What do you do if you have twin passions of equal value?If your name is Christina Hutchings you pursue first one and then the other, which is why she first studied art at the Tyler School of Art in Philadelphia, and gained her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, and then went on to receive her Master of Architecture degree from the University of Virginia Graduate School of Architecture at Charlottesville.“I always painted on the side, but after graduating from art college I thought I’d better do something so I could support myself. Architecture is more specific, and it has been the best thing in the world for me to have done,” she said.After many years of working at the top of her profession in prestigious architectural firms in New York, as well as a freelance, Miss Hutchings decided to opt out of big city life and return to Bermuda, where she is pursuing life as a full-time artist.While some might view the move as risky, particularly in the current economic climate, but Miss Hutchings has no qualms about her decision. In fact, she is thoroughly enjoying the change.Her first solo exhibition last year at the Masterworks Foundation was a great success, and her work was also juried into the Bacardi Bermuda National Gallery Biennial.Not only did she receive glowing reviews, but also her work caught the eye of professional artist and owner of the Windjammer II Gallery, Sheilagh Head, who invited her to hold a solo exhibition there.Thus, after months of creativity, Miss Hutchings’ new solo show, ‘Deciding’, opens this week in the Fairmont Hamilton Princess, and she admits she is excited.Working in the studio of her Paget home, Miss Hutchings puts in eight to nine hours daily “in some form or another”, and says nights are her favourite time because “it is quieter”.“It is so much fun that it doesn’t seem like I’m working,” she says of the long hours, but in fact she never switches off.“I am always working because I am looking around for something that inspires me. Work is connected to my life, it is not separate.”Inspiration comes from many sources something someone said, or something she sees as well as the assorted materials lying around her work area: pieces of paper on which she has painted stripes, solid colours, swirls and geometric patterns, as well as little strips of wood, and even wooden rulers.Sticky tape in primary colours, and even cards from an old Monopoly set, all add visual punctuation and dashes of wit to a finished work.In fact, the selection process is how Miss Hutchings came to entitle her newest exhibition ‘Deciding’. From all the bits and pieces around her, it is a process of deciding what to attach, include, or otherwise use in what the viewer ultimately sees.“It is whatever inspires me; a lot of it is incidental,” she says. “I might see a couple of things which happen to work.“Sometimes, in putting the pieces together, I get an idea for the title, which is one method, but I also keep a list of potential titles from which I can also choose.”The artist acknowledges that art and architecture are not mutually exclusive, but one informs the other, and many instances of architectural influence can be found in her work.Miss Hutchings’ biggest work for this exhibition, ‘High Tide’, is a perfect example.Inspired by the oldest Bermuda maps, the whole area, laterally divided into two colours, one light, one dark, is criss-crossed by countless lines forming varied triangles where they don’t converge, and starlike points where they do.It makes for a fascinating a visual journey, and one without end.“Architecture is interesting. It is more specific, so there is a mixture of art and architecture in my work the expressive on one side, and the more rigid on the other,” she says.n ‘Deciding’ opens to the public today and closes on February 15. Gallery hours are: 10am to 5pm, Monday to Friday, and 12 noon to 5pm on Saturday and Sunday. Admission is free.