Each year, the Cottonwood Art Festival is shaped by the expertise, discernment, and vision of a distinguished jury panel tasked with selecting the artists who will define the show. For the Spring 2026 festival, five accomplished jurors, Gregory Arth, Cecilia Labora, Delwyn Davis, Ally Haynes-Hamblen, and Nancy Cohen Israel, carefully reviewed submissions from artists across the country and beyond, ultimately selecting approximately 190 artists to exhibit in one of the region’s most respected fine art festivals.
The selection of artists for the Spring 2026 Cottonwood Art Festival followed a rigorous, multi-round jury process designed to ensure artistic excellence, balance, and diversity across all media categories. Through a blind review system, jurors evaluated each applicant’s work solely on its artistic merit, originality, craftsmanship, and overall presentation. After thoughtful scoring, discussion, and consensus-building, invitations were extended to the highest-ranked artists in each category.
Comprised of two accomplished artists and three seasoned art professionals, the jury brought a wide range of expertise and perspectives to the selection process. Their shared goal was to curate a dynamic and well-balanced show that reflects diverse styles, techniques, and price points while maintaining the highest standards of quality and creativity. The resulting Spring 2026 artist lineup represents the strength of this process and the exceptional talent that defines the Cottonwood Art Festival.
GREGORY ARTH
Gregory Arth was born in Albuquerque New Mexico, was raised and still lives in the Fort Worth area of Texas. He studied fine art and theater at the University of Texas Arlington and enjoyed a brief stint at the American School in London where he designed and built an elaborate interactive backdrop for the production of “Annie Get Your Gun”. His work is extraordinarily diverse and includes contemporary painting and mixed media using circuit boards and tech hardware, traditional, classic and old world painting, and kinetic pieces displayed in galleries, corporate offices, and private homes around the country. He has created many commissions for private and corporate clients.
His award winning circuit board mixed media pieces have been used for illustration on college textbook covers and other print and digital media as well as limited prints that are currently being sold on cruise ships represented by the Park West Gallery. His murals are seen nationally and internationally in the Cinemark Theater chain and in their corporate offices in Dallas Texas. He was also know for his trompe l’oeil and faux fresco work on the walls, ceilings and domes of some of the finest homes in Texas.
Some of the many projects he has been involved in include painting backdrops for the Dallas and Houston Opera and Ballet companies, designing and creating sets for the Six Flags theme parks, working on production company sets, painting private and commercial murals while continuing to sell his paintings and mixed media pieces through numerous galleries. He was once featured in a Neiman Marcus catalog for his ability to paint the bottom of swimming pools to look like underwater scenes.
Around 2005 Arth decided to start applying to art festivals around the country and was accepted to his first art festival, the Cottonwood Art Festival in Richardson Texas. For over 19 years he enjoyed this engaging method of selling his work. He has been the featured artist several times, won best in category mixed media category numerous times and voted best in show several times. Over the years he has sold countless original pieces, embellished prints and commissions.
His studio in Colleyville Texas is set among 150+ year old oak trees that are the inspiration for his popular trees series. Though semi-retired from the art festival shows he continues to work on commissions for clients around the country and is always looking for a new inspiration.
Find out more about Gregory Arth at www.gregoryarth.com.
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NANCY COHEN ISRAEL
Nancy Cohen Israel is an art historian, arts writer and a museum educator at the Meadows Museum. In addition to being a contributing writer to Patron magazine and the annual Dallas Arts District Guide, over the past 30 years, she has been involved in the local art world in myriad roles, including gallery director, lecturer, curator and juror, as well as the owner of Art à la Carte. In the latter capacity, she organized and led art tours across the region for 15 years. Nancy is also a contributing writer to exhibition catalogues for artists across Texas.
Find out more info about Nancy Cohen Israel at http://artalacarte.us/ or @nancycisrael.
DELWYN DAVIS
Delwyn Davis is the Curatorial Assistant at the Crow Museum of Asian Art at the University of Texas at Dallas. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in art history at Brigham Young University and obtained a Master of Arts in East Asian art history from the University of Kansas, where she specialized in Korean art. Her curatorial practice concentrates on modern and contemporary Asian art. Davis leads the Texas Ties Series at the Crow that showcases artists with strong connections to the Lone Star State.
ALLY HAYNES-HAMBLEN
Ally Haynes-Hamblen is the Executive Director of the Charles W. Eisemann Center for Performing Arts and Corporate Presentations, a city of Richardson, Texas facility. In her role at the Eisemann, Haynes-Hamblen is responsible for overseeing the programming, long-term visioning, and strategic direction for the arts center, including the Virgina and Forrest Green Mezzanine Art Gallery.
Originally from Denver, Colo., Haynes-Hamblen earned her M.B.A. from Regis University and B.A. in theater and mass communication from University of Denver. Haynes-Hamblen is a member of the 2nd cohort of the Association of Performing Arts Professionals’ Leadership Fellows Program (2016-2018), completed the 2015 International Festival Encounters course with the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, the 2013 California Presenters Mentorship Program, and the 2012 Emerging Leadership Institute of the Association of Performing Arts Professionals. Ms. Haynes-Hamblen is a proud member of the 2020 class of Leadership Las Vegas, and Class 39 of Leadership Richardson.
Ms. Haynes-Hamblen has served as a member of the United States Urban Arts Federation, a cohort of local arts agency leaders from the 60 largest cities across the U.S. and currently serves on the boards of the Association of Performing Arts Professionals, the national membership and advocacy organization for the performing arts field, and previously served as a member of the Expedia Corporate Travel Advisory Board, and the Las Vegas Committee of the Nevada Museum of Art.
In 2013, Haynes-Hamblen received the Mentoring Award from the Western Arts Alliance, and in 2015 received the Chandler Center for the Arts’ Katrina Pappas Award. In 2016, Haynes-Hamblen was honored by the Phoenix New Times as one of “100 Creatives You Need To Know in Metro Phoenix.”
Connect with Ally Haynes-Hamblen.
CECILIA LABORA
Cecilia Labora is a glass bead artist whose passion for color, texture, and pattern began in childhood with chaquira—traditional Mexican seed beads. Her creative journey has included batik, ceramics, drawing, and pastels, but she always returned to glass beads as her primary form of expression.
In 2003, after taking her first class in flamework, she was immediately drawn to the process of melting glass in a flame. Since then, she has studied with master glass beadmakers and continues to explore the artistic possibilities of molten glass.
Labora has exhibited her work at fine art fairs for over 20 years.
Find out more about Cecilia Labora at www.clabora.com and follow on Instagram.
Cottonwood Art Festival is a semi-annual award-winning fine art show held in May and October. Artist applications are accepted at various times throughout the year.