Time is Short to Appreciate Artist-Made Clocks

In a new twist on the old adage “time flies,” organizers of the city’s three art festivals and its tourism promoter have devised a way to give physical dimension to their tagline “Art is Timeless.”

To emphasize the point and promote the upcoming summer art season, the Festival of Arts, Sawdust Festival and Laguna Art-A-Fair have commissioned artists to create 50 clocks to be displayed at various locations throughout Laguna Beach from June 20 to Aug. 21.

Similar to a treasure hunt, those wanting to acquire or just visit an artist-made clock will be able to pick up or download maps showing the location of the time keeping creations beginning June 15. (See side bar for addresses.)

The event and its motto have been inspired by the large vintage clock gracing the Sawdust Festival grounds.

The initiative is part of Visit Laguna Beach’s Passport to the Arts, which provides a common ticket for unlimited visits to all three summer arts festivals and merchant discounts. The displays of clocks help tick off 50th anniversaries for the Sawdust Festival and Art-A-Fair.

For the public, time is short lived to enjoy the timepieces. On Aug. 23, all clocks will be sold at auction at Seven Degrees, a benefit for all three arts festivals and their education programs, said Festival of Arts spokeswoman Sharbie Higuchi.

Four participating artists were eager to talk about their creations and the ideas that inspire them.

Assemblage artist Tim L. Brown created a rustic looking replica of an alarm clock titled “A Walk in Time.” Its body shows images of local beaches and a mandala shaped replica of a small tattoo, explained Brown.

“I was inspired by the fact that we are constantly changing and evolving as people and as an arts colony,” he said. A retired educator and Dana Point resident, he will also exhibit his free-standing and wall-sized assemblages for the first time at the Festival of Arts this summer. His clock, valued at $150, will be displayed at the Festival of Arts grounds.

Carol Heiman-Greene, a 20-year Laguna Art-A-Fair exhibitor, titled her clock “Only Time Will Tell.” Painted in the manner of Dutch and Flemish old masters, it depicts a bird’s nest filled with eggs. “I do birds nests as part of my collection. They are promises for the future,” she said. The Orange resident has built her career as a wildlife artist. She has also painted the Laguna Art-A-Fair’s 50th anniversary commemorative poster. The nest will be displayed at the LAAF grounds. Value has been set at $975.

Gerald Schwartz describes himself as an “atmospheric” painter,

which means that the atmosphere depicted in a painting overrides location or subject matter. “I paint night or day with lots of dramatic skies, paintings that convey a feeling,” he said. Conversely he produced a clock where clouds and constellations populate a night sky and titled it “Night and Today.”

“There is no time in art. Art is forever,” he said. Even the hands are placed off center, running off the composition, which forms a nice balance. “I will have to make one like it for me,” he added. Schwartz lives and works in Dana Point. His clock will be seen at the Festival of Arts grounds and is valued at $150.

Austrian-born photographer Ulrike Scheuchl titled her clock “Time Flies.” A rectangular composition, it shows two faces. The upper face shows an endless sky where the hands, at least at times, suggest a small airplane making its way. The second consists on joined yin and yang symbols as background for hands and numbers. A Laguna Beach resident for seven years, she has exhibited her works at the Sawdust Festival for four years. Her clock is valued at $100 and will be shown at Gina’s Pizza.

Other treasure hunts to pique interest in works of art have taken different tacks.

The Laguna Beach Music Festival commissioned artists to turn violins into works of visual art in 2012. The “Artful Violins” created by Sandra Jones Campbell, Kirsten Whalen, the late Cheryl Ekstrom and others were first displayed at gallery before being dispersed around town. They sold online at four-figure prices.

A year later, Dana Point staged an Elephant Parade of 30 life-sized statues of baby elephants, also hand-painted by artists and dispersed in town. The creations were designed to raise awareness of elephants as endangered species.

Locations for “Art is Timeless” Clocks