When she isn't spinning a diverse mix of blues, bluegrass, electronica and other niche genres on her afternoon drive-time program, "The Home Stretch" on KXCI (91.3-FM), Kristi Lloyd is engaging in more visual pursuits, turning blank walls, old tables and glass tiles into brilliantly colored works of art.
Lloyd is a die-hard music buff and one of only two paid DJs at the mostly volunteer community radio station. When you hear her soothing voice across the airwaves, you know it's time to pack up your things and head home. You also know you're guaranteed some good tunes along the way.
Lloyd wasn't always one to express herself through her music. She started off as a visual artist growing up in Louisville, Ky.
Her first job was a vividly painted mural adaptation of Vincent Van Gogh's "The Starry Night" on her neighbor's shed when Lloyd was in her 20s.
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"The house was on the river, and I thought it would be great for passing boaters," said Lloyd, who minored in graphic art at Indiana University. "It took me about four days. My neighbor loved it. It made her house somewhat of a landmark for the boating community."
Lloyd eventually forged a career as a decorative artist for an interior designer in Chicago.
"I don't consider myself a great painter, truth be told," she says. "But I can hack my way through certain situations. I am a decorative artist. I am not trying to say anything too profound with my art. I just try to make things cool."
Lloyd continued with her passion after her move to Tucson in 2000. Inspired by the bright greens, yellows and blues of traditional Mexican folk art, she added mosaic work to her repertoire, a skill she picked up from her youth.
"There was a retired surgeon in Louisville that I knew who did a lot of mosaics as his own therapy," she says. "He let me work on a couple with him. I didn't do anything for a long time after that. But when I moved here, I finally broke down and bought some glass tiles for myself."
Lloyd served as the artist in residence for two years at the Dry Heat Trading Company when the market was located on North Fourth Avenue. Her works were popular, selling for $100 to $300 each.
Lloyd has had little time over the last couple of years to get those creative juices flowing.
Between her work at the radio station and taking care of her two young sons, her schedule doesn't allow for much else.
She doesn't mind missing out on the art, especially when she is caring for her two greatest creations. But she hopes one day to get back to it.
"I already have ideas for projects to create for the boys," she says.
