Spending a Day in the Studio with Krista Voto

When you spend time with Krista Voto in her Atlanta studio, you quickly get a sense of how closely her daily life and her art are tied together. This interview follows her through that space as she talks about how she works, what keeps her creating, and the ideas that shape her newest sculptures and textile pieces. Krista shares how she went from growing up in New Jersey to teaching and making art in Georgia, and how the forms she studies in nature continue to guide her hands.

Her studio is part of a shared building filled with other artists, and the moment you walk in, you notice the smell of torn fabric, glue, and the constant presence of coffee. She laughs about how she often drags materials back and forth between home and the studio, even though she usually gets the real work done only once she’s settled in her space. As soon as she arrives, she puts on her headphones, turns on an audiobook, and begins the slow, repetitive task of wrapping rope with strips of fabric to build the twisting forms at the center of her practice. Between shaping materials, she checks in on her classes at the University of West Georgia and talks with the artists working nearby, whose company helps keep the studio lively.

During our visit, Krista also shares the memory of loading her newest series into a car and driving it to New Jersey for her first professional solo show, a moment that felt like a turning point for her. She talks about the new sculptures she is planning, her hope of one day setting up a working space outside Florence, and the way her studio supports her even when it is far from orderly. Through all of this, you begin to see how her environment, her routines, and the people around her shape the work she brings into the world.

Krista Voto is an interdisciplinary artist and professor based in Atlanta, Georgia. Originally from New Jersey, she earned her BA in Visual Art and an Art Education degree from Ramapo College of New Jersey before completing her MFA in Sculpture at the Savannah College of Art and Design. She is currently a Lecturer of Art at the University of West Georgia. Working across sculpture, installation, and textiles, Voto’s practice integrates materials ranging from metals to fabrics, often employing sewing and weaving techniques. Her most recent body of work, Feminal Ties, explores the parallels between root and vine formations and the complex, intertwining fibrous structures found in nature. These organic forms reminiscent of tree growth patterns and feminine curvatures become metaphors for connection, resilience, and transformation.

1.  Can you describe your typical day in the studio and your creative process?

A typical day in my studio looks like many, many different things. Often, I find myself carting materials back and forth between my studio and home so I can keep working on whatever I am hyper-fixated on at the moment. However, when I do bring those materials home, I usually look at them and don’t actually work on anything. I’m not positive why my subconscious insists on this, but maybe it’s that constantly looking at my materials serves as a reminder that I have work to do. So my day starts with gathering everything I need to bring back to my studio, and I head 10 minutes up the road to my space, shared with other fine artists in the Atlanta area. When I get into the studio, I always put on my headphones and an audiobook, then start working on whatever my task is for the day, often wrapping rope for sculptures I am currently working on with ripped strips of fabric.

Though this process is tedious, it gives that necessary texture I am working to create. Being in my studio also looks like me preparing for the classes I teach at the University of West Georgia, answering student emails, working on grading, and talking with the other studio artists who work in my building. It is imperative for to working artist to work closely with and constantly speak with different creatives around them. This serves as inspiration to keep creating and bounce ideas off each other. My studio is a haven for me; it is the only place I can drown out the noise of the world. Whether that be social media, the news, or just other people, having a studio is imperative to my practice.

2. What is the primary inspiration behind your current body of work?  

The primary inspiration behind my current body of work comes from the parallels between naturally occurring root and vine formations and the lived experiences of women.

3.  What is your favorite memory or incident from your studio?

My most recent favorite memory from my studio was packing up my completed new body of work, ‘Feminal Ties, ‘ and driving it all down to New Jersey for my first professional solo show at RAM Art Gallery in Summit, New Jersey. This felt like a pivotal moment in my career and proved to be so, as I sold many works at this show and have picked up two more solo shows since then.

5.   How would you describe a dream studio for yourself?

A dream studio for me would be a collaborative space where other artists are working, and access to communal tools. As artists, especially sculptors, when you leave school with access to all the equipment you need, it is hard to switch to using only the tools you own. My dream studio would have every type of saw, welder, or spray booth I could imagine, as well as a thriving artist community to lean on.

6. What does your studio smell of right now?

Right now my studio smells of freshly ripped textiles, a whole lot of adhesive and coffee…always coffee.

7.  If you get a chance to set up your studio anywhere in the world, where would it be?

My dream studio would be set up right outside Florence, Italy, where not only could I work, but I could also invite other artists, emerging or well-established, to work with me in a residency-type situation. When I lived and studied art in Florence during my undergrad, I absolutely fell in love with the city, the people, and the art, and I dream to working there again.

8.  Can you discuss any ongoing projects or plans you have for your work?  

I am currently working on a series of standing interactive sculptures that incorporate the vine structures I am obsessed with. I plan to make an abundance of these ‘Red Madonna’ sculptures and hope to install them in an outside space as public art for people to enjoy and interact with. My work will be ongoing and ever-changing, and as I keep working, it will change drastically, but that’s what we have to do as artists: continue to evolve.

9. How do you organise your space?

Organise is a strong word for me; I wouldn’t say that my space is exceptionally organised, but I try to keep my art supplies in specific bins. I like to think of my space as an ‘organised’ chaos.

10. What is your favourite corner in the studio?

Whichever corner has the newest piece I’m working on.

Krista’s studio feels like a place where real work and real life mix. It has that quiet calm you get from being around someone who is focused, but it also carries the soft hum of other artists moving around in the same building. Nothing in the room feels staged. There are piles of fabric, bits of rope, tools, and half-finished pieces that show how much time she spends shaping and reworking materials.

The smell of torn textiles, glue, and her ever-present coffee tells you she’s been there for hours, settling into her routine. It’s the kind of space where you can imagine sitting down, putting on headphones, and letting the rest of the day drift away. Even though it isn’t perfectly tidy, it feels comfortable and honest, like a place made for making rather than showing off.

There’s also a warm sense of company. Other artists pop in, share a thought, or check on their own projects, and that small bit of back-and-forth gives the space its own rhythm. Altogether, the studio feels welcoming, steady, and very much hers.

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Read more about Krista on her Website and Instagram.

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