Sawdust Art Festival staff announced this week that Georgette Cerrutti, a beloved jeweler and Sawdust artist of 33 years, recently passed away. A celebration of life for Cerrutti is set for Sunday, May 5, at 10 a.m. at the Sawdust Festival grounds. A community potluck will follow. All are welcome to attend.
LCAD Auction Raises $65K for Student Scholarships
Art collectors, friends of Laguna College of Art and Design, and artists enjoyed an evening of cocktails, food, live entertainment and bidding on new, original work at the college’s spring fundraiser, the 2019 LCAD Silent Auction. More than $65,000 was raised from the sales of works by LCAD alumni and faculty, as well as other recognized professional artists.
The auction, which took place on April 5, is one of the college’s two annual fundraising events that directly support LCAD’s students and its programs and helps to fund the $2.5 million in student scholarships the college awards annually.
“This is the best time to study art and design because the most important quality for success is what we teach: creativity, invention, innovation and professional preparation,” said Jonathan Burke, LCAD president.
FOA Art Student Receives Multiple Awards
The Festival of Arts recently announced that a 7-year-old ceramics student from the Festival’s youth art classes has received multiple national honors and recognition for his piece titled, “Master Fish,” which he made last summer. The Orange County student, Fritz Gfeller, was selected from hundreds of entries nationwide and received Honorable Mention from the National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts (NCECA), the ICAN Elementary Award and a Bailey Pottery cash award.
“The FOA youth classes are a summer favorite for my children because of the amazing instructors,” Erika Gfeller, Fritz’s mother, said in a statement. “Fritz really connected with Marty Barth, (his instructor) because Marty encourages the kids to push limits, be creative, and to not be limited by what something ‘should’ look like. Fritz will absolutely be returning to the FOA this summer, along with his three siblings.”
The FOA is accepting reservations for youth art classes, available July 8–Aug. 17, Monday through Friday at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m., open to children ages 5-12. Classes in ceramics, painting, printmaking and assemblage are offered. Each youth art class is $20 per student. Ceramic classes are $30. Space is limited and reservations are required.
New this year is the FOA Art Explorers program. Purchase online for unlimited youth art classes all summer long. Other perks of the program include a special VIP entrance pass, kid’s art apron, gift shop discount and more.
To sign up for youth art classes or art explorers, visit Laguna FestivalofArts.org or call 949-464-4234. The FOA fine arts show takes place July 5–Aug. 31.
‘Treasure Island’ Opens at Laguna Playhouse
The Laguna Playhouse youth theatre presents the classic tale of pirates and gold in 1775 England and the West Indies, told through the eyes of young Jim Hawkins. Delight in the adventure of “Treasure Island” with Long John Silver and a band of pirates who will do anything to recover Captain Flint’s map and the buried treasure. Donna Inglima directs the show, with fight choreography by Jo Ann Mendelson. The cast features adult and youth actors from Laguna Beach and Orange County.
Performances this weekend are Friday, May 3, at 7 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday, May 4-5, at 1 p.m. and 6 p.m. at the Laguna Playhouse, 606 Laguna Canyon Road. Tickets, $18-$25, can be purchased online at lagunaplayhouse.com or by calling 949-4972787.
Felder Explores Music of Impressionist Composer
Hershey Felder pays tribute to Claude Debussy in the latest addition to his Great Composer Series, “A Paris Love Story,” opening at Laguna Playhouse on Wednesday, May 8. In this new production, directed by Trevor Hay, Felder brings to life a visionary who proclaimed nature his religion, creating music of beauty, color and compassion. From the sweeping “La mer” to the evocative “Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune” and the mystical “Clair de lune,” this soaring tribute will run through Sunday, May 19, at the Playhouse, 606 Laguna Canyon Road. Visit lagunaplayhouse.com or call 949-497-2787 for tickets, $85-$125, and show times.
Reception Opens New Exhibition of Work by Jenny Simon
The Signature Gallery, 220 Forest Avenue, recently announced an exhibition of new works by internationally known artist Jenny Simon. Meet Simon as she debuts several new paintings with her collection “Laguna Cliffs” at a reception featuring live music and refreshments, from 6:30-9 p.m. on Saturday, May 4.
Simon was born in Germany and was exposed to the visual arts, theater and dance at an early age. Influenced by painters like Gerhard Richter and Jackson Pollock, she turned to painting large abstracts in oil. Her work is heavy with rich texture, which accentuates the bold colors. In 2002, the artist established her new studio in SouthernCalifornia, where she currently resides.
Sandstone Highlights New Works
“Figures in the Abstract,” oil paintings on canvas by Hyatt Moore, and “Awake: Abstract Landscapes of the Natural World” by Aimee Bonham, are showcased at the Sandstone Gallery, 384 N. Coast Highway, through June 3. Other exhibiting artists are Ann Kim, Sunny Kim, Dominique McKenzie, Anne Moore, Jong Ro, and Lynn Welker.
Baldessari Exhibit Set to Open at LAM
Laguna Art Museum will open the exhibition “I Will Not Make Any More Boring Art: Prints by John Baldessari from the Collections of Jordan D. Schnitzer and his Family Foundation” on Sunday, June 16. The exhibit will feature over 70 works made between 1971 and 2017. The exhibition, curated by Elizabeth Rooklidge, will survey Baldessari’s use of the medium across the span of his career and will run through Sept. 22.
John Baldessari’s most familiar works are compositions in which he combines and alters photographic images to disruptive, thought-provoking, and often comic effect. Some of the photographs are his own; most are appropriated images such as movie stills. Born in 1931 the former painter ventured into printmaking in 1971 with the now-famous lithograph “I Will Not Make Any More Boring Art.” Since that time, he has embraced prints as a means of making his playful art available at relatively low cost to a wide audience, experimenting with various techniques and collaborating with print studios and publishers around the world.
“John Baldessari is one of the most important artists in the world today,” said Jordan D. Schnitzer in a statement. “His works are in every national and international museum. Baldessari likes to take common images and manipulate them; with circles of color, putting people upside down, whatever it takes to intrigue and confuse us. In so doing, he makes us stop and look at his art and say, ‘What is going on here?’ It is that moment he has got us thinking about whatever comes into our mind and, maybe in that moment, we will better understand our issues and the issues of our time.”
