We were lucky to catch up with Christina Watka recently and have shared our conversation below.

Christina , appreciate you joining us today. Do you think your parents have had a meaningful impact on you and your journey?

My work is grounded in nature and simple, wonder-filled ideas brought to life. As a child, I was a curious daydreamer and constant observer. Light and shadow in stacked leaves shifting by the wind drew my attention, as well as the changing shape of a river rock beneath moving water. I was encouraged to spend lots of open time outside without distraction, and this fed my creative energy in ways I am only now just beginning to truly understand. These simple, time-tested wonders constantly find their way into my artwork.

My parents let me follow my own curiosity. I was lucky to be raised in a happy home with a pair of people who raised my sisters and I as individuals. We were all encouraged to follow our paths even if they surprised others around us. I remember spending unlimited time outside, wandering around nature. We moved a lot, and in each place, we were encouraged to branch out and learn about our surroundings. This taught us to love all people and places, and lead our lives with kindness.

My parents were really good at listening, at being present with us, and encouraging imagination. There were year stretches when we didn’t have TV, and those are the times that I remember being most creative with my siblings. We made our own entertainment, recycled things around the house, and learned to listen to the world. We were never pushed into too many extra curricular activities at a young age, so we got to be bored together a lot. So, when I am in the studio with nothing to work on, it’s a place I feel comfortable. I spent my entire childhood with parents who accompanied me in play and discovery and didn’t put their own rules on how I could experience the world.

Now I get to do the same thing in my work and with my own kids.

Christina , love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

My name is Christina Watka, and I am a Maine-based installation artist who creates joyful, dynamic spaces by reflecting the natural interplay between light, density, movement, and people. Notable installations over the last five years across the globe include the Mandarin Oriental Palace in Luzern, Switzerland, Address Skyview in Dubai, recently renovated Dior showroom in Sydney, Australia, the JP Morgan building in Houston, TX built by I.M. Pei Architects, and TETRA hotel in Sunnyvale, CA. I am currently working on a large, public-facing, multi-faceted outdoor installation (completion date Fall 2023) with a team of landscape architects, lighting designers, metalsmiths, property developers, and construction workers to execute a bronze installation that will be installed on a water feature wall and in the pavers of a public park in Portland, Maine. It is my largest, most exciting job to date and it has me seeking out more projects like it.
My work is grounded in nature and simple, wonder-filled ideas brought to life. As a child, I was a curious daydreamer and constant observer. Light and shadow in stacked leaves shifting by the wind drew my attention, as well as the changing shape of a river rock beneath moving water. I was encouraged to spend lots of open time outside without distraction, and this fed my creative energy in ways I am only now just beginning to truly understand. These simple, time-tested wonders constantly find their way into my artwork. Using basic, often natural materials, multiplied and manipulated to create swarms and other naturally occurring patterns found in nature such as flocks, cells, constellations, and topographical maps, I aim to explore work that feels light, joyful, and full of life. In this way, community may be nurtured by allowing all walks of life to walk by my work and feel lifted by it—light reflecting around a wall can be as exciting as finding a penny on the ground. A quick child-like surprise, a smile to a passerby, and a lifted feeling throughout anyone’s day may shift community creative consciousness in the simplest way by sparking joy.

My process is grounded in mindfulness, often repeating the same movement until it becomes meditative. It is my goal to allow the finished piece to encourage the same outcome, showing the viewer, for example, that the simple act of following light across a textured field of porcelain or suspended mica can fill them with the same sense of calm and ease as a long walk in the woods. Time is always right now, and I aim to capture moments that are only small in their brevity and scope, compressing and then magnifying the fleeting joys that build an extraordinary, ordinary life.

Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

I am glad that I learned many of these lessons the hard way, so I can’t say that I wish I knew them earlier because I love the grit of learning along the way.

That being said, here are the things I learned the hard way and am glad to know now:

1. You can always set your own parameters. Don’t feel like you need to suffer to get a project done in an unrealistic timeline. Most of the time, people will go along with what you need.

2. Ask for what you are worth.

3. Always buffer the budget.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

I am able to show up fully every single day.

I jumped full-time into my own art practice 4 years ago. Before that, I worked in lots of places—paper stores, reception desks, retail display rooms, floral studios…all of them manifestations of a dream I had—always questioning where the truest place in the world was for me. I wondered why in more corporate settings, I felt like I had to show up as someone who fit into a mold rather than as an individual with a lot to offer; so much of my mental energy was spent figuring out how to find a home in a role that didn’t give me permission for openness and honesty. As time passed, I consciously tipped the scale by finding jobs that allowed me to be more authentic. With every new path, I felt closer the goal. It is hard to explain this, but somehow I always knew how essential it is to show up fully in every facet of everyday.

Now I spend time dancing in my studio, having deeply personal and sincere conversations that need no reading between the lines, listening to my inner voice and exploring that, offering studio visits with a genuine smile, and living the most vulnerable and wonderful life/career where my generosity of spirit is what guides all of my decisions and relationships.

It works for me. It checks all of the boxes.

All to say, I don’t know who needs to hear this but here it goes: jumping into a lifelong trust in yourself is not selfish—it can be an honest way to show up the way the world needs you to.

Then, everything blossoms.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.christinawatka.com
• Instagram: @christinawatka

Image Credits
Christina Wnek, Courtney Elizabeth