Photo courtesy of Jon Schindehette. IlluXCon5.
Kristin Kest has been an illustrator for over 20 years and has created the interior and cover artwork for many books, magazines, calendars, and more for scores of publishing companies, mostly in the children's science book genre. Although she has great affection for her scientific and botanical work, Kest has recently branched out into the fantasy and science fiction genre which she sees as a logical step in her evolution as an illustrative artist. This move has been a result of her feminist studies; Kest sees the F+SF genre as a logical platform for challenging social norms within the visual field of communication. Kest also teaches Illustration and Drawing classes at her Alma mater, York College of Pennsylvania. She earned her MFA at Maryland Institute, College of Art, exhibits her work in numerous galleries, and lectures at conferences and symposia on the importance of storytelling in illustration.