Life & Work with Andrea Cira

Today we’d like to introduce you to Andrea Cira.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
Hi! My name is Andrea, I’m from Mexico and I’ve been living in Kansas for two years. I studied Industrial Design in college but have always worked as a Graphic Designer. I recently started a new path in my career as a paper artist/illustrator.

When I was in college, I loved working with paper. I would cut small pieces, make little compositions, send little letters to my friends with my paper-cuts or create little scenes with paper. But after college, I had to start working a full time job and never had the time to work with paper consistently again. I would make a lot of excuses, either I didn’t have the space or the appropriate light, desk, or tools to work. I even started my Paper Art Instagram but I was about to close it because it would take months or even years to post again, but I decided to keep it just in case.

Then, in 2020, I met my husband during the pandemic and we married. About a year ago I was going through a migration process so I had a lot of time on my hands and I started playing with paper again. I started making some pieces just for fun, and then I couldn’t stop, It was very satisfying, I was getting better and better with each piece. Then I finally got my work permit and decided to sell my art, accept commissions, start an Etsy shop and keep creating my own art.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It has been very challenging. There are times when I don’t get commission requests or I don’t sell any of my work and that is when I struggle to make this project work, I now understand that this is a slow journey especially with the type of art that I create. It is generally more expensive than a digital illustration or other types of illustrations because it takes a lot of time and material to be created.

Even though my work has allowed me to have commissioned work for Starbucks Mexico, I was recently selected as one of the 26 finalists for Power of The Patients Call for Art and was one of the winners for the Parade of Hearts in KC. So for next year, I expect to have more work like this and be able to collaborate with more brands and keep doing personal work.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
My paper illustration technique in particular consists in cutting pieces of paper of different colors to then create an illustration or composition with them.

I’m very particular with the pieces I create and the paper I use. I like adding the smallest of details and really think about the composition and color. After all, I’ve always worked as a Graphic Designer so these kinds of things really matter to me. I also think that precisely those things are what people appreciate about my work and differentiate me from the rest.

We’re always looking for the lessons that can be learned in any situation, including tragic ones like the Covid-19 crisis. Are there any lessons you’ve learned that you can share?
For me, it was a life-changing experience. I learned that it was important to embrace the change and make the best out of it. Before Covid hit, I was just in Kansas City visiting family and was planning to move to Canada to start a UX Design program.

Then the pandemic hit and everything got canceled. It was around that time when I met my husband and after a few months of dating, we decided to marry amidst everything that was happening in the world. So then I stayed in the US and that’s when I gave a twist to my career and started working with paper again, so I think it has been a great opportunity to start a new career path from scratch.

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: www.acirastudio.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/acirastudio/
• Other: https://www.etsy.com/shop/AciraStudio