Flores explained that she first encountered ceramics in high school and she, “immediately fell in love”. It become an important part of her life, and the freedom she was afforded during her high school classes allowed her to explore all of her ideas; “I found ceramics in high school, and took it for 3 of my 4 years. When I was choosing a university, a huge part of my choosing UC Santa Cruz was the fact that they had a student run ceramics co-op. So my only “mentor” in my ceramics career so far has been my high school teacher. And she was very hands-off with her advanced students. She had her hands full giving projects and guidance to her beginner classes, so the advanced classes consisted pretty much of us doing our own independent study, coming up with concepts and researching and designing and executing them on our own. It was pretty great, because for the most part I would just investigate what I wanted to, and touch back with her about my ideas and she would offer guidance when I had a complicated idea I didn’t know how to manifest”. Her pieces have a sense of unbridled enthusiasm as her work plays with color, carving, and her own abstract interpretation of her many inspirations. Flores explained, “Color is central in my work. I am always in search of how I can elevate color and celebrate color. Nature is also at the center of my work, whether overt or not. My carved mountain sunsets are clearly inspired by my time in nature, but also my more abstracted carved pieces. Many of my seemingly abstract painted and carved pieces are deconstructed nature objects, like narrow eucalyptus leaves that fall into my studio space on my patio, coral and seaweed from the sea, animal patterns, etc, made colorful on my pots”. Flores said that her travels and her family’s cultural heritage heavily inspired her bold use of color which make her exquisite pieces pop; “I am inspired by linocut prints, and their use of negative and positive space in my carving work. I also spent a few months in India and collected many pieces of folk art that inspire me. I love the bright and bold color from Peruvian folk art as well, where my father is from (as I am Peruvian-Dominican)”.

The road to success while following her passions hasn’t always been easy though, particularly throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Flores revealed that the pandemic had become a major hurdle for her artistically when her student run ceramics co-op had to shut down; “When COVID shut down my university co-op and I had to start up my own home studio it was a significant challenge for me. I was lucky to receive some start up funds for a wheel from crowdfunding, but I drastically underestimated the amount of funds it actually took to start a full home studio. The biggest loss, however, was losing the community around studio life. It was very difficult to have no one to bounce ideas off of, or troubleshoot with when things went wrong. And this was around the time I decided to start it as my full time business as well. So I was managing starting my online presence, marketing, creating, and just about everything. There were many times when I felt like I was fighting something I couldn’t win”. However, through tenacity and the same determination to follow her passions, Flores has found a way to overcome the obstacles in her place, and is finding ways to make the road a little easier; “I made friends with other ceramicists online and other small business owners and creatives, and started to feel like I was forging a new community. I feel so grateful for their help and kindness, and it did a lot to help me feel like this was manageable and comfortable”. Flores revealed that while artistic success comes in many forms including monetary compensation, this has at times been it’s own hurdle, but the support of her followers reminds her that experimentation and creativity is what they love from her, and it’s why she fell in love with ceramics in the first place; ”Now that I sell my work, my artistic intuition can sometimes be held hostage by businesslike prudishness—maybe I should only make more of what has sold, only rely on classic styles, not try new things that aren’t financially feasible to sell, etc. Hearing how my followers value my new work, my little tests and experiments, helps to fight back imposter syndrome and remember that I’ve spent all this time honing my artistic intuition and might as well use it”.

Flores understands the important of perseverance; the idea may not always go according to plan, but it can be an opportunity to make something even better. Flores said, “Advice I would give would be to know when to give up on a piece, and when to push the limits and turn a mistake into a new direction. When a form isn’t inspiring you, change it. When a mistake ruins your plans, experiment. If you sell your work, take the time to make something that you never intend to sell, never intend to share—something for you, that speaks to your heart and inspires you. I have made some of my favorite pieces by divorcing myself entirely from expectations, and by just committing to a conversation solely between myself and my piece”. Functional pottery is a craft of it’s own breed, taking time to perfect and determination to master, so Flores challenges other emerging artists to, “make a new form that they don’t make much of—a new mug, teapot, bowls—and make it until they’re happy with it. For some people that will be 20 or more times, for some that’ll be three or four. Each time inspect the form and see what you want to change, and don’t settle for less than what feels perfect to you”. Ceramics is an art form that anyone can enjoy, but only artists like Kathy Flores who persevere through obstacles, hang on to their artistic ingenuity, and boldly create their own pottery playground ever truly master it. Her pieces are exquisite, but more importantly, they make the viewer remember the wonder and imagination that truly can exist within the world when viewed through the eyes of an true artist.