Meet Kristina Micotti, she’s an award-winning illustrator and designer from the San Francisco Bay Area whose work has a way of making you laugh! Her work is playful, expressive, and iconic; her illustrations transform animals, food, and everyday objects into characters that people easily connect with.

Visitors to Empire Seven Studios may already be familiar with Micotti’s characters through the selection of her illustrated work available in the gallery. Her accessible approach to art and collecting is an important part of her practice. Alongside her paintings and illustration work, Micotti creates everything from hats and apparel to stickers and other artist-made goods, offering people many different ways to live with and support her work.

On Saturday, September 5th, Micotti returns to Empire Seven Studios for her solo exhibition, Where’s Your Head At? in which Micotti transforms the often unspoken experience of early motherhood into a new body of visual artworks. Alongside the original artwork created for this exhibition, a selection of her merchandise will also be available at the gallery.

Ahead of the exhibition, we caught up with Micotti to talk about the evolution of her creative practice, and the experiences that have shaped where her work (and her head) is at today:

Zoey
So, I'll just kick it off right away if that's okay; thank you so much for taking the time to discuss your upcoming exhibition, where's your head at?, which opens Saturday, September 5th at Empire 7 Studios! By the way, how did you first get connected with Empire Seven Studios?

Kristina
That is a good question. When I moved back to San Jose after college, I was looking for a cool gallery or art scene in San Jose, and they were the first ones that popped up that aligned with my own values art-wise. I thought they were really cool, and I started following them on Instagram. Then, back when they had their old space, they had a zine fest, and that's how I met Jen and Juan Carlos. I just slowly built a relationship with them there and I really got to know them when I was an artist in residence for their San Jose Walls, Guadalupe River Mural project.

Zoey
I've seen that mural! Yeah, it's beautiful.

Kristina
Yeah, it's gone now.

Zoey
Aw! I didn't know that; I'm sorry.

Kristina
Yeah, the city painted a whole new mural on top of it, because it was “too much to maintain,” which dang, kind of sucks, but it's okay. It was a good experience, and I got to know Jen and Juan Carlos more, so it worked out.

Kristina Micotti’s “Do You Know the Way to San Jose“ Mural

Zoey
Oh man, okay, well, I'll go to the next question; I'm just curious how you're doing and how you're feeling at this point in preparing for this solo exhibition.

Kristina
Yeah, I'm feeling good. I work a lot conceptually first; I start by writing everything out that I want to do. So it's a lot more prep beforehand, and then when I get to the actual painting, it's a pretty quick process for me. I'm really excited to actually get a whole bunch of them done and see them all together.

Zoey
Oh exciting! And how often are you in your studio making work? What is your studio looking like right now?

Kristina
I actually never have had my own studio before. So right now, I share my daughter's art table, our old kitchen table, or I share an office with my husband too. I never really had a space of my own; I’m just kind of squeezing in wherever I could fit in my house.

Zoey
Yeah, we have to be flexible as artists… How do you feel like that affects your work? Do you think it limits you in any way, or do some restrictions help you to be more creative?

Kristina
I think a little bit of this, a little bit of that. It would be nice to leave my paints out mid-painting, rather than having to clean up every night, but it does keep me kind of more on top of it, more organized. So, yeah, best of both worlds, a catch-22.

Zoey
I know that you touched on your process already, but what do you mean when you say that you start with the conceptualization before you move on to painting?

Kristina
Oh yeah, I normally just start with a little list of what I want to do or what emotions I want to illustrate or paint, and then what animal or thing would pair well with it. And I just test different combinations; I normally end up writing everything out. It's a very crazy list, and I just start cleaning it up a bit, then move on to sketches and the final painting.

Zoey
Very cool! Speaking of emotions, what emotions might we expect to see in the work for this exhibition?

Kristina
Yeah, so [the work] is just exploring the hormonal aspect of motherhood: the loss of identity and figuring out who I am after kids; it's just such a whirlwind. It's a whirlwind of like, what the hell is going on? There's a lot of anger that comes with it, but also a lot of very delightful emotions, so it's just a mixed bag of emotions.

Zoey
Do you think that motherhood has changed your work or your art practice?

Kristina
Oh yeah. I don't really have much time for myself anymore. I can't just beep-bop around; I have to be very efficient and very quick. I have to know what I'm doing before I pull out my paints, but I really enjoy working more quickly; it captures more of what I'm trying to convey. Even the simple drawings I do on my iPad in Procreate are very fast, and it really gets the point across.

Zoey
There's something kind of special about the spontaneity that comes from a quick sketch or drawing.

Kristina
Yeah, I enjoy it. I feel like my work is just getting quicker and quicker. My kids are still both very young, so I don't have a guaranteed work time anymore. So it gets a little complicated, but it's so temporary.

Zoey
Has [having kids] ever made it feel like making art is just impossible, or have you ever felt like it's just too difficult to keep making art?

Kristina
I think, um, no. It's not impossible because I've done it; this is my second kid, and I had a solo show at least like six months postpartum, which forced me to figure out how I can make my creative practice work with my new role as a mom. Having that [desire] to prove to myself that I can still dedicate or carve out time for myself to draw or do something for myself, even though it's not as much time as I would want, it's nice to know it's still there. I'm not just gonna give up. I’ve also been a lot gentler to myself and not beating myself up if, say, I don't draw for like a week or honestly two weeks or a month; I'm not gonna be upset about it. It's out of my control; there's only so much I can control and that's not a negative thing at all. You know, [I’m taking] more breaks than I would have ever given myself before kids. Before, I was just like, go, go, go, and I'd be so burnt out, but now I'm itching to get back to it, which is a really nice feeling after being burnt out for at least a year before kids. So, it's a welcome slowdown.

Zoey
That's good to hear that, in regard to your art practice, there were some positive impacts.

Kristina
Yeah. I mean, I have to feel that way. You kind of have to give in to the chaos and accept what’s out of your control.

Zoey
Yeah, absolutely. Going back to the title, where's your head at? I was just wondering if you could share what exactly that means to you.

Kristina
Well, I knew I wanted to do a bunch of animal heads. I feel like I'm known for my screaming or yelling tigers and gorillas. I knew I wanted to do that because it really captures the way I feel sometimes, and most of the time when I draw animals or food, they're self-portraits of the way I'm feeling that day. I think it was that song too: Where's Your Head At, because I am finally starting to feel like myself again, and it's been just a whirlwind of hormonal emotions, so I feel like this is the perfect title for the show.

Zoey
Yeah, it's a great title; it gives viewers something to think about before they've even seen the work. In terms of these characters expressing your emotions, does that mean making this work is a way to help you process your feelings?

Kristina
Yeah, it helps me a lot. Instead of journaling my thoughts, I just draw really distraught animals or whatever I feel like drawing that day with these crazy expressions. It's just me capturing how I'm feeling at that moment. So yeah, it gets it out of me in a way.

Zoey
Yeah, that makes sense. Now, I want to kind of touch on something I've seen in previous interviews you've done where you mention that you like to make work that makes you laugh?

Kristina
[Laughs] Yeah, I like how I'm saying everything's angry, everything's ragey, but yeah, I do like to have a sense of fun, even with my emotional works or something sad. I still want it to be a bit lighthearted. By adding some googly eyes or offset eyes, it makes it not as serious or as intense. I love drawing goofy things; I feel like I'm a pretty goofy person, and it's like a joke for myself. Even just doing something as simple as drawing, like a mustache on a dog, or drawing a banana in a bikini, it makes me giggle; I have fun with it.

Zoey
It does sound like maybe this new body of work is a bit different in that regard from your past work. What has that been like for you bringing it into existence? Does it feel more vulnerable?

Kristina
Yeah, that's a really good point; I haven't thought of it like that. I think it's just the phase of life where I'm at right now; maybe in my 20s and early 30s I was more carefree and didn't really have that much responsibility besides myself. The biggest thing is that with motherhood, you lose a lot of your identity and sense of self, and honestly it was a little shocking to me how much of myself that I lost, and I have to work to get it back. It's not going to just reappear someday; you have to actively work for it or make an effort to want to be yourself again. I think motherhood's made me more in touch with how I'm feeling. Like, I have a 3 year old and we have to teach her how to regulate and identify her emotions, and that’s taught me to regulate myself better and name the emotions that I'm going through, which is something I wasn't necessarily taught as a kid.

Zoey
I've heard from some parents that the process of having children has sort of helped to heal their inner child.

Kristina
Oh yeah, big time. And I think that's been the biggest thing; yeah, it is truly healing your inner child. I'm only talking to [my daughter] the way I would want to be talked to as a kid, and it makes me recognize my parents' own shortcomings. It also makes me value what I'm saying and doing for my daughter rather than worrying about how I'm feeling. I have to set my feelings aside and make sure I can help guide her to deal with her own emotions versus me being mad that she spilled something. She's 3 years old and has tiny little hands, you know; it's not her fault. She can't control how big her hands are; she's only been alive for 3 years, but yeah, for sure it's a trip, man. You know, it's a lot.

Zoey
Do you think that some of that anger [in the work] is being pulled not just from the current emotions you're experiencing, but also from when you were a child?

Kristina
Yeah, dang, Zoey. That’s… I feel like I didn't put two and two together, but I think you're totally right. I think I have a lot of weird emotional things happening, as I went back to therapy this year too. So I feel like all my emotions are on the surface more, but yeah, I didn't make that correlation because I was so focused on [the feelings of] postpartum, but it's totally like, oh yeah, I'm working out shit through my own childhood right now.

Zoey
Yeah, I can only imagine that having a child will put you through that. When your child is that young, they’re kind of an extension of yourself.

Kristina
Yeah totally, it's kind of crazy. I feel like you totally like, I never put that thread together, and now it's like, oh shit. But, yeah, totally, when I draw, it's my own sense of therapy of just getting all these emotions out of me.

Zoey
Has making this work been uncomfortable for you at any point? Or has it been overall just a very healing process?

Kristina
I mean, I didn't realize how vulnerable it is, and, honestly, before the interview, I was feeling really cool about it. You know, I was just happy to like paint these things, and now I'm like, oh shit. Maybe this is like a little deeper than I thought. So time will tell; we will see.

Zoey
I think that your original intention of expressing emotions that you felt after giving birth and raising your kids was already really vulnerable, and I appreciate that because women aren't necessarily encouraged to express those emotions.

Kristina
Yeah, so I think this is just a good way to really put it out there. It's okay to be miserable; that sounds really bad, but I always say motherhood's magically miserable or miserably magical depending on the day, you know. [Laughs]

Zoey
[Laughs] Yeah, and so, in this new body of work, are you still infusing a sense of humor?

Kristina
Yeah, because I enjoy adding a touch of humor to make the work feel more lighthearted and to make it more approachable, because I feel like all emotions are very temporary, and it's a good way to not take it too seriously - the appropriate amount of seriousness. With the poster I did for the show, the gorilla I added two red little nipples to keep it off-kilter a little bit and to add a sense of fun to the rage.

Zoey
How do you think it would have read differently if it didn't have that?

Kristina
Um. You know, I don't know, maybe… I don't know, I’m pro nipple. Like, this isn’t just a motherhood show, you know? I feel like it's more like a subtle nod of saying, like, this is this is my show, you know? I think like my first two postpartum shows, Big Mamas and Play Mat, those weren't so personal. Those were more like proof to myself that I could actually get work done, but this one feels more vulnerable since it’s me opening up about my experience postpartum.

Zoey
So, is this exhibition your most personal body of work so far?

Kristina
Yeah, I'm not just trying to paint just a cool tiger; I have more of an emotional tie to these. I think it's just important to share my experience with motherhood. I'm not going to lie and say I'm doing great and that I'm totally thriving in motherhood and being an artist at the same time. This work is more of what I'm really going through, and I think it's more of a real sense of what other people are going through too.

Zoey
Yeah, I'm really impressed by you. For me, even just thinking about having kids is overwhelming. Having you create work that shows creative moms and creative people, or people who want to become parents and have creative jobs, that it is possible is really meaningful.

Kristina
Awh, yeah. Having kids will look different than what you imagine; it's easy to romanticize having a baby and being an artist and like painting with your baby on your hip, which people can do. But realistically, it's like, oh my god, I can't wait for them to go to bed so I can draw a hot dog. It makes you really value your time more than you might before having kids.

Zoey
Regarding your new work, is there anything that you're wrestling with or a specific piece that's been a challenge?

Kristina
For the show, no, because I'm doing this for me, so I’m doing whatever I want to do, and I'm having fun with it - it's nice to do something that I'm the boss. But I am trying to prep for the holidays; I have to get designs ready for craft shows and for my business with my illustrated goods. That's my tricky thing because it takes time to design things; that one I can't work as fast as I want. And time's not really on my side, so I'll get done when I can get done. I have to accept that I can only do so much with what I have.

Zoey
Would you mind sharing more about your experience with art fairs and craft fairs? How is that side of your art practice different from your studio art practice where you're making work for an exhibition?

Kristina
Yeah, so for [craft and art fairs] I have to be more intentional about what I put out there, because I do want to sell these products. There are maybe three designs that I know that people would buy, and then one or two designs for myself that I like. But most of the time when I do something for me, it doesn't do well. I feel like that's the norm too. I’ll talk to other makers, and when you do something that you really like, you think “oh, people are going to love it because I love it so much,” but most of the time, people aren’t into that product, you know? Which is fine, but overall it's a different mindset, more commercial artist versus studio artist, you know? But sometimes you’ll [create] random [designs] that you really like that other people also really like, and that's a nice feeling, but that's kind of rare for me.

Zoey
I have one of your hats with a cat frowning, and I love it.

Kristina
Awh, thank you. I really do love doing products too because it's another way to work creatively, but I can actually make money from it.

Zoey
I also appreciate that it makes collecting your work more accessible; not everyone's in a position to collect fine art. So I love that there's an option to still collect something that you made.

Kristina
Yeah, I'm all about affordable art and making it accessible for anyone. Especially for younger people or college kids who want to support artists that can't necessarily afford a blanket, but they can buy a $3 sticker, and it's a good way to support me or other artists. I like having a wide range of prices for everyone, because I feel like having art is a luxury, and that everyone should be able to afford a piece of original art. I remember being a broke college student and really into some cool original pieces but couldn’t afford it, but I could afford a sticker or a keychain.

Zoey
It's cool too for aspiring artists to see that there are different avenues you can go down to make art and still be able to support yourself.

Kristina
Yeah, I like that I have my product business and also my studio art practice; it's just nice to spread a wide net. Sometimes I’ll get illustration jobs because I'm a freelance illustrator too, and they’ll fall through, but I can rely on [my art]. I can take my business into my own hands and take initiative and sell my own things rather than depending on when the next job might come in, because it's not super reliable, especially right now.

Zoey
Yeah, that stability is great.

Kristina
Yeah, I'm really fortunate; I feel lucky that it worked out that way, because when I was 21, I didn't plan for this at all. It kind of just happened; I'm glad it worked out.

Zoey
Yeah, but I can see like how prolific you are. It's evident how much hard work, time, and effort you've put into your practice. That definitely must have contributed to your success as well.

Kristina
Yeah, but it's also some luck too. I kind of hit it at the right time; when I graduated from school was right during the lapel pin craze, and I started making little lapel pins, and that snowballed to where I’m at now. You know, right place, right time. So yeah, I did work very hard for it, but it's also a little stroke of luck too.

Zoey
Yeah, the stars aligned. When I was in school, I had conversations with people who argued that selling your work means that you've sold out, and I think [that concept] comes from the shelter of being in school, where you have the luxury of having that mindset, but that's just not a reality. Also, there's a sense of validation that comes from selling and knowing that people want to support you and your work.

Kristina
I agree, like, we live in the Bay Area; we don't have that luxury; we have to make a living. And we should be thankful if people want to buy our stuff because maybe someone doesn't want to buy your work, you know? You get humbled pretty quickly because you think that if you sell your work, everyone's going to want it, but some people don't, and it's very humbling. It's okay to know that your work isn't for everyone, though it can be a little heartbreaking.

Zoey
Yeah, there's a lot of rejection in art, so you kind of get thick skin.

Kristina
Yeah, especially during craft shows too. A lot of people don't realize that I'm the one working my booth, and that it’s all my work. I’ll hear people talk so much shit right in front of me. I've been doing it for over like 10 years now, so I've heard a lot. On social media too, people comment some mean things sometimes, and it's just like I think people forget that you're a person too. It's kind of fun to be undercover though and just hear like what people are really thinking. But yeah, you definitely grow a thick skin, and you kind of have to trust your own compass. Especially if you’re out of school, you can't rely on that critique anymore. You are your own critic, and I struggled with that after I graduated college, but I eventually learned to trust myself, which is a fun feeling.

Zoey
Yeah, that can be hard to do… Is there anything that you hope visitors will experience when viewing your work in this exhibition?

Kristina
Yeah, hopefully they can see themselves in some of the paintings too. That's why I really enjoy drawing animals or other non-gendered objects. I do a lot of food drawings too; it's a way for anyone to identify with that feeling. Even though it's a show about my feelings postpartum, it’s not meant for women only; a man can be an angry gorilla too. I like having a gender neutral line of work because then other people can identify with it as well.

Zoey
Yeah, it's great that those emotions are inclusive and that this is a safe space for people to relate to the emotions. Now, is there anything that we didn't touch base on that you'd like to share here today?

Kristina
Um, not that I could think of, just to come to the show.

Zoey
Yes! And do you have any other future projects or ways that people who want to support you can support you?

Kristina
Yeah, just checking out my website would be great, and social media too. If you want to follow my work for more of what I do, my biggest thing is Instagram right now, and I also have like a really pitiful TikTok too. [Laughs]

Zoey
[Laughs] Awesome, I'll be sure to link those.

Kristina
Great, thank you.

OPENING RECEPTION - Saturday, September 5th from 6pm - 9pm

EXHIBIT ON VIEW - September 5th - September 27th

Empire Seven Studios
525 N 7th Street, Suite 10
San Jose, CA 95112

To see more from Micotti, visit her website or follow her on Instagram and TikTok

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.