Heather Dailey-Mezzacappa

Heather Dailey-Mezzacappa is an artist, author, beekeeper, and curious tinkerer. She enjoys combining traditional art media with technology in much of her work, using one to enhance the other. Her skill for bringing ideas from the digital world into the tactile world and vice versa is something she prides herself on greatly.

Many of Heather’s works focus on her decades-long interest in insects of all kinds. Although she chose a career in art, the wonders of nature have always fascinated her. Insects inspire her curiosity and stir her imagination, not just because of their myriad colors and forms, but also because she sees them as amazing creatures capable of doing astounding things humans could only dream of. To her they are giants of the animal world. More recently, she shifted her subject matter from insects to seashells and flowers, further exploring the amazing world of nature.

The scope of Heather’s artistic endeavors is ever evolving and includes painting, character creation, storytelling, illustration, animation, and 3D printing. She is the author and illustrator of three children’s books: Fiona’s Friends to the Rescue, The Adventures of Gerry the Grasshopper, and The Tale of the Fox & the Cricket.

As a thought experiment in blending her background in both fine art and writing, she also compiled a book based on sculptural figures, art, and rhythmic stories called Curious Creatures and Fairy Tales. This series was based on eight mixed media figures she created. Heather turned one of these characters called The Dandy into an animated short which was featured in the New Haven International Film Festival and the 401 Film Fest, both in 2019. In 2022, she produced another animated short based on one of her more sinister character called Ganth, which was screened at the Jersey Devil Film Festival and the Happenstance Horror Fest.

In addition, she self-published Fluff and Nonsense—a book based on a set of felt figures she calls Cuckoobean Pals, who have their own Instagram page.

Most recently (under the name H.M. Dailey), she wrote and illustrated a collection of short stories called Thirteen Twisted Tales, which all feature female main characters. While it is somewhat of a departure from her typical use of animals as her central subjects, animals do appear in several of the stories.