Corona del Mar botanical garden unleashes ‘Dog Days of Sherman’ exhibition
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Sherman Library & Gardens has gone to the dogs, unleashing an outdoor sculpture exhibition that lets visitors interact with larger-than-life canines as part of a summertime celebration of people and their pets, running now through Labor Day.
“Dog Days of Sherman” features six mosaic sculptures created by artist Elizabeth Laul Healey and placed in key areas throughout the Corona del Mar botanical garden.
During a May 16 opening reception, Healey — who grew up in Laguna Beach and now splits her time between San Diego and North Carolina — spoke on the installation, which represents just a portion of the hundreds of multi-sized pooches that comprise her “Watch Dog” series.
The collection is so named because each sculpture contains at least one watch, Healey’s signature mark and artistic calling card.
“Each dog is unique and takes hundreds of hours to make using a variety of materials,” Healey said of her creations in a news release issued Wednesday. “I have made over 250 of them, and they have sold in galleries across the United States and Mexico. People love to pose with the dogs, and they bring genuine joy to the public.”
Sherman Gardens showcases one outdoor installation each summer to demonstrate the magic that can happen when art, nature and the public intersect. Executive director Scott LaFleur said he was thrilled to have Healey’s work be part of this year’s “Arts in the Garden” series.
“Elizabeth’s whimsical, wonderful, and tactile sculptures were the inspiration for our ‘Dog Days of Sherman’ summer exhibition, and they will delight our members,” he said in a statement.
The exhibition, underwritten by Sherman Library & Gardens member and art enthusiast Marilyn Macy Green, is not the first time Healey’s dogs have set paws on Orange County soil. In March 2024, the city of Laguna Beach displayed a 9-foot silver pooch festooned in rainbow spots, called “Dream Big,” outside City Hall.
Visitors to “Dog Days of Sherman” may also participate in a suite of canine-themed events that celebrate pets and their unbreakable bonds with humans. A ticketed after-hours “Yappy Hour” is open to both people and pooches from 5:30 to 7 p.m. on June 5, July 10 and Aug. 7.
Additional events include a June 8 mosaic pet portrait art class and a paint-your-pet class on July 7, both of which require pre-registration. For more information and to purchase tickets for exhibition events, go to thesherman.org/dog-days-of-sherman. For more on the artist, visit elizabethlaulhealey.com.
