Today we’d like to introduce you to Kristina Libby

Hi Kristina, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.

Creative life is a journey that I’m still navigating.

I’ve always been a creative person (writing, acting) but it wasn’t until I suffered a traumatic brain injury that I realized I need to formalize and invest in my creative self. I had been hiding it, pretending it wasn’t important and after the injury, it no longer seemed that I was capable of doing that.

Interestingly, now in reflection, I think I hid my creative self because I wanted to assimilate to normalized culture and to be accepted. I was angry at my creative self for rocking the boat and needing me to make things, explore ideas, or do creative acts when I should be doing what everyone else was doing: working and making money. I’m coming to terms now with the idea that my creative self isn’t a burden, that is a means of self-expression and that in fact my creativity even makes me better at making money. It’s holistic; not divergent.

It’s just taken a while to get there.

Now, when I introduce myself I say “Hi, I’m Kristina. I’m an author, painter and I consult for companies.” What that means is that I sell paintings, am well-known for public art, have a fiction book that is being prepared to go out on submission, and work with Fortune 500 companies and start-ups on their business ideas.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?

I think of creativity as an endurance sport.

It’s a very long road often from creative ideation to execution to public absorption. And, like all long roads there are bumps, moments you would have never expected and confusion. But, also like all long journeys when you look back at them the bumps fade away, the road seems flatter, and there are more smooth moments than rough ones.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?

I call myself a hybrid professional. What that means is I have multiple career frames in which I connect people, places and ideas and activate them to drive impact. Sometimes that is with my corporate professional hat on and sometimes that is with my artistic hat on. In any environment, I bring people, locations and ideas together and build a small world.

I did that through the Floral Heart Project when I brought those grieving COVID-19 loses together in public memorials to discuss and share their grief. This drives healing.

In novel writing, I do that when I imagine characters, build worlds for them and allow them to explore ideas. My latest novel is about a woman who returns to a small Maine island and must learn how to navigate her complicated past. This provides a roadmap for others on how to navigate their own complex histories.

In my professional life, I help businesses around the global share their ideas. This allows them to scale.

It’s all the same sort of work but the arenas are different.

Can you share something surprising about yourself?

I found this really hard to answer because I don’t think I’m surprising! So I asked a few people who know me well what they thought was something surprising that people don’t know!

“Your inherent ability to approach and ignore rules or roadblocks with earnest optimism.” <-- I'm extremely earnest about creative projects. It's funny because I've basically decided to be a life long New Yorker and I think they are known for cynicism. I'm a cynic about a lot of things BUT with art, I just sort of go for it, hope it will work out and assume at some point it will. "Your ability to make connections. Whether it be between people, ideas or experiences. It makes you the most interesting person in the room. Or the way you always are doing something new. Your fearlessness to try things." <--- Flattering! But, this ability to make connections I think is part of having a really hybrid approach to my life and career. I'm constantly trying to see connections between everything that I'm learning and doing and this allows me to approach the world in a new way AND inspires me to always try something new because I know that the more things I try, the more I will make new and interesting connections. It's a cycle that feeds upon itself. "I’m continuously surprised by your curiosity and the commitment with which you explore them. " <--- This I think feeds on the above. But, I'm really believe in indulging my curiosity because it leads to growth. But, growth only happens if you really dig in and explore deeply.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.kristinalibby.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lightvslight
• Other: https://www.lightvlight.com

Image Credits

Erica Reade images