Fitting Square Works Into Art Walk
First Thursdays Art Walk on March 3 is an easy pathway to Laguna Beach’s cultural art scene.
The event is free to the public and is the trolley service that begins at 6 p.m. between the Laguna Art Museum in north Laguna and Bluebird Centre galleries in mid-city. At any gallery or aboard the trolley, visitors can pick up an Art Walk brochure that includes a map of participating galleries and the evening’s special events.
A suggested first stop this month is a 5 p.m. pre-event and artist reception at City Hall, 505 Forest Avenue, for the Art Squared exhibition.
The works, created by local business owners, citizens and community leaders, are on view March 3-17.
Laguna Outreach for Community Arts created the Art Squared exhibit to highlight the skills of its instructors, who provide arts education programs throughout Laguna Beach. Local citizens and business owners, mostly non-artists, were paired with instructors in classes held throughout February. Forty-five works were created, all in a square shape. Mediums include printmaking, ceramics, glass, watercolor and oil.
Instructors were Tom Swimm, Jacquie Moffatt, Roger Folk, Sherry Bullard, Mada Leach, Sherry Salito-Forsen, Betty Haight, Linda Velasco, Valerie Gorrell, Carolyn Machado, and Sue Linder. Participants include Laguna Nursery Owner Ruben Flores, gallery owner Peter Blake, OCinSite.com blogger “Sugar Mama” Cynthia Jenkins, Visitors Bureau Director Judy Bijlani, and many more.
Elsewhere in town, artists will be on hand at many galleries to demonstrate or discuss their work. A few participating artists include: Jan Magdaleno will showcase the Art of Drawing at The Esther Wells Collection; Kevin Davidson at Laguna North Gallery; and resident artists at Studio 7.
Featured galleries are located in downtown, along Coast Highway north and south to Bluebird Canyon Drive and in Laguna Canyon, where Seven Degrees hosts a special performance by Blue Ritual and the paintings of Leslie Montana and the Laguna College of Art and Design exhibits game art.
Check out the contemporary artwork of Andy Anh, Shea Guevara and Kristen Neveuat at SKYLAB Modern Art. At Studio Arts Gallery, listen to the music of Sasha Evans and Douglas Miller and at The Cottage Gallery enjoy singer-songwriter Sam Curos. Laguna Art Museum features artist-pastor Brad Coleman’s “Reproductions.” Additional featured artists include: America Martin at JoAnne Artman Gallery; painters Mark Kerckhoff and Todd Kenyon along with photographer Tom Lamb at purelagunabeach gallery; and Lisa Lala at Marion Meyer Contemporary Art.
At Sandstone Gallery, 384-A N Coast Highway, “Terra Glo,” abstract paintings of KL Heagen, and “Natural Consequences,” by digital artist Marjorie Sanders, will be featured through April 4. Meet the artists March 3 from 6-9 pm.
Closing reception for artist America Martin from 6 to 9 p.m., Thursday, March 3, at Joanne Artman Gallery, 326 N. Coast Highway.
For more information, including a full listing of First Thursdays Art Walk galleries and featured artists visit www.firstthursdaysartwalk.com.
“Futureland,” the March exhibition at 210 AR4T Space, offers up 17 views of the future through the eyes of graphic designers who each translated their vision onto a 30-inch by 40-inch “Tomorrowland-style” poster. There will be a preview of the show during First Thursdays Art Walk on March 3, followed by an artists’ reception from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Saturday, March 5.
The show at 210 N. Coast Highway, which continues through March 28, is designed to embody the ideal behind Walt Disney’s vision of tomorrow, which helped inspire imaginary worlds around the globe. Each artist was also asked to describe their process, timeframe, and to describe the future in four words. The interviews will be posted daily on the AR4T.com blog and at www.facebook.com/Artists.Republic.
Two Galleries Host Weekend Receptions
An exhibition of new paintings by Laguna Beach artist Sandra Jones Campbell opens Saturday, Feb. 26 at Pacific Edge Gallery, 540 S Coast Hwy # 112. Featuring over 25 new mixed media works on canvas, the exhibit opens with an open to the public artist’s reception from 6 to 9 p.m.
Gallery McCollum, 206 N. Coast Highway, hosts a reception during the same hours for artist Caroline Zimmermann and her surf and turf work of the tropics, Tuscany and California.
CAP Show Highlights 40 Years of Local Talent
The Community Art Project (CAP) gallery on the second floor of Wells Fargo Bank is currently featuring an exhibit with selections from the Lang art collection that span over 40 years of original art work by local artists. The exhibit continues through April 5.
Wells Fargo is located at 260 Ocean Avenue. The gallery is open during business hours, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturdays; closed Sundays.
Join a Plein Air ‘Paint Out’
Laguna Plein Air Painters Association member Michael Obermeyer will lead a “paint out” session from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 28, at El Morro, Crystal Cove State Park.
Meet at the south end of the Reef Point parking lot at 9 a.m. and join Obermeyer for a morning of painting from the El Morro bluffs. Bring lunch and there will be a critique at noon.
Ocean Institute Adds Art to Marine Displays
A partnership between Laguna Beach’s Festival of Arts and Dana Point’s Ocean Institute has resulted in a new exhibit, “Coastal Visions,” on display through March 31.
The exhibit features 11 Festival of Arts artists who focus on the sea or nautical imagery and will also be participating in the 2011’s summer art show.
“Coastal Visions” exhibitors include John Eagle (oils), Roger Folk (watercolors), Rick Graves (Photography), Mark Jacobucci (oils), Tom Lamb (photography), Geri Medway (watercolors), Jacquie Moffett (watercolors), Michael Obermeyer (oils), Julie Sample (photography), Gregg Stone (mixed media) and Cliff Wassmann (oils).
