Dagmar Fehlau
Born in Mettman, Germany, Dagmar Fehlau knew she'd be an artist at a very young age. “My brother and I started very early, drawing everything we thought up,” explains Dagmar. Now making her home in the University Hill district of Boulder, Dagmar's impressive list of published illustration projects includes popular titles in the Sesame Street and Green Light Readers series of children's books.
Dagmar's artistic career hasn't been slowed by her diagnosis with breast cancer at age 36. “Young women with no family history do get breast cancer,” Dagmar says, speaking from experience. Her own cancer journey leads Dagmar to advocate aggressive and effective early detection for women under 40.
Her experiences as an illustrator for children's books have inspired Dagmar to create “soft, happy, inviting worlds” in her art. Her creative process begins with a “general color mood” that gradually finds vivid expression over time. This pattern certainly holds true for the spirited and hopeful gouache–style painting Dagmar created for our Cranberry Pomegranate Green Tea box. Gouache technique uses an opaque water–based paint to achieve an effect that combines characteristics of both oil and watercolor styles — which explains the vivid luster of red cranberries and pomegranates in Dagmar's box art. Dagmar has been a perfect fit for Celestial Seasonings. “It feels like it was meant to be,” she says.
Though maté is a traditional beverage of South America, it is also a common drink in Syria and Lebanon. In fact, Syria is the world’s largest importer of maté.
