Today we’d like to introduce you to Andrea Flores.
Hi Andrea, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Art has been my compass since childhood and my way of expressing myself. Southern Chile was my refuge during those early years and, in its own affectionate way, it also pushed me out into the world in my youth. In April 1998, at the age of 20, I spread my wings, filled my backpack with oils and brushes, and set off for Mexico. I carried my essence, the courage of youth, two changes of clothes, and an extra pair of shoes that I lost along the way.I arrived alone in Mexico City. I was terrified! Moving from a town “mas o menos” of 28,000 people to a city of millions. My innocence and I sat bewildered in a hotel room for three days, but my survival instinct knew no limits. I made friends with my neighbor in the next room and began discovering Mexico. Almost by inertia, I found my way to San Miguel de Allende, drawn by rumors of a magical town filled with artists, writers, and musicians. There, I found something I wasn’t looking for, but had somehow always dreamed of. For years, I had dreamed of becoming a student of Oscar Guayasamín, the Ecuadorian expressionist painter and sculptor. That never happened, but instead**,** I found Carmen Cereceda, a muralist who had studied under Diego Rivera in her youth. Carmen became my teacher and invited me to collaborate on one of her murals at the Ángela Peralta Theater. She was an extraordinary woman: at 95, she was still climbing onto her scaffolding. Later, I discovered the world of jewelry and studied with Billy King, founder of the Sterling Quest School—a talented teacher, metalsmith, and quite a character in San Miguel. Fortunately, he never kicked me out of his classes. It was also in San Miguel that I met Thomas, who would become my husband. Thomas was full of ideas, and I was bursting with a desire to create. While I painted and developed my jewelry and buckle collection, together we began bringing different projects to life. I opened my gallery-studio at Fábrica La Aurora, and in the space next door, Tom Horn Collection was born. In 2013 we moved to Austin, and my life was profoundly transformed as I lost Thomas and with him, my life, my work and my soul. For a time, I said goodbye to my brushes and to the stories they used to tell me. My creativity continued, but it found other ways to express itself as I raised my children and carried different projects forward. Austin holds a very particular place in that story. In February 2021, in the midst of Covid and a historic winter storm, I found myself in a hospital waiting for a brain surgery that had been postponed because of the weather. From my hospital room, I watched Austin covered in snow. In the middle of that surreal situation, I felt love, gratitude, and an overwhelming sense of light—I still feel it today…After my surgery, my creativity was suspended. And, in some way, so was I. It would take months, and then a couple of years, to find my way back. Today, I have allowed my brushes to speak to me again. They no longer whisper: they are an entire orchestra. My painting, jewelry, and writing are beginning to find one another. An idea becomes a sketch; the sketch finds color and form. Some images want to remain there, while others search for volume, metal, and matter in order to become tangible. That is where I am today: transforming and integrating ideas and, above all, creating and proclaiming love.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
The journey has not been easy, but it has been fullfilled with challenges, learning, transformation, and integration, just like my art.
In 2013, I experienced a very significant loss, and shortly afterward, I had to adapt to a new city, a different culture, and many responsibilities. That period profoundly transformed the way I see life and my work.
Years later, after spending a long time searching for answers about my health, I received a diagnosis that required surgery. Although the recovery was slow and, for a time, I felt as though I had lost my creativity, little by little I found my voice again.
I have always felt that I have the ability to create, change, and adapt. That experience reminded me that even when a part of me seems suspended, the process of transformation continues.
And here I am, still creating and learning.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I consider myself a multidisciplinary creator, a magical surrealist painter at heart, and a designer of ornamental pieces by inertia. I have explored different techniques, disciplines, and materials, including oil, acrylic, watercolor, fabric, and paper, among others.
Painting has always been my primary language. For years, I worked mainly in oils, and I am currently rediscovering acrylics. I have also worked on murals and decorative art. In parallel, I have my own jewelry line, which can be found online at andreafloresdesign.com. I usually begin with a sketch, and from there, the hands of skilled metalsmiths complete the journey.
What makes my work different?
I’m not sure the difference in my work necessarily lies in a particular style or material. I believe that each one of us is probably influenced or inspired by different cultures, teachers we admire, disciplines, patterns we find in nature, experiences, and ideas that existed before us and continue to exist. Perhaps we are collectors of ideas that gradually transform as our own journey unfolds.
Maybe that is where the difference lies: not necessarily in what we create itself, but in you, in me—in the particular way each of us transforms what we have perceived along the way.
We love surprises, fun facts and unexpected stories. Is there something you can share that might surprise us?
I couldn’t tell you, because otherwise everyone would already know 😉 But I can give you a hint… it starts with the letter S.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.andreafloresdesign.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/arteandreaflores
- Other: https://Instagram.com/andreafloresdesign
