Artist Bio
Christine Stoddard ("Luna Lark") is a writer and interdisciplinary artist who employs her words in the realms of poetry, prose, film, theatre, collage, and comics. She was born in Arlington, VA, an immediate suburb of Washington, D.C. to Mark and Lidia Cristina Stoddard.
Christine's art and writing have been published in multiple venues, including literary journals from Grinnell College, Howard University, Virginia Commonwealth University, George Mason University, and the University of Arkansas, as well as in books by Candlewick Press and Sabella Press. She has also written as a staff or contributing writer for publications since elementary school, earning her first professional credits in high school.
In high school, Christine contributed to publications like Young, D.C., a Washington newspaper funded by the National Press Club, and In-Tune/The Gig, a magazine run by Smithsonian Institution. She also regularly submitted to the national arts and literary magazine, Teen Ink, which competitively considers submissions from students across the country. The publication's editor, John Meyers stated she was in the top 1% of students throughout Teen Ink's history whose work had appeared in the magazine and gave her the opportunity to interview First Lady Laura Bush about her efforts in education and literacy. Christine's interview and article about the exclusive White House experience appeared in the October 2007 issue of the magazine.
Throughout her career as a young writer, performer, and artist, Christine has won recognition from USA Today, The Poetry Society of Virginia, The National League of Pen Women, The Washington Post, the Virginia Cable Telecommunications Association, the International Cinematographer's Guild, the Greater Washington Hispanic Youth Symposium, and many other companies and organizations. Her 'zine, Cognitive Chaos, appears in the permanent collections of Barnard College and Depaul University.
Previously, Christine has interned for several arts and media companies, including the Smithsonian American Art Museum, WashingtonPost.com, Virginia Living Magazine, VCU/UR French Film Festival, and Richmond.com, a branch of Media General, one of the Southeast's largest communications companies. She has also had shadowing opportunities at PBS, Georgetown University Press, and National Geographic's "All Roads" Film Festival. In August 2010, she will begin internships at Unifrance and the Virginia Film Office.
Furthermore, Christine is the founder of the Greater Washington Independent Arts Festival (formerly the Neo-Indie Arts Festival), a youth-friendly alternative arts festival that unites independent artists, writers, and performers in the D.C. area. She is also the founder and executive director of Quail Bell Press and Productions, LLC, which operates Quail Bell Magazine.
Currently Christine is studying Cinema at VCUarts in Richmond, VA, where she is triple-majoring in English and Spanish with minors in Creative Writing and French. Christine is pursuing a separate certificate in Spanish translation/interpretation, as well.