The Creature from the Bleached Lagoon roamed the Smoky Hill River Festival grounds in 2023 and 2024. The artist who brought it to life is spending the month of February doing a residency in Salina.

According to Salina Arts & Humanities, on the inside of the costume, San Antonio artist Margaret Craig engaged festivalgoers by consuming recyclable materials being fed into the gapping jaws of the creature. The same recyclable materials she uses for her unique creations.

Margaret employs unique surface design elements with sculptural and printmaking techniques, creating varied textures and patterns in her complex creations. Margaret was celebrated as the San Antonio Art League & Museum’s 2024 Artist of the Year, and Salina Arts & Humanities is  excited to welcome her back for an Artist in Residence through a collaboration between the Salina Art Center and the Smoky Hill River Festival.

Margaret, currently in residence at the Salina Art Center Warehouse, is creating her new Twisted Twister costume that will debut at this year’s Festival, June 12-15, 2025. In addition to the Twisted Twister debut, Margaret will be the Festival’s featured Sunday Scavenger Hunt Artist. You can catch a sneak peek of her intricate objects which will disperse throughout Oakdale Park on Sunday, June 15th, from her Setting Seed installation that will be on view throughout the festival weekend or stop by the Salina Art Center now to see a variation of this installation throughout the month of February.

The public is encouraged to engage with Margaret and her work throughout the month. Opportunities include:

• Setting Seed installation on display at the Salina Art Center
• Twisted Twister, under construction at the Art Center Warehouse
• Artist Talk with Margaret: Friday, February 21, 12:00 -1:00 pm, at the Warehouse on 149 S. 4th Street. FREE and open to the public.