Today we’d like to introduce you to Kristha Archila.
Kristha, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I am a Visual Artist, Graphic Designer, Creative Thinker, and an Entrepreneur. I currently live in Downtown Frisco, Texas, with my family. I was born in Guatemala City, raised by my grandmother, my grandfather, and my aunt. I decided to move to the United States in 1998; my mother was already leaving here as she came when I was 12. Ever since I can remember, I have always enjoyed everything that was related to art. In high school, one of my favorite subjects was Art. During my first year at the university, I enrolled in black and white photography, and I fell in love with the idea of capturing moments, developing film in the lab, and playing with light. The first camera I used was a 35 mm film camera borrowed from my oldest cousins. I spent four years at “Universidad Rafael Landívar,” a private university in Guatemala City, but I didn’t graduate.
I came to Houston with the idea of cointinuing my education. I enrolled at the Art Institute of Houston at the Multimedia program and got an Associate degree in 2001. It was challenging not only because everything was new for me but also because of language barriers. Then I moved to Dallas in 2002. After a few years of life-changing experiences and freelancing, I enrolled in “Texas Woman’s University,” where I completed a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Graphic Design while working full time. My work as a visual artist has influences from modernism, kitsch, bauhaus, etc. I play with color, layers, grids, contrast, typography and photography, either old photographic images or new ones that I take. Being born in Guatemala City, I was exposed to a wide variety of events that sometimes are recurring memories in my subconscious. Often, I find myself returning to old places, locations, events, and influences that shaped the way I think and design. I believe those are the strong roots that follow me everywhere I go. I have also created ideal and ironic environments and scenes combining old and new photographs and textures. Strange places not abstract necessarily but a rearranged reality and constructed views materialize in my work as collages.
I’m naturally curious and have explored different mediums in my work such as pencils, colored pencils, ink, watercolor, sculpture, printmaking, bookmaking, glass blowing, recycled materials among other techniques. Recently I discovered the amazing world of Video Art and AR thanks to a class that I took at TWU for a Master of Arts Degree. Some of my design, photographic and mixed media work has exhibited in TWU Gallery in Denton, Texas, Frisco Discovery Center, Fort Works Art, and other galleries around town.
I have been working in Graphic Design for over 18 years, for different industries and non-profit organiztaions. For the last six, I have been working full time for a technology company in Plano, Texas. I am a Master in Fine Arts candidate at Texas A&M Commerce with a Visual Communications and Business Innovation concentration. I am a big believer in education, and I am continually learning new things and evolving myself along with my work.
Between other creative endeavors that I have participated in, I have also written a set of short stories in Spanish, and a few of them have been selected to be published in two different books where other authors participate as well. One day I aspire to publish my own book in Spanish for children, with illutrations and stories of my own.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
It hasn’t been smooth. I have experienced many challenges, and I’m still challenged by many situations regularly. Language and cultural barriers were a challenge when I first arrived. When someone tells me “you have to get out of your comfort zone” I sometimes respond, I left that zone more than 20 years ago. It was for the best, though. If I had to do it again I would probably do the same. It is hard work but I am happy and lucky to say that I love what I do.
Also, I have met amazing people during my journey, many of them university professors that have become friends and have inspired me. Also other small business owners, artists, creators, some past and current coworkers, my mom, my family, and close friends that have always supported me along the way.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the KE Creative, Art Design and Travel by Kristha, Artigianale – Artesanos Tienda story. Tell us more about the business.
Six years ago, I opened a small business called Artigianale/ArtesanosTienda. We used to work with a family of women artisans in Guatemala dedicated to the making of handmade leather purses. They were making the purses, and we used to travel to select the type of handbags we wanted to sell here at independent markets around the city. It was great, and our designs were super popular. With the help and support of my husband, we kept it open for six years, and we were helping small businesses in Guatemala as well. I enjoyed it, and we met many beautiful, inspiring people during that journey. This year we decided to take a break and will take online orders only using our Instagram page ArtesanosTienda, but deliveries will change depending on the volume and requests we get.
Besides that, I have KE Creative that I use to do freelance work as an artist and graphic designer but right now my main focus is my MFA in Visual Communications with an expected graduation date of 08/2021.
What’s your favorite memory from childhood?
It is hard to mention one, but I can say that my family used to take us on road trips and sometimes on the train too. Road trips were amazing, I remember the beautiful green mountains and volcanos with the car windows rolled down on a sunny day.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://kristhaarchila.com/
- Email: kecreativecorp@gmail.com
- Instagram: artdesigntravelbykristha, ArtesanosTienda
- Other: https://www.etsy.com/shop/ArtDesignbyKristha (coming soon!)
Image Credit:
Kristha Archila
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