We recently connected with Krystal Rodriguez and have shared our conversation below.

Krystal, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

At an early age I knew I wanted to be an artist. It was a subject that came natural for me, and since I attended Conchita Espinosa Academy, a school of the arts in Miami, FL, it nurtured my passion. I was involved in the visual art club, a designer for the Conchita Magazine, and participated in Spanish dance, jazz, and ballet. It undoubtedly gave me a strong foundation in the arts, and made the idea of being a professional artist in adulthood feasible.

Krystal, 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?

I was born in Miami, FL to a Cuban family. My grandparents escaped a Communist regime and made Miami their new home. Spanish was my first language as I navigated the hispanic melting pot that is Miami. I was raised to believe that I could be or do anything I set my mind to, with hard work and perseverance. The arts were my passion, but more than anything drawing and writing poetry. Eventually I attended Miami-Dade College and took my first painting class with Jennifer Basile. It was then that my instantaneous love affair with paint began. I soon was accepted into FIU’s fine arts program, where I studied and perfected my craft under the mentorship of masterminds like Dustin London, Gretchen Scharnagl, and Pip Brant. Currently, I am a professional artist, curator, and educator. I began an artist collective in 2020 called Hot Stuff11. The name and idea came to me on a long drive north to Broward County, while I was surrounded by Everglades on US-27. I find clarity while I am surrounded by nature. I was in need of community and decided I’d start a platform to feature artists on Instagram, host local pop-up art workshops, and apply to calls for art, while exhibiting as a collective in galleries. I am also a part of an artistic duo called Convivir, alongside my partner Jefreid Lotti. We exhibit nationally and collaborate on projects, creating and curating together in the artistic arena. Outside of my artistic practice, I am an independent tutor, specializing in art and English. I am passionate about serving my community and inspiring our youth to follow their passions, leading by example as I work in my field. I am most proud of my unconventional lifestyle and how I’ve managed to sustain a living doing what I love, while inspiring others it is possible.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

In 2019, my partner earned a residency at University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. Born and raised in Miami, I always wanted to leave the city and experience living in a new place. This opportunity granted me this wish. I left behind my tutoring business, my network, my family, and my friends and we set off on our journey to Green Bay, Wisconsin. However, I never anticipated the isolation I would feel or how intense living through a winter in the Midwest would be. Before I knew it, I found myself in a deep depression that lasted for months. I couldn’t find work as a tutor and felt as though I had no purpose. I decided to apply to the local, hip coffee shop and work as a barista. Through that job, I made friends with poets and artists and got to know my community. In little to no time, I found community. However, what I didn’t know was that my depression, would soon turn to mania, forcing me to urgently fly back to Miami with my partner and my pup, and be hospitalized. I abruptly left my new home and my new community with no notice or closure. It was then that I learned and was diagnosed with bipolar mood disorder. I went thirty years not knowing that I was living with a mental illness. The months that followed were struck by more isolation as the 2020 pandemic hit. With an unwavering support system, medication, and a healthy, active lifestyle I found baseline and eventually began working in my field, while building back my network and client list. I made new friends, lost old friends, learned what true loyalty was, developed self-acceptance and self-love, through many internal battles, and eventually owned my new identity.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

My mission is to be a lighthouse for other creatives and create community amongst the local talent, uniting artists of different mediums, and showing that it is possible to live and work practicing your passions.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.krystaltrodriguez.com
• Instagram: @krystal.t.rodriguez