NKollectiv presents “A Room of Happy,” artworks by Mary Lynn Baird and Michele Messenger, running May 7–31, 2026, at 3485 S. Broadway. Mirroring the delight they each find in the creative process, this exhibition puts a premium on highlighting their most smile-inducing, energetic works. Baird’s focus is printmaking, and Messenger specializes in encaustic, but they will also display the results of dabbling in one another’s medium, as well as a small gathering of papier-mâché animals to further infuse the space with happiness. The public is invited to view and purchase work during regular gallery hours and during the following special events.
Opening Reception: Saturday, May 9, 4–8 pm. (part of Englewood’s Second Saturday festivities)
Demo Day: Saturday, May 16, 4–6 pm. Each artist will demonstrate their process and techniques. Drop-in. Free to attend.
Closing Reception: Sunday, May 31, 11am–4pm.
The multi-skilled Baird’s main medium is printmaking—specifically, clay monotypes. She starts with a moist slab of clay that acts as the printing plate with thin, pigmented clay layered on in a variety of ways, in order to pull a print on a piece of industrial water filter ‘paper.’ Messenger’s graphic-driven pieces are painted using encaustic—a beeswax medium that, in its molten state, allows for pigments to be added, then layered and fused onto a wooden substrate.
