cristina works with her hands as a way to relax, reflect, and clear her head. she has worked with various types of media including clay, metal, and glass. ever since she was little, art has been her retreat. she attended a magnet school for art in elementary and middle school. in high school, cristina was honored to have several sculptures on display in norfolk's chrysler museum of art. a running theme seen in cristina's art at that time was human anatomy, reflecting her interest in biology. perhaps it was no surprise when cristina graduated from the university of virginia in 2005 with a bachelor of arts in biology. where did the name nano designs come from? not from the popular little ipod. in fact, cristina decided on the name nano designs in early spring 2005, prior to the ipod nano's release. while at uva, a boyfriend gave her a valentine's gift of two sugar gliders, whom she named pico and nano (cristina's life was taken over by organic chemistry when she named the pair). sadly, nano passed away that same year. originally from virginia beach, cristina now lives in northern virginia. cristina recently finished her second degree, a bachelor of science in nursing, and works at inova fairfax hospital on an intensive care unit in the heart & vascular institute. when she is not working or playing, cristina designs and creates pieces for nano designs and also makes custom mosaics.