Arts Rescue Mission -Aid For Aging Artists
Vol. 2 No. 13, 09-03-2026\
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P u b l i s h e d W e e k l y, N e w s, A r t s, & S t o r i e s F r o m T e x a s .... U s u a l l y
THE ARTISTS ARE STILL HERE: Inside Blue Star Forty Years Later
by D. M. Allison Sept. 4, 2026 (3 Pages)
Carolina Flores, Tim Olson, and the balance between art, preservation and development in San Antonio
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Owner Carolina Flores Talks About her Rosemay's Las Meninas Gallery
I called one of my favorite friends and artists Tim Olson when I knew I was going to be in San Antonio and asked if I could meet him at his studio. As it turned out his studio was at the Blue Star Art Center. Tanned, robust and vibrant I asked Tim, "Is my car parked in the right spot" "Yeah that's fine" "Where are you parked?" "Right here" as he pointed to the bike rack in front of Blue Star.
As we walked in, and as luck would have it, we were in for some unexpected drama. Paramedics were rushed by us. Someone had a stroke just outside the door of Tim’s studio which is located in a very prime location. He’s been on a waiting list for some years. There was a woman in a beautiful floral dress standing by the paramedics. Tim motioned to her and as soon as we got through with all of the what the heck is going on excitements, he introduced me to Carolina Flores. "She's been here longer than anybody" "She's somebody you should interview for sure she knows everything about the place, about Blue Star"
A Conversation with Carolina Flores at Blue Star
MISSION NEWS: I’m speaking with Carolina Flores. This is my first time here, and I didn’t quite understand until just now how the space works. I thought you had a number of different artists working here.
CAROLINA FLORES: No, it’s really just myself and Erica. About three-fourths of the artwork here is mine. I also have work with Cathy Sosa. She’s never come back for her artwork, which is good, because I want her work here. Everything else is mine.
I once had a show with a gentleman, I won’t say his name, and I asked him why he hadn’t included a single woman. He said, “Well, this is a man’s world.” He also said some terrible things about the Virgin of Guadalupe. The next time I went to Mission San José and saw her, I had tears in my eyes. I’ve always wanted to have that kind of devotion you sometimes see, where people fall to their knees. After hearing what he had said, seeing her affected me in a way it hadn’t before. It really moved me. But the point is, we have guest artists, and we also work here ourselves. That’s basically what this space is. We’re open five days a week. We’re also open for First Thursday and Third Thursday, although those haven’t really taken off. First Friday is completely different.
MISSION NEWS: That’s when you get the big crowd?
FLORES: Yes. First Friday is a big deal for us, especially financially. That’s when we actually sell things. I don’t know why people won’t come on some other day and buy something!
MISSION NEWS: The whole place is remarkable. I drove up here and thought, I’m in paradise. The entire Blue Star complex is just so cool. And what strikes me is that it hasn’t been completely taken over and polished into something else.
Houston has had places that started similarly old industrial buildings, warehouses or silos where artists began moving in. Then developers came along, and eventually they became something very different.
FLORES: Well, this is privately owned by one person. That makes a difference. He controls what happens here, and we’re glad he does.
(13 images Click On Image To Expand To Full Screen)
Blue Star still feels like the product of a personal vision, a place where the character of its founders remains visible in the buildings, the river, and the life that has grown up around them. Carolina Flores recalls that Bernard Lifschutz, who founded Blue Star and lived along the river himself, believed in downtown living at a time when much of San Antonio was looking toward the suburbs. After Bernard’s death, his son James Lifschutz carried that vision forward and continues to oversee the development today.
MISSION NEWS: Because this place feels like somebody’s vision. Almost like you can see the owner’s soul in it.
FLORES: Yes. Bernard Lifschutz was the one who started it.
MISSION NEWS: Bernard Lifschutz?
FLORES: Yes. Bernard has passed away. His son, James, is the one who runs the whole place now. They believed in downtown living at a time when so many other people wanted to move out to the suburbs. Bernard himself lived on the river. The family owns a number of properties, and that philosophy is part of why this place developed the way it did. I think the character you see here has survived because James continues to direct it in that spirit.
MISSION NEWS: And that may be exactly why it still feels the way it does.
Very good. Thank you.