- she thrives to testify the beauty of the imperfect. Her obsession with making art [and her emotions] publicly accessible began when publishing GREEN'ZINE in 1997- a fanzine which was originally devoted to Green Day. The exclusivity of high art disgusted her, as she fell in love with a xerox machine and the creativity expressed through the punk rock community. Eventually, she made friends, found solace outside of a single band, and began including blurbs on other punk rock bands, gender identity, sexuality, aimless travel, and radical organizing. Her preferred mediums are Micron Ink pens, Sharpies, Chartpak markers, fluid acrylic paint, and Photoshop. Today Cristy works as a freelance illustraor, aside from her personal goals in publishing. Despite stepping away from Green'zine, she continued to create two illustrated novels; and is currently working on her first graphic novel. Taking both writing and visual elements a step more seriously, her visual diagram of lifestyles and beliefs stay in tune to the zine’s portrayal of living.
Cristy graduated from The Ringling School of Art and Design in 2004, despite many arguments about the representation (and credit given to) women in art, and the definiton of Illustration versus commercial art. Afterall, she was hardly on campus; spending most of 2000-2005 investing in radical organizing and zine writing, in various locations throughout the continental US. Since leaving Florida, her repertoire now consists of ten years of independent publishing, and countless illustrations for a broad slew of magazines, record album art, concert posters, and political organizations. Aside from creating art; Cristy has been performing lectures and workshops of her work and politics in various environments ranging from The Portland Zine Symposium, The Latina Health Summit, and Duke University. Additionally, she has been performing as part of SISTER SPIT: The Next Generation , an all-queer spoken word road-show.
In early 2006, Cristy released her first illustrated story, INDESTRUCTIBLE (Microcosm Publishing). It’s a 96-page narrative about her experience as a teenager in Miami, Florida; where Cristy tackles the themes of being Latina, class, gender dynamics between teens, sexuality, depression, and death; all beneath the topical umbrella of being a queer punk rocker in the mid-90‘s. In 2007 she completed a collection of postcards featuring art from 2001-2007, entitled DISTANCE MAKES THE HEART GROW SICK (Microcosm Publishing). In 2008, Cristy released BAD HABITS (Soft Skull Press), an Illustrated story about the revelatory and destructive routes one takes when healing from an abusive relationship; in order to reconnect to self. Through a highly autobiographical fictional narrative, Cristy's protagonist tackles the concepts of reconnecting to her sex organs, stimulant drugs and manic depression, and her psychic connections to the well-being of New York City. She currently is working on a new graphic novel, paintings, local organizing, and her punk band THE HOMEWRECKERS. Cristy is a double Gemini who hibernates in Brooklyn, NY with a short attention span and a killer gas.
What People Are Saying
“Cristy Road’s burgeoning multi-media empire really speaks to me….I think the universality of Road’s stories is a testament to her writing ability and the proof that the more we think our situation is unique, the more we should realize we have a network of support available.” —Punknews.org
“Cristy Road’s work makes me so happy. Where else can you see drawings of a black genderqueer boy flashing his top surgery scars and grinning, or two girls hitchiking in the desert holding a sign that reads ‘Indigenous Soverignty or Bust,’ all drawn with love, color, and punk rock grit?” —Bitch Magazine
“Indestructible explores the toxic impact gender bias and proscribed norms have on questioning youth, while encouraging inquiry and protest against social constraints. So powerful is Road’s candid portrayal of growing pains, it provides the perfect comfort for angsty, self-loathing youth and sends older readers back down memory lane.” —CURVE Magazine
“Road’s narrative has an emotional immediacy, a social relevance that makes you believe her voice, makes you belong to her world. You forget how old you are, you are with her–drinking a 32 ounce of beer (‘because forties were illegal in Florida’), going to punk shows, listening to a two-minute song for empowerment….The artwork has the same level of immediacy. Road’s black and white illustrations are cinematic frames which include vivid action scenes–a sexual encounter, a fist-fight–as well as intimate, candid portraits of Road and her ….Road’s novel is a testimony of survival–a powerful reminder of how we must create (and re-create) our identities–whether the mainstream is with us, or not.” —Feminist Review
