Dawn Healy and Michelle Lopez

We will be featuring two local artists.

Gourd artist Dawn Healy creates Southwest inspired gourd sculptures – embellished with beads, woven thread and gemstones.

Michelle Lopez is an illustrative painter that creates a story within each painting – you may ask, “Why is that robin wearing roller skates.” Both artists will present at the event and will have new collections to share with you.

Dawn Healy continues to experiment with different art methods on gourds, but currently finds the most enjoyment in creating pieces using some aspect of coiling/weaving techniques. Many of the pieces she creates integrate long-leaf pine needles that have been dyed to offer a distinctive visual effect.  Other techniques include weaving teneriffes (similar to a design woven on a spider-web); closed-coiling (which most people are familiar with due to its use in basketry); and ‘weaving’ with waxed linen, seagrass, leather, date palm inflorescence and other natural products. These techniques combined with wood burning and carving are all integrated to come up with the designs currently available.

A new world opened to Michelle Lopez through her kids; picture books and illustrations.

For many years, she has been working as an illustrator which has influenced her style of artwork today. Michelle works in mixed media including: watercolors, acrylics, and conte crayon on wood laminate. While in Colombia she started painting birds endemic to South America and since moving to Colorado has started adding the birds from here too. She also paints bears, mountains, and other animals. “I think after living in a big city for so long, I wanted to immerse myself in nature.”