Living Boldly and Colorfully with Paula Flores: How She Finds Inspiration Every Day

• Paula Flores discusses finding creative inspiration in everyday life and how cannabis influences her work.
• Her deep connection with nature inspires works bursting with bold colors and vivid hues.

7-minute read

High on Hues

We’re so excited to be talking again with artist Paula Flores, one of the artists House of Puff collaborates with to bring the joys of art and cannabis together. This time, we talk color, creativity, and cannabis. The last time we sat down with Paula, she explained how her art is constantly inspired by the world around her. Beyond the natural elements and bright colors that honor her Mexican roots, Paula’s creative inspirations can also be found in the everyday pleasures of matcha tea, plant and animal life, and deep, meaningful friendships. Her creative journey is also intertwined with cannabis. Through cannabis, she’s able to consistently relax and rest well. That allows her to dive deeper into her artistic process. Read all about how Paula embraces both color and culture in her captivating art.

House of Puff: What’s The One Main Thing You’re Exploring In Your Work Right Now?

PAULA FLORES ON HONORING TRADITIONAL MEXICAN PIGMENTS

I’m re-exploring traditional pigments from Mexico—like grana cochinilla, azul maya, azul añil, and palo de campeche. I’m attracted to their brightness and saturation. Since pre-colonial times these pigments were used to dye textiles, paint murals, and as body paint. I’m fascinated by processes that come from the interactions between diverse organisms like plants, insects, and humans. Grana cohinilla is a little bug that grows on nopales cactus. These little bugs are harvested, dried, and ground into an intense red pigment. I’m also interested in how these pigments intertwine with the rest of the world through colonialism and the modern market. Our use of them throughout most of our history suggests a balanced way of existing that’s the complete opposite of the extractivism prevalent since colonial times. They also bring up interesting questions about the modern imposition of restrictions on who’s allowed to use certain plants and in what ways.

House of Puff: If You Could Time Travel, What’s The One Thing You’d Most Like To Experience High?

PAULA FLORES ON THE BEAUTY OF TIJUANA

The untouched landscape of my hometown, Tijuana. Tijuana is a young city that was founded in 1889. That makes it only 134 years old. In such a short time, the landscape has changed drastically. Those changes have impacted many of its endemic and native inhabitants. I would love to be able to walk on the edges of the once-free river and see the diversity of plants, animals, and insects that thrived without human control and division of their habitat.

House Of Puff: What’s The One Thing You Do Daily To Spark Your Creativity?

PAULA FLORES ON HER MATCHA ROUTINE

I love the routine of making matcha tea in the morning. Paying attention to the process and ingredients reminds me to slow down. I also love the green tone of powdered matcha. It goes without saying that I love colored powders一both as materials to use in art and ingredients in the kitchen (which I also use in my art installations). I tend to be an accelerated person. But, to be able to create in the studio, I need to be calm and clear-minded. Green tea helps me in this way because it wakes me up in a calm way. After that, I prepare more matcha and I walk to my studio to help my thoughts start turning.

House Of Puff: Who’s One Artist From The Past Whose Work Makes You Think They Consumed Cannabis? 

PAULA FLORES ON VASILY KANDINSKY

Vasily Kandinsky. He was groundbreaking as one of the first abstract artists.

House Of Puff: What’s The One Element That’s Always In Your Work?

PAULA FLORES ON HER LOVE OF ALL THINGS COLOR

Color! For me, color is a language that I understand well. Perhaps that’s because I’m from a country that’s inundated with diverse colors. Color is also ever present in nature一both in plain sight as well as hidden. I’ve always had a natural attraction to colors. They speak to me on an emotional level. I don’t feel that I had to learn about color. Instead, for me, color has always been intuitive. When I started painting, I only guided myself through colors. That’s how I see and understand the world. Unlike colors, which can be perceived differently with light changes, lines represent hard borders that are too impenetrable.

House Of Puff: What’s The One Way That Cannabis Contributes Most To Your Creativity?

PAULA FLORES ON CANNABIS FOR CREATIVITY

Cannabis helps me turn off my thoughts so I can have a good rest. That reset allows me to relax and play in the studio.

House Of Puff: Who’s The One Artist Who Has Influenced You Most?

PAULA FLORES ON THE CREATIVE VALUE OF FRIENDSHIPS

My art is often influenced by my friends, who are also colleagues. For me, there’s nothing better than having a nice long chat about everything and nothing. We can discuss all topics一from serious to silly. All of this feeds into and influences my art. I enjoy doing this with many friends. For example, the people from my combined Art & Science masters program who come from incredibly diverse backgrounds, including Siberia, Colombia, and Italy. I feel the same about my friends from my undergraduate study in Tijuana. Also, I very much enjoy random conversations with people who I don’t know. I just had an exhibition in Belgrade, Serbia. On the ride back in the minibus, I met a scientist who’s researching a type of sea worm whose life depends on its connection with the moon!

House Of Puff: What’s One Piece Of Advice You’d Give To Others About Using Cannabis?

PAULA FLORES ON TRYING CANNABIS 

If it works for you, I would say to try different products and ways of consumption that can make each experience different. Some years ago I tried cannabis infusions to see if they made me feel differently than edibles. It was such a nice surprise to find how relaxed they made me feel. I haven’t had the best experiences with edibles, so I avoid them. An extra upside to cannabis-infused drinks is that you can have them around people who don’t like smoke.

House Of Puff: If You Could Only Enjoy One Work Of Art For The Rest Of Your Life, Which One Would It Be And Why?

PAULA FLORES ON THE VIBRANT BONAMPAK MURALS

The Bonampak murals in the Lacandon jungle in Chiapas, Mexico. Since the first time I saw an image of these murals in elementary school I couldn’t believe that a mural so old could have such vibrant colors. I wondered about the mastery of the materials and techniques that created them. I asked myself, “How deep do you need to know nature to be able to paint with it so beautifully?” I saw them in person some years ago. The beauty and vibrancy of these murals was unbelievable to me. I could have stayed there for days and days trying to capture every part of the mural in my memory while listening to the Saraguatos (Yucatan black howler) and the birds of the jungle.

House Of Puff: Living Or Dead, Who’s The One Person You’d Most Like To Talk To About Your Work?

PAULA FLORES ON ELI NEPOMUCENA

My friend Eli (Elizabeth Nepomucena). We’ve known each other for a long time. And our friendship has developed over life experiences as well as mutual interests in which we like to take a deep dive. Natural pigments are one of them. She’s as curious as I am. So, we can have conversations wondering about everything. With her, I feel the freedom to express myself even in the most vulnerable ways. She’s a very sensitive person who deeply understands symbolism. So, I like to run through her thoughts and ideas. I want to know what she sees in things that I don’t. She can reveal some of my subconscious thoughts to me. I think art is like a mirror to the artist who makes it and, of course, a mirror to the greater society as well. So, learning more about the blurry spots of the reflection is always good.

House Of Puff: What’s The One Cannabis Product You’re Loving Most Right Now?

PAULA FLORES ON HER HOUSE OF PUFF ROLLING PAPERS

My House of Puff Paula Flores Collection Rolling Papers, of course! They’re the perfect melding together of 2 things I love—rolling papers and art.

House Of Puff: What’s One Thing You’d Like To Say To Cannabis Naysayers?

PAULA FLORES ON CANNABIS CURIOSITY

Ask cannabis consumers why they use it. I think a lot of people still think of cannabis as a bad thing or that it has negative side effects. But the same could be said about other substances, like alcohol. It’s just that legally cannabis is a newer phenomenon.