I create remarkable jewelry from antique and vintage architectural elements, including hinges, keyholes, chandelier parts and doorbells. I also repurpose musical instruments, clock-parts, vintage tools and postage stamps. I search high and low for castoff pieces of the past, then reinvent them. I frame them in classical jewelry settings, to highlight their hidden and often unintended beauty. The result is a striking and adventurous synthesis of industrial strength, history and glamour.
David Mercado, an Austin-based artist, first captivated audiences with his hummingbird series, a celebration of beauty, strength, and movement that earned national acclaim. As his career evolved, Mercado’s work expanded into bold abstract compositions, showcasing his growing depth and versatility. His “Virgen de Guadalupe” series offers an intimate reflection of his faith and heritage, transforming traditional iconography into striking, contemporary abstractions on board, paper, and furniture. Mercado’s art seamlessly blends tradition and innovation, creating vivid, soulful pieces that resonate deeply.
Austin native John Mercado works primarily in painting and book deconstruction. He often uses found objects and mixed media to create his geometric artwork, which can be viewed as aesthetically minimalist with constructive and collage elements.
John has been a full-time artist for more than fifteen years participating in juried art festivals across the country and has shown in galleries in New York City, New Haven, CT, Houston, TX, San Antonio, TX and Austin, TX. Instagram: @johnmercadoarthttps://www.jmercadofineart.com/
Lauren Luna was born in Columbus, Ohio. After graduating from Kent State University’s School of Fine Arts with a focus in painting, she moved to New York City. She began teaching Special Education for New York City schools and entered a Masters program at Manhattan College. Upon graduation, she moved back to her hometown of Columbus along with her son and continued teaching. Later enrolling in the Academy of Art University for her second Master’s degree, in Fine Arts. 832-713-7217
In 2011, Luna relocated to Houston, Texas, pursuing her new life as a full time artist and footwear designer.
Lauren Luna was named a Top 50 Entrepreneur by Scion Car Company, participated in Austin and Houston Fashion Week, was featured in British Vogue and Glamour Magazines, and had a shoe design in an exhibit in the Grassi Museum in Germany.She was honored to receive the Margot Siegel Award for Design by the Goldstein Museum of which two pairs of her hand painted shoes are a part of the museum’s permanent collection.
In 2015, after winning Best In Show at a juried art competition, she was commended by the Alvin Independent School District School Board, and was put into Congressional Record by the District’s State Representative.
She is a frequent participant to local art festivals, and also has a mural at the George R. Brown Convention Center.
Luna currently is an art professor at Lone Star and San Jacinto Colleges, and is Co-President of the D.R.E.A.M Affect Foundation, a non-profit organization that awards scholarships to minority art students pursuing Fine Arts, and grants for emerging artists to show their work.
Dean Snider, a Houston-based outsider artist, creates vibrant abstract mixed media works layered with colors, textures, and found objects like broken toys and medical imagery. Active at First Saturday Arts Market since 2005, Snider’s prolific output, over 1,000 original paintings sold, reflects his divine calling to art, sparked at 18 by a gift of paints. His pieces, blending acrylics, house paint, and collage on wood, canvas, and metal, hang alongside icons like Keith Haring and Basquiat in collectors’ homes. He also works, building and designing theater sets. Find him at the market or on Instagram 346-377-8664
