We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Gloria Flores. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Gloria below.

Gloria, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.

I believe that life is just a series of continuous risks. There’s almost always an opportunity that presents itself and every decision is not just one you take, but in exchange you leave another path behind. Personally as a creative, I’ve experienced this a handful of times in the career path I’ve chosen to follow as a designer in the animation industry. I remember thinking in college that being a designer was logically the most “secure” route to take as a visual artist, but boy was that a very naive train of thought. I think with more time and maturity you learn that there is no such thing as security and everything comes at a risk. Although I’ve managed to find some level of relative success in my career path, I’ve recently decided to just dive in head first into operating as a freelance artist and running my own online shop. Making something of your own somehow seems like an even scarier risk than what I was doing before and I think a lot of that stems from not knowing what the future holds in the early stages of starting your own business.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Where to begin! Well, I followed the traditional college route after highschool and enrolled at The University of Texas at Austin. Originally I was meant to be a Clinical Lab Scientist, but after one semester of that, I decided that I had been pulled away from art long enough, so I quickly transferred to the university’s Fine Art Department. I guess you could say I used the rest of that time to find myself and what I really wanted to do. Although I was surrounded by many wonderful artists, I felt deep down inside, that although I was closer to what felt right for me, the fine art world wasn’t exactly the creative space I was searching for. So after graduating from there, I packed up what I could into two suitcases and headed for Los Angeles in search of what was next. I landed myself at Gnomon School of Visual Effects in Hollywood and studied there for about a year and a half or so, before realizing that the same sinking feeling I had felt in college was present here too. Like before however, I did feel I was closer than I was, so I took yet another risk and left the comfort of an accredited school to take courses on my own at schools like CDA and Brainstorm along with other mentorships and lectures sprinkled across LA. Through trial and error, I eventually found myself practicing character design which is what I truly find fulfilling. Creating characters that people connect with is what I specialize in and it’s exciting to bring my diverse lived experiences into the designs I create. I come from a Mexican-American background and I think there’s a lot of beauty in the customs and culture I grew up in straddling both sides of the border. More often than not, you’ll find me drawing from that in my personal time and professionally if I’m requested to. I intend to explore this in more depth going forward as I create new designs for my new shop. This interview couldn’t have come at a better time of year as I have a deep love for all things Autumn and spooky. The designs I’ve created for my shop thus far are an excellent example of my fascination of this time of year and I invite anyone who shares that same love to stop by and have a look at the items I have available on my online shop.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

Encourage! Encourage anyone who has a sparkle in their respective craft. Too often I see this light dim out when people try to talk those with determination out of what they want to do for something more “realistic”. Anything can be realistic if you set them up for success. I know in my own experience, all I ever wanted was to know that I was not just supported, but encouraged to go forth in the direction I wanted to. I continued to do so against many people’s wishes and I feel like I only got to where I am now because of the new found support and community I gained from my peers also pursuing their creative dreams. I think my chosen family is what truly got me here and although I’m eternally grateful, I do wish that it had come from my biological family. I understand that it comes from a place of love and worry when your friends and family try to push you away from the dream you have because the risk of failure is too great, but what if we just chose to use that love in a productive way instead coming at from a place of fear? I think about how much creativity we’ve missed out on as a collective society because of this.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

It’s definitely got to be sharing for me. I absolutely love sharing anything and everything about the journey I’ve taken and helpful resources and tips and advice I’ve learned along the way with others, particularly new people coming into this creative space and career. There’s something beautiful about watching new comers blossom into their own sense of self and develop their own artistic voices. I feel like I wasted a lot of time and money attending certain schools or following some obscure advice that I had read about online and if I can help others avoid the same errors I did, that is the most rewarding aspect I think of being an artist and it creates a more supportive community wherein they will be able to do the same for someone else down the line.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.gloria-flores.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gloria.flowerz/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gloria-flores/
• Other: https://www.etsy.com/shop/CatAndThistles