Cristy Road
Cristy C. Road has been illustrating ideas, people, and places, ever since she learned how to hold a crayon. Blending the inevitable existence of social principles, cultural identity, sexual identity, mental inadequacies, and dirty thoughts, Road thrives to testify the beauty of the imperfect.
A Cuban-American from Miami, FL, she went to Ringling School of Art and Design, where many arguments on commercialism and the representation of women in illustration took place. Her endeavors in illustrating and publishing began when writing a punk rock zine, Greenzine, for ten years. While today Road has moved onto illustrated novels, 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 honestly and unconventionally.
Road graduated in 2004 with bachelor’s of Fine Arts in Illustration. Roughly two years after that, her repertoire consists of ten years of independent publishing, two graphic novels, and countless illustrations for a broad slew of magazines, record album art, concert posters, and political organizations. Road currently draws, paints, writes, obsesses over pop-punk bands, and hibernates in Brooklyn, NY.
Her readings and presentations cover a myriad of issues including, but not limited to: punk rock, art theory & technique, self-publishing, gender identity, sexuality, and her experience as a latina artist.
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
