In case you are wondering, the above picture is how I usually feel after a hard day's work. So basically, I feel pretty much like that every day....chained to my computer. But the good thing is, I LOVE what I do!

I am a graphic artist sauntering through life, and I am very passionate about the work that I do... which is why I do what I do, as I have been doing for thirteen years now "officially" and the rest of my life "unofficially." I have had a great love for art from when I was two feet high... and it only grew from there onwards. I have done graphics in many shapes and forms and different types of media, from clothing tags to posters. I do illustration, fantasy art, logo design, package design, newsletters, brochures, book & CD covers, advertising and the list goes on. Among my portfolio pieces is work I have done for TV personalities, some of the major make up houses such as Estee Lauder and Clinique, General Electric, well-known clothing name brands & food brands and much more.
I am very proud to now be working for a newspaper with such an excellent reputation as ours. As my title suggests, I do the design for the newspaper, along with a great amount of artwork/graphic design and color correction. I work in a "charged-with-energy" environment with some very fine people and I really feel we are a fantastic team. Each and every paper that is printed feels like a special edition to me, and looking through each one straight after it comes out of print is something I eagerly look forward to on an almost-daily basis (since we are not yet daily :) and it feels almost like an award for our fantastic teamwork. The work is fantastic and I love every minute. It is also very challenging and not one day has gone past where I have not learned something new. To be honest, my job feels more like an endless holiday, because I am constantly doing something which I love, which is why I incessantly nag people about how important it is to have a career that you love and which will bring you fulfillment. Well, before I turn this into a philosophical or psychological session, let me tell you more about myself.

I am actually a transplanted South African, meaning that I was uprooted from my beloved home country just a few years ago and here I am, in the good old U.S. of A, a wonderful country too at that. I am American to begin with, since I was born in the States, so perhaps it was written in the stars that I return.

My passions in life... art (which is why I do what I do), music (I cannot live or work without it. I especially have a passion for the violin.), photography, cycling, iceskating and, of course, those people whom I hold most dear who certainly make the sun shine for me when I get up in the mornings, aaaaaand last but not least, my two brats: Taicha (Her Royal Bratness) who is a very spoiled Siberian husky (she throws daily tantrums when she wants yet another biscuit) and Charlie, my well-traveled (all the way from S.A.) 15-year-old and still-like-a-kitten cat, whom I adore to bits. Please see their picture below...

Oops, I almost forgot... walking, almost my most favorite activity. Walking is something I look forward to at the end of each and every day to relax, unwind and just to feel the breeze blow through my hair as it whittles away all my worries. Thank goodness I live in a beautiful community where I can enjoy walking on lakesides and through forests with most of the natural ecosystems still virtually intact and untouched. I also have the pleasure of being accompanied by her royal bratness, my dog. Other hobbies include art (yes, MORE art!!), strategy games (such as Risk, Civilization, Wargames (the little figures version, not the "splat attack"), theater (how I LOVE the theater!!), cuisine (good cooking, especially seafood... calamari...YUM) and teaching. The reason teaching is listed under "hobbies" is because that is exactly what it is, something I really love doing but something that can only be done in my spare time. Teaching was one of the other avenues I started to pursue earlier on in life. Right throughout school, I could never make up my mind as to whether I wanted to teach or go into graphics as a career, and decision-making certainly was never one of my fortes. Most people recommended to me that I teach graphics and that way I could have the best of both worlds, but that was a definite no-no for me, because when I do something I like to give it my all, and so it had to be 100 percent one way or the other. And so off to teacher's college I went. Too bad I discovered the amazing graphics department on campus on my first day there and spent 90 percent of my remaining time there as a result. I was never able to reclaim my beloved portfolio from there after college was finished because the graphics professor kindly "adopted it" straight after it was on exhibition. It was after those college days I KNEW graphics was IT for me and so it goes on. And on. And on. And here I am, never looked back...:)
As for the teaching, my love for it has never died. After all, I started teaching Sunday School at the age of 14 and have taught it ever since. The day I cried most in my life was when I was still in teacher's college and it was the last day of a three week session of teaching practice at the Assumption Convent in S.A. when half the class was crying because I was leaving. I had become attached to each and every one of the wonderful unique students, and it seems that the feeling was very much mutual..:)
And so, I have continued to teach over the years even though now it is only when I am able to.

If you would like, you can take a peek at my personal Web site which is at www.thecrissigallery.com where I have included some of my graphics I have done over the last few years, a lot which are hand drawn, and others which I have generated digitally via my computer and various other sources - along with the good old fashioned pencil & paper technique that I am still using as avidly as ever.

I could go on forever, there is just so much I feel I could share with you. However, I WOULD like you to be able to have time to read some of the other best-selling bio's around here so I am going to humbly (try to) end off now.

Until we meet again, please grab a cup of coffee and carry on sauntering through the rest of The Citizen Online.

ENJOY!!