HURON — Four artisans will have their work on display for the 31st Spirit of Dakota Art Show beginning at 4 p.m. Saturday at the Huron Event Center. A social hour will begin at 5:30 p.m., with the banquet and award ceremony beginning at 6:30 p.m.
Artists will include photographer Mike Lyon of Huron, nature photographer David Keefe of Watertown and formerly of Wolsey, acrylic pouring artist Sandy Winne of Mitchell, and Allison Fisk of Huron, who will display South Dakota made products, artwork and antiques from her downtown business, Prairie Whims.
Mike Lyon began his work in photography when he was 18 and began work at the Huron Plainsman to take pictures and process film in the dark room. He and his wife, Michelle, have four children, Cassandra, Jordan, Zach and Nathaniel.
“Some of the photos I took as a photojournalist in Huron and in Pierre will be in the showcase,” Lyon said. “I’m kind of excited to see what people’s reaction will be. There are some really nice ones that involve the college.”
Lyon, who has worked 18 years for Performance Radio, said he has taken senior portraits and wedding pictures for friends, but considers his photography more of a hobby.
“I absolutely love photography,” Lyon said. “For me it’s love of photography.”
Lyon said he often shares photographs he has taken on Facebook, and that’s how Mary Helen Wipf discovered him and asked if he would show his pictures.
“Most of them will be framed, but others will be in a portfolio,” he said. “It’s an honor to be a part of this. I know how important it is in this community, and just to be a small part of it is definitely an honor.”

David Keefe, who lives in Watertown but still works at Manford Music in Huron, said he really started getting interested in photography about seven years ago.
“Actually, what happened was I had a camera that we used on a Volksmarch up to Crazy Horse and my camera, with all the pictures on it, was stolen,” Keefe said. “My wife ended up buying me a digital SLR camera with a couple of lenses.
“Having my camera stolen was actually a good thing because I started trying different things,” he added.
Keefe said they’re avid bird watchers, so many of his photographs are of nature, landscapes and his favorites, sunrise and sunset.
“We moved to Watertown two years ago but I still work in Huron, so there’s a lot of driving,” Keefe said. “There’s a few places I like to stop and take pictures at the right time. There’s a lot of water between here and there with different water birds.”
For Sandy Winne, a stay-at-home mother with a 16-year-old son, her introduction six months ago to the art form called acrylic pouring changed her life.
“I have chronic pain,” said Winne, who fell three stories when she was 17, crushing her right leg and breaking both arms, among other injuries. “I’ve always loved art, but never felt like I’m a brush-stroke artist.”
“When I work with acrylic pouring it takes me to a different place and really helps me manage my pain,” she added. “I still take some pain medications, but I’m down to a quarter of what I was taking before I started painting.”
Acrylic pouring is a process of using additives to thin acrylic paint, then pouring each color separately from a cup directly onto the canvas. Different manners of layering the colors gives different effects and patterns.
She thins the paint to a consistency of honey and syrup before pouring.
“It’s an expensive hobby, but it’s worth it because it’s done so much for me,” Winne said. “It’s really changed a lot in my life. My relationships are better, my outlook is better. It’s helped me overcome a lot of things in my life.”
Winne said she was “discovered” by the Spirit of Dakota Art Show committee after one of her paintings was found on the Huron Lucky Finds garage sale site.
“It’s really been quite exciting to have someone else see what I’m doing,” she added. “I would like to teach this art to share with other people. It is  fun.”
Allison Fisk, who operates Prairie Whims at 357 Dakota S., with her mom, Val, said she will be displaying some of the barn-wood signs and other hand-decorated items they feature. Prairie Whims displays artwork of local artists, as well as antiques and South Dakota made products.

Photos contributed
Photographer David Keefe of Watertown holds framed pictures that he will display at the Spirit of Dakota Art Show planned from 4 to 6 p.m. Saturday at the Huron Event Center. Other artists and their work include Allison Fisk of Huron, shown with her mother, Val, in Prairie Whims which they operate in downtown Huron.