By Joan Dacus

Art is Joan's true passion, expressed through a variety of mediums such as bronzes, stone carvings, wood carvings, wood masks, decorative gourds, paintings and glass-on-glass mosaics. Creating bronze trophies for UCCS and CSU Pueblo has been a highlight for her.

Her goal is to instill a feeling of happiness and joy in those who observe, enabling them to take a moment and recognize the boundless potential that resides within each and every one of us. Originally from Colorado Springs, Hope currently reside in Canon City, CO, where she indulges in playing the piano, listening to music, exploring the outdoors, and cherishing moments with her loved ones.

By Tara D Sauvain

Tara is in her 30th year of teaching middle school art in District 11. Her experimental approach continuously fuels her creativity and drives her to explore many diverse art mediums as she aims to balance her role as a full-time teacher with her passion for remaining a practicing artist.

Her journey with Wings of Change began as a tribute to her father's struggle with Parkinson's Disease, leading her to create the butterfly piece "Living with the Parking Brake On." When he passed, Tara and her family sat with him, sharing stories as a sunbeam slowly traveled down his body, allowing them time to adjust to his death and facilitating a gentle transition.

Following her father's passing, she found inspiration to create a Dragonfly sculpture for Wings of Change while surrounded by dragonflies at his butterfly monument. The symbolism in "Soulfly" reflects themes of change, letting go, and personal interpretation, inspired by the beauty and uniqueness of dragonfly wings. "Soulfly" was born through this exploration, emphasizing the importance of diversity and individuality. The intricate patterns of dragonfly wings, resembling the reflections of a disco ball, highlight the appeal of diverse interpretations, echoing themes of transition and individuality in her artistic journey.

By Jill Clark

Jill has participated as an artist in Rotary's Wings of Change, formerly Flight, for four years. She has been an artist for 50 years and has worked in almost all mediums. She enjoys participating in this Rotary fundraiser as a great way to give back to our community and share her art.

Jill has painted a garden dragonfly "Dragonfly Dreams" and petite butterfly "Bohemian Wings" with an inspiration to create stunning pieces of art that attract the eye but can still cohabitate with nature.

By Michele Arthur

Michele is an eclectic person: an educator, artist and small business owner who is inspired by nature and the world around her. For the past 30 years, she has been a teacher of all different types of contents to all different age levels, but most recently she tries to guide students in the arts. When she is not teaching, Michele has a small business where she sells handcrafted tie dyes, painted items and jewelry. In her spare time, she loves to garden, hike and bake!

Michele painted a garden dragonfly this year titled "Oh Beautiful America". Everyday the Pikes Peak mountain inspires me with its beauty. Whether through hiking, traveling or just looking out her window. It stands there strong. She loves hiking at Garden of the Gods because both Pikes Peak and the Garden are relaxing. She thinks sometimes that people forget how beautiful it really is because we see it every day.

She has been a participating artist for the past two years with: Wildflowers in Flight, A Good Day to go Fishing and two other small petite butterflies. I am currently the Liaison between CSSD 11 and the Rotary Club of Colorado Springs.

By Michelle Watkins

Michelle's garden dragonfly "Seasons" is inspired by the beautiful Colorado landscape and reflects summer and fall in Colorado. She is participating in Rotary's Wings of Change because It is a great program doing wonderful things for our community.

By The Pour Painter

"The Pour Painter" is professional artistry created with the support of friends and family while battling everything that chronic illness can throw at life: autoimmune disorders, depression, anxiety, arthritis, insomnia, surgeries. . . We have created 5 sculptures of varied size and style for Flight, now Wings of Change, over the years, and we're enthusiastic to come back and contribute to our community again. Each piece is an abstract exploration of color inspired by unique experiences to remind us that every moment is ephemeral. This is our fourth year participating!

Our garden dragonfly "Space: The Sky is Not Black" and petite butterfly "Spaaaace: Glitter in the Sky" derive inspiration from the march of celestial events dancing across the sky this year. We are fortunate to be able to experience the darkness of our sky here in Colorado, so we may be intrigued by the true colors and wonder above us. Our design includes Pikes Peak, The Garden of the Gods, solar and lunar eclipse phenomena, the Tsuchinshan-Atlas Comet, and so much more. Please enjoy our delight in the stars above. And they will both glow again!

By Al B Johnson

Al B is a local abstract artist who has a studio at the Sluice in Old Colorado City and is a Resident Artist at Platte Collections Gallery in the Knob Hill area. He has been a part of the Rotary's Wings of Change (formerly Flight) for many years. He started because he supported the Rotary Club of Colorado Springs efforts to provide grants for STEAM programs in District 11 schools. His butterflies are always known to be colorful and creative and he has developed a following over the years that made him an ideal choice to create the Rotary Raffle Butterfly for the past few years. His experience has been very helpful to artists participating in the Rotary Wings of Change event in that he is considered to be an expert on what works and doesn't and how to best represent artists designs. He has been a mentor to the other artists involved in Wings of Change projects and has worked hard to contribute to the success of this program.
Al B is the artist of the 2024 raffle butterfly "Chouka" meaning "butterfly flower" in Japanese. Al B has been very busy sharing his talents with Wings of Change this year as the artist of four additional pieces. He has painted a garden dragonfly "Big Blue", inspired by a real dragonfly; A garden butterfly "Buttercup", a petite butterfly "Personal Monarch" and a petite dragonfly "Little Red".