Bertha Gutierrez
"Florecer" (2022)
Mixed media on paper
Courtesy the artist

Artist Statement:
Florecer depicts various blooms found throughout the Avi Kwa Ame landscape at different times of the year. While the blooms would never all be found together or at the same time in real life, bringing them together in the painting signifies the vision and the hope that years from now we can look at a flourishing protected landscape and see the value in each action that had to take place to form such reality. A permanently protected landscape also creates space to allow us to grow and connect with it in a way that is more balanced and sustainable, allowing us (humans) to flourish into better beings.