ITALA FLORES CRAFTING HER OWN PATH


*This article was written by mass communication student Dakota Gold for The Johnsonian student newspaper and is reprinted with permission.


At 51 years old, non-traditional student Itala Flores has a special story that brought her to Winthrop, where she’s currently an honors student working on her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree.


“I chose Winthrop because of its strong fine arts program and the opportunities offered through the Honors College. As a non-traditional student, I was looking for a place where I could continue to grow artistically while also being a part of a supportive academic community,” Flores said.


Previously, Flores attended Central Piedmont Community College as part of the Truist honors program and graduated with her associate’s degree. She is a full-time artist and mother of two who moved from Venezuela to the United States in 2004 and moved to the Charlotte area in 2017.


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When she moved to Charlotte, her artist career greatly expanded. After she won a competition at the Art Pop Street Gallery, Charlotte Fashion Week called inviting her to showcase her work in sustainable fashion on its runway.


From there, opportunities came flooding in, including one to have her designs featured in New York and Paris Fashion Weeks, and published in Harper’s Bazaar magazine. Additionally, she has been involved with I’mPossible Inclusive Fashion shows that raise money for kids with disabilities.


Flores was named Emerging Artist of the Year in 2020 by Art SI and was the recipient of the Orgullo Hispano Award in 2021. She was also nominated as Designer of the Year by Level 21 Magazine.


Flores’ work ranges from fashion and ceramics to paintings and photography. Intriguingly, she created her own medium called drypott, a mix of dry wall material and water that is malleable enough to form pieces of art.


“I’ve been into art since I was a child. I love to work with my hands,” Flores said.


Some of her drypott work is showcased in a permanent exhibition at Central Piedmont Community College, where her first solo exhibition was held.


As of today, Flores has around five permanent exhibitions in the area including at ImaginOn in Charlotte. Her work also was included in a March student exhibition at the Pop Gallery inside Blue Goose Studios, which is owned by Andrew Lazenby ’06, ’08, and Mary Sanders Lazenby ’04.


Flores’ work demonstrates a theme of sustainability and recycling of materials, including the incorporation of her husband’s old painted canvases into wearable masterpieces. In every work, her passion is on full display.


Her unique approach to creativity and sustainability won her second place for Best Oral Presentation at the North Carolina Honors Association Conference last year at Queens University. Her talk, “The Art of Circular Fashion: Creativity, Identity, and Sustainability,” showcased her enthusiasm for turning discarded materials into wearable art.


After she graduates this fall, Flores plans to get her master’s degree and dreams of opening her own gallery and studio. Looking at her natural talent, her dreams are more than achievable.


As her artistic and 17


educational journeys progress, Flores will continue to be an inspiration for other students. Her non-traditional student experience shows that your story is not over here – it is just beginning.


Bottom left: Flores designed this dress using LEGO pieces for the bodice. Below: Models were photographed in Flores’ wearable art (top) and Flores proudly displayed her work entitled “Honorable Elegance,” a stunning dress crafted entirely from repurposed marketing materials (bottom).

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