The People Archive:The Story Behind the Story (Coming Fall 2026)
- Roberta Alvarado, Founder, New Bird Studio
- 6 days ago
- 5 min read
Updated: 2 days ago
New Gallery Additions | Updated 2026 Pricing | Launching The People Archive soon
From the ocean floor to the cosmos: aligned
As I ride out on the high of ARC's James Kaneko Gallery exhibit that held my series and art installation Brown Women on a Brown Continent, I remembered some images I took that fit into this space with a renewed appreciation and have added the above to my gallery as individual prints or as sets. I've priced them to be easily attainable. I am keeping in the continuum of this creative, grounded energy expressing what I personally need to as we navigate the difficult temperature over our very existence on this land we are literally weaved & tethered to.
Interestingly enough, this creative work for me in this time sprouted from the spore of a desert blossom drifting in the stillness of Death Valley. I named that body of work after the palabras I Can Walk the Ocean Floor and Never Have to Breathe from the poem "Life Doesn't Frighten Me At All", by Maya Angelou with art by Jean Michel Basquiat.
Abstract? No, and this is why. My sister gifted my youngest child that book when she was born. I had this innate fascination for the line...I can walk the ocean floor and never have to breathe.......I would repeat those words under my breathe. I hadn’t connected the dots of why until 2022 while photographing in Death Valley. When I was 12 years old the pacific ocean grabbed me like a rag doll and tossed me against the ocean floor, scraping my body with its sands. I was in a calm and even a fascination that that is how my life would end. It could have had me but it simply chose not to. It spit me to the surface and I swam back to shore. My body surfing days were over. It took me 20 years to go back in the ocean. Side note, I didn't even share what happened with anyone. I just sat in a state of awe til the lifeguards chased everyone off of the beach. A storm approached with waves that hit as high as the third floor. It took out a pier. That rattled my young spirit. A pivotal moment that was my first glimpse in the strength in abandonment. Like judo, it's a shifting with the forces you cannot change to channel energy to overcome. In my case, I was wondering how far out the current had taken me and if I could swim back. Fortunately, I was relatively close to the shore. Death Valley was once the ocean floor. Some 35 years later, I muttered those words again, with my camera in my hand, as I headed home from the deserts. Creativity woke the seed from its dormancy.
Two days later I woke up crying from a place deep in my soul. I remembered the feeling of that space where my body was separate from my still mind. I grieved for the little girl who kept it to herself under the heavy weight of having no words. The photos I took over those 4 April days were free-flowing, unedited by the mind. She wore natural fibers, the colors of the sand, with a scarf in sage that covered her face, it wasn't about her, it's about us. All three of us, the subject, myself, and that little girl.
In this series, my subject, Rayla Ray, is caught by the sage bush in the harsh sun. Unable to move, she succumbs to the environment, one more of the dried veins that crack the earth. At one moment the energy of the sun pivots and the colors of
the rainbow hit her in the solar plexus. From that moment on, she is with, not against. She is comforted in situations others run from. Yes, it's harsh but so are the thorns in your fragrant garden.
Both are stories of empowered abandonment.
Now that this had surfaced from my subconscious and I was feeling vulnerable, I needed time to process. Merged with my photojourneys through Nicaragua, Yucatan, and the Southwest, I started reconnecting with my indigeneity through this creative work; I saw pieces of myself that is a healing journey by putting words to my work. Exhibits with photo series and an installation forces me to explain myself in tangible materials and lastly in words. I ignored this part for a long time. Eventually the time came and that's where I am at now.
Some people like the ocean while others hit the mountains, the desert brings me peace. I truly believe our inner guide draws us to the land of our origin and that is why I gravitate to the deserts, canyons, and tropics. Traveling and hearing the commonalities of our oral traditions, I came face to face with the knowledge the bones of our ancestors built this soil and the body knows. That is how Brown Women on a Brown Continent was born from a little girl who almost died in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Puerto Vallarta to what was once the ocean floor, the deserts of Death Valley.
New to the gallery is, La Luna en Mi and Aligned. In La Luna en Mi we see the woman standing firm upon the earth with the moon aligned above her head. The geometric circles or squares frame her torso, feet, and cosmic body, the re-membering of Coyolxauhqui.
In Aligned, the Luna moth rising from the cocoon toward the seashell moon mirrors an internal shift. Aligning these pieces with the bird skull and the geometry of the land honors an intimate recognition of the life force within firmly grounded in our ancient place between la tierra y el cosmos.
We are all navigating this alignment between the soil and the skies from the perspective of the land of our ancestors.
The Geometry of Business: Visual Stewardship & The Studio
Branching into my role as Founding Artist of New Bird Studio, I am again teaching at Hackerlab's MADE Studio. I am teaching a special Cohort of Women Entrepreneurs. It is a beautiful thing to bridge the world of storytelling art with the visual stewardship of helping you shape your professional legacy.
I continue to be available for group or 1:1 sessions, with this quarter's focus being on teaching cell phone product photography and Canva skills. I help you build the skills to create necessary marketing materials - from website designs and business cards to logos, social media assets, signage and more (just ask).
I also established clear pricing for 2026 to better serve my community and ensure transparency, these rates serve as the foundational starting points for my creative workflows. While this model eliminates the friction of custom quotes for standard needs, I remain open to discussing tiered pricing or tailored packages to accommodate specific scopes of work and community projects.
Whether I am capturing historical movements for the archive or the legacy of your family, my lens remains focused on capturing authenticity.
Current Focus: I am currently accepting a limited number of Spring Archiving Sessions and 30-Day Digital Legacy builds. If you are ready to build a digital home that matches your professional weight, let’s begin.
New Bird Studio
With over 30 years of photojournalism and documentary experience, I bring a ‘deep-lens’ approach to brand identity. As a Founding Artist, I provide more than just "pop" aesthetics; I offer Visual Stewardship. I help you find the soul in your work and engrave a path with authentic depth that resonates with the people you serve.
New Bird Studio is designed to be your "all in one nest"—the foundational home for your entire launch. We curate your story, design your logo and signage, and build your digital presence from the ground up. By keeping everything in one nest, we eliminate the need for disjointed piecework, ensuring your brand carries a cohesive authority from day one and beyond.
We build the nest, we help you hatch the brand, and we ensure it has the wings to last.
Comments