Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Andrilisa Read-Iglesias Lopes. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Andrilisa, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Everyone has crazy stuff happen to them, but often small business owners and creatives, artists and others who are doing something off the beaten path are hit with things (positive or negative) that are so out there, so unpredictable and unexpected. Can you share a crazy story from your journey?
It was 2020, we were mid-pandemic and I found myself jobless with a grapefruit sized fibroid (benign tumor) dangling on my uterus. I had started the year working as the Recreation Director at an Assisted Living Community for the elderly, creating and running a monthly calendar of 350+ therapeutic arts activities and special programs with a team I managed. But my health took a turn for the worst as soon as the year began. Alopecia, Chronic Idiopathic Hives, Irritable Bowel Syndrome and Asthma all sat next to me as I engaged in a staring contest with Death while I waited in line for surgery to remove the ball of muscle that would not stop growing.
I loved the career I had been able to cultivate but I could not ignore that I had ignored my body’s signals for too long and now it was screaming at me from all angles. I used the knowledge I gained from the therapeutic arts world to keep myself sane until I was able to have surgery. A big thank you to my Husband, Alejandro, and my family for the incredible care they provided me with. Once I recovered, I began a quest to discover if there was a job, a career, a life path that was more sustainable for this body. I started by taking art & design commissions while re-exposing myself to everything I had ever loved. In doing so I noticed a pattern- that I had been excavating the imagination and bringing out beautiful creations. That I had been doing this already with many people throughout my life and at every one of my jobs- I had come in like an archaeologist in a modern tomb, discovered what was missing, what was needed and I created it here in physical form. I had already performed so many excavations.
I had trained as an Archaeologist in college but I abandoned the career because I didn’t know what I wanted to excavate. I had never taken the time to excavate myself and my ideas. Now here we are in 2025 with an 8 book series in English and Spanish available to the public. My books are interactive and they encourage people to create and get archaeological with themselves. I have a website with a virtual gallery displaying all the beautiful art I made while I was discovering myself, products that promote love and videos that inspire and motivate. I am alive and I am healthy. My body is at ease. Because of everything I went through I was able to reconnect with who I was always meant to be- Dr. Read; Archaeologist.
Andrilisa, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
In my early years as a child, I had a difficult time communicating with words but I was blessed to have been born into a large creative family. Through art, dance, music and games I could always build a bridge of communication and comfort with someone until I found the words. As my rolodex of creative skills grew, so too did my abilities to connect and understand people, making it easy for me to work and thrive in the multitude of environments I found myself in-university offices, call centers, dance studios, schools, television sets. It was in 2023 that I decided to take a look at the things that I had created to better understand who I was, who I truly wanted to be and who my life shaped me to be. In getting archaeological with myself is that I realized that everything I had ever done had been preparing me to help people get archaeological with themselves, because I had already been helping people get archaeological with themselves. Since always.
All that I have to offer is a product of my personal archaeological excavation.
The paintings I made reflecting the journey my mind took became the basis of my first book. The real love letters I sent to friends and family became the basis of another book. Since then I have continued digging to produce 8 books of wisdom, interactive in nature, designed with opportunities for the readers to get engaged with their creative side, inspiring them to find the courage to be magnificent. The books also have a lot of art that can be cut out and framed to make any space feel beautiful.
I have merch available with the same beautiful art designs for anyone looking for art to accompany them in their daily lives in the form of a mug, a tapestry, a tote bag, a notebook, and more.
I know that we are living in scary times so I sell “The Will” to get you through the day. You will just have to go to my website and see what “The Will” to live looks like in physical form. I cannot spoil the surprise.
As part of my personal excavation, I participated in a 30-day pen and ink drawing challenge. I loved the designs I made so much that now I sell them as art prints and on the back I hand-write a love note to the recipient. Essentially I am selling love letters to anyone who needs one. In times I was physically alone, I never felt alone with my collection of love letters from friends, acquaintances, co-workers and family.
For anyone looking to learn to paint, they can take themselves to class at home like I did, and simply replicate one of my paintings and apply for “Excellence In Manual Dexterity & Ocular Translation Certification”. It’s hard to practice technique when you are also trying to figure out what to paint. This is a way to practice both. I want people to use my paintings to learn. By reverse engineering anyone one of my paintings, anyone can polish their hands, their eyes and their patience to become an exceptional artist & human.
I offer “Quality Archaeology”, an archaeological trip in the form of one phone call aimed at helping people develop the archaeological eye and see the potential in the things they have already created. I help people find the words, the ideas and the courage to use all they already have to create their happily ever after. I have helped people find books within they didn’t know they had already written. People have found the courage to uproot their lives and make drastic needed changes after just the one conversation with me. There is always a solution available for anyone who is willing to dig.
And lastly I have collection of original paintings available that people can buy to inspire them to transform their space into their own art gallery. Once a person’s space feels complete, my hope is they will pass the painting along to someone else so they may enjoy it and fill their space with love, creating a “Siblinghood of Traveling Paintings”.
All these things are available on my website, also one of the products of my personal excavation. I thought I had missed my window with digital design but just like with everything else, I had the patience to be my own teacher at home. I have even surprised myself with this creation. A place to stimulate ideas and the flow of inspiration, andrilisa.com houses an art gallery, a library and a stage of performance videos all carefully curated for people to escape and find themselves in the art. My textbook and basis of my archaeological PhD is available online for free to anyone who wants to read it, along with several of my early publications and creative articles. There are podcast interviews available, videos of some of my archaeological adventures- it’s a place for people to unlock their inner archaeologist.
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
Leaving my job during the pandemic was not the first time I had to resign a career due to health reasons. So often, we look at how much time and money has already been invested- into a job, a career, a relationship , a lifestyle- and we refuse to give it up or make adjustments even though our body is sending us signals.
It’s easy to become enamoured with the getting promotions, obtaining awards, hitting the expected life milestones- but the body will always tell you if you are going the wrong way. The body will always tell you if you are in danger of running yourself into the ground.
I remember going to work, knowing with a certainty, feeling like I was supposed to be doing something else even though I didn’t know what that something else was. But I was too scared to even explore the thought of starting over again. I was too scared that I would not obtain the same level of success and prestige that I had built up in this arena. Switching jobs meant I might also lose my fancy apartment- I didn’t want to lose my fancy apartment. It felt incredibly overwhelming to begin again so I stayed.
My body put me in a position where I had no choice but to start over.
Because I put my body in a position where it had no choice but to start over.
We need not wait until we find ourselves in the middle of a breakdown to ask ourselves:
Am in the right industry?
Am in the right position?
What I was doing before used to work, but is it working for me right now?
How confident am I that my way of living is sustainable long-term?
How much longer can I honestly continue operating in this way?
Taking the time to stop and get archaeological with yourselves is the best thing you can do for yourself and those around you.
Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?
I didn’t know how I was going to do this as I initially felt extremely shy.
I had always been incredibly confident in all my jobs, backed by the names of important companies. But I found that now that I was alone, and I was doing things in the name of myself backed by myself, I didn’t feel that same confidence I knew I had. It felt inaccessible. Blocked.
There was a fear. A fear of looking like a fool.
It had been one of my biggest fears since always. I had been struggling to actively post stuff online until the creation of my first book, product of my archaeological excavation. Having the book in my hand, seeing this beautiful product as the embodiment of who I was in book form- it unlocked something. I had physical evidence in my hand that I was an incredible artist-an incredible human-an incredible archaeologist. It was during a subway ride, after a meaningful conversation with a stranger regarding my art, that I posted a video of me crying tears of joy. I couldn’t believe I had the courage to post a video of me crying like a fool because someone I didn’t even know was admiring my work. That video ended up going viral. It was easy from that moment on to just post where I was at with my excavation. I posted videos of me making the paintings for my future books before I knew they would be for my future books. I posted videos of me being ridiculous on the days I felt ridiculous. People want to see honesty. People want to see your courage through whatever it is you are choosing to present to the world.
If you know who you are and you believe in whatever it is that you are selling, then you need to just get on that screen and let that passion come out. You need to say it with words, so that when you are talking to people in person it will not feel as intimidating. You need to have the courage to be foolish. No matter how serious you try to be, someone, somewhere will always think you are foolish. Get that fear out of the way so you can really shine.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.andrilisa.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andrilisa.r/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=15725654
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrilisa-rosanna-read-iglesias-lopes-5ba6a4267/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/firesxx
Image Credits
Photography by Andrilisa & Alejandro Read-Iglesias Lopes