El camino de las libélulas (2025)

Institutional pricing (libraries, universities, for use on tv/movies etc) . Please contact us for invoicing or a custom listing:: $220

Melanie Cervantes
14" x 11", 12 layer handmade screen-print
140lb/ 300gsm Artist Loft Watercolor Paper (Made in Italy)
Printed in San Leandro and Oakland, CA (December ) 2025
Edition of 55 with Dignidad Rebelde's studio symbol as a dry embossed seal in left hand corner
--
International Packages outside of the U.S.: Tracking Included, Insurance optional, contact us for details about cost.

If you would like to include a personalized card please include the message you would like included (30 words or less) in the "Notes or Instructions" section at checkout.

“El camino de las libélulas” is the first work I have created in almost two years. During this period, the genocide in Palestine gathered my attention, my time, and my energy, as it should have. Returning to art-making has become a way to hold the heaviness of this moment. It allows me to feel, to think, and to understand the world by shaping images that hold what words often cannot.

My relationship with dragonflies began in the summer of 2024. They started appearing everywhere, slipping into my life from unexpected corners. I had seen them before, of course, but never like this, never with such insistence. They arrived during a period marked by loneliness and disconnection, almost as if they were gently interrupting my despair. I noticed that when I reached out to someone or took even the smallest step toward connection, a dragonfly would suddenly appear, hovering as if it were witnessing my effort, acknowledging my courage.

I had seen them before, of course, but never with such frequency. I was walking a lot then...long, wandering walks where I wrestled with life-changing decisions and imagined the possibility of a different future. When I was deep in thought, trying to choose between two paths that could reshape my life, a dragonfly would arrive. In those moments of uncertainty, dragonflies showed up as quiet companions. Their presence made the idea of choosing a new path feel less frightening, as if they were nudging me toward transformation.

Eventually their visits grew rare. Then one day, during a moment so painful that I began questioning every choice I had made, a dragonfly appeared again. It came closer, closer than usual, and then settled directly on my chest.Overwhelmed, I began talking to it through tears: What do you want? Why now? What am I supposed to do? As I spoke the truths I was afraid to name, as I admitted what I felt and the direction I knew was mine to follow, the dragonfly lifted and flew away.leaving me with a sense of recognition I couldn’t fully explain.
“El camino de las libélulas” is my way of honoring that magical companionship. These luminous winged beings have arrived during moments of grief, transformation, and revelation.The path ahead is still unknown, but with each step I take, I am guided by the memory of their visits: shimmering reminders that transformation is possible, and that I am never fully alone as I navigate it.