Gwen Ahlers is a working Artist and Art Educator. She is a Citizen of the Cherokee Nation. Gwen was raised in Colorado always enjoying the Rocky Mountains. She has a BA with Fine Arts from Norfolk State University, a Master's in Education from Lesley University. As an art educator for 31 years, Gwen is passionate about creating art and sharing the process with history of art making for the next generations of artists. In addition to teaching Gwen has exhibited her work in Colorado Galleries, Arvada Center, Foothills Art Center, and Lakewood Cultural Center and had won awards for Printmaking and Mixed Media. Gwen creates painting, drawings and mixed media artworks, with a conceptual approach, expressing subjects in a multi-layered way. Gwen likes to involve the viewer in a way that invites an appreciation of natural design. Her paintings directly respond to the surrounding environment and uses everyday experiences with Cherokee influence as a starting point. Her unique style absorbs the tradition of remembrance art into daily practice. This personal understanding of past tradition is important in her work. Her works reference recognizable forms through abstraction. The Results are deconstructed to the extent that meaning is shifted and possible interpretation becomes multifaceted. By contesting the division between the realm of memory and the realm of experience, she creates personal moments masterfully. Gwen has always valued all her learning experiences throughout her years and feels blessed for what she has been given. Gwen says inspiration comes from everywhere and with everything. With each new work of art there is new understanding.