Flores Goes from Hobbyist to Blue Ribbon Winner

By Misty Cryer

Albert Flores considers woodwork a hobby, something he enjoys and tries to do as often as he can. He entered some of his works in the Carlsbad Area Art Association’s (CAAA) juried show, “The Carved Path: Wood & Grain.” In the very first art show he ever entered, he won first place.

“I entered a little canister with a lid on it, and I entered a serving-tray-looking cutting board,” said Albert. The table he made has hairpin legs, which he said he bought.

“I had them for quite a while, so I thought, well, I might as well put them to use,” he said. “I had some red oak and some walnut, so I thought, well, that’d be perfect there, so that’s what I did.”

Growing up in Hagerman, a small town just south of Roswell, Albert first developed interest in working with wood while in high school. In the agriculture class, he said he was introduced to agriculture, carpentry, and things like that.

“I built my first project, a cedar chest, I guess in the ninth grade,” said Albert. “I’ve been doing it ever since.”

For a year, Albert said he went to trade school in Roswell. “I have built a home for myself in Jal, New Mexico, and I built one here in Carlsbad, and then I just refurbished this little house,” he said.

At one time, he said, “I elected to have my basement unfinished, and I finished it; that was about almost 1,300 square feet.”

Chatting with Albert, some may assume he is a carpenter by trade.

When asked that question, he said, “Yes and no.” He said he worked for a natural gas company for quite a few years, and at one time, part of his job was working in a cabinet shop where they worked on company houses. “I really enjoyed that part of it,” he said, adding that he did most of the finish work.

While employed full-time, Albert said he got his contractor’s license, which he kept for about 10 years. He said he had it as a standby. “Oil and gas is so unpredictable at times, it’s not always a sure thing.”

With woodworking, Albert said building cabinets is easy for him, while he finds wood lathing the most challenging. “Turning stuff on the lathe, it takes a lot of concentration, and it takes a lot of experience,” he said.

Although he has done carpentry work for himself most of his life, Albert said he started doing projects on the lathe about five years ago. “I hadn’t done any in over 40 years.”

Albert said he has built a corner cabinet, a footlocker, cutting boards, rolling pins, and small bowls. “Just whatever I can do with the limited tools that I have,” he said.

While he doesn’t build much furniture, Albert said, “I built a bedroom suite, years and years ago.” He said he’s currently building a desk, and he built some tables and all the cabinets in his carpenter shop. “I’m going to probably concentrate on helping my buddy do some work on his stuff next month.”

The show had 15 entries, Jean Prominski, CAAA President, said. “This show was such a good one because it attracted a lot of new people to the gallery,” she said. She said since the gallery doesn’t have many men involved, she was especially excited that the show attracted male artists.

The juried shows are sponsored by CNB Bank, which provides monetary awards and ribbons, and Simco, which provides refreshments, Daina Taylor, Chairperson of the shows, said. She said the beauty of it all is seeing the support on opening night. “It is so positive.”

Daina said the gallery is casual and down-to-earth and encourages artists to show their work, adding, “90% are so humble.”

The next juried show is titled “From the Fire: Clay & Earth.” Daina said it will feature ceramics (also known as pottery). Entry applications will be accepted at The Artist Gallery from 10 a.m. to noon on October 10, with opening night and the awards ceremony scheduled for 6 p.m. on October 16.

For more information, visit: https://www.carlsbadart.com/juried-shows.