Artist Recognition

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Cary Art Daze is proud to recognize outstanding artists at Lazy Daze through two award programs: The Jerry Miller Awards and, new in 2024 - the Best of NC Award presented by Our State Magazine. Learn more about each award program and the winners below!

Jerry Miller Awards

In 2001, to commemorate the 25th annual festival, the Lazy Daze Committee instituted the Lazy Daze Invitation Awards, now named the Jerry Miller Awards. The awards honor the Lazy Daze founding father, local artist Jerry Miller. The Jerry Miller Award winners are judged to be the "best in the show" for the Lazy Daze Festival. They represent a wide range of artistic forms and styles. Each award winner is automatically invited to participate in Lazy Daze the following year and is also exempt from festival fees that year. In 2024, seven artists were honored with this award and have been invited to participate in Lazy Daze 2025.

Best of NC Award - Presented by

Our State. Celebrating North Carolina.

New in 2024, the Best of NC Award is presented to the North Carolina artist who receives the highest score from the Lazy Daze judges. In addition to this honor, the winning artist will receive an automatic invitation to participate in the Spring Daze Arts & Crafts Festival held each April at Bond Park. This festival is a celebrated showcase featuring exclusively North Carolina-based artists.

2024 Award Winners

Blake Gore

Drawing - Christiansburg, VA

Jerry Miller Award

Website | Instagram

From the Artist: Combining endless curiosity with an eye for detail, I create miniature art using a .15mm pen nib and minimalist canvases. Often drawing inside only an inch or two, I’m inspired by the challenge of creating more with less. Hand-drawn with no magnification or eyeglasses, my miniatures demonstrate how constraints can enhance creativity.

Chaz Lamb

Metal - Lumberton, NC

Jerry Miller Award - Best of NC Award

Instagram | Facebook

From the Artist: Recycled propane tanks being transformed into beautiful metal firepits. Each tank must be cut, welded and a design is hand drawn on the sides of the desired tank then using a hand plasma torch the art begins. These are made from heavy duty steel built to last many years; covered in a natural patina.

Cliff Garren

Dustin Headrick

Mixed Media - White House, TN

Jerry Miller Award

Website | Etsy | Instagram | Facebook

From the Artist: Functional Assemblage Objet Trouvé: sculptural instruments and plectrums wrought from antique found objects collected from around the world including various woods, metals and industrial byproducts using traditional luthier, metalsmithing, woodworking and picksmithing tools and techniques.

Jennifer Domal

Folk/Indigenous Art - West Chester, PA

Jerry Miller Award

Website | Instagram | Facebook

From the Artist: Domal's Lithuanian-Polish heritage is a large part of her craft. She was first introduced to the art of writing pysanky at the age of three. Pysanky transforms each egg into a canvas of cultural expression. Regionally sourced beeswax and eggshells adds authenticity and emphasizes sustainability. Melted beeswax is written on the shell using a stylus then dipped in dye, repeating the process until removing the wax to reveal the artwork.

Patty Pun

Val Taylor