LOCA Art Talks Features Fascinating Artists Each Month
LOCA Arts Education invites art lovers to its Art Talks events, which are offered monthly in Laguna Beach. The fun and interactive show-and-tells are on Thursdays, 5:30 to 7 p.m., in downtown Laguna Beach. The 2024 season opens with art conservationist Susan Brown on Thursday, Feb. 22. Jennifer Keil, director of Moulton Museum, will join her in discussing how they collaborate to preserve the Moulton collection. As a special treat, Brown will perform a live condition report of a painting by Ruth Peabody, recently discovered in a historic Laguna Beach home.
On March 14, jazz singer and historian Elena Gilliam will reveal how the artwork on album covers of Blue Note Records set the tone for the burgeoning mid-twentieth-century American jazz movement. In April, assemblage artist and sculptor Andrew Myers will share stories of his career, from student days at Laguna College of Art and Design to his latest Screw Art series and new gallery.
The season finale in May, will feature a slideshow of public art in the downtown area, with a panel of artists led by Mike Tauber.
All attendees will enjoy a live “Q and A” conversation and will receive a post-event coupon for 15%-savings at a nearby restaurant. Registration is required, and visitors are $20. Free to LOCA members. See Art Talks at LOCAarts.org or www.locaarts.org/events/category/art-talks.
February Art Start at Hotel Laguna
Come fall in love with art for Valentine’s Day with wine, hors d’oeuvres, and art at Hotel Laguna on Thursday, Feb. 1, from 5 to 6 p.m. The featured artists this month are Lorraine Adler, Charleine Guy and Rosalie Marsh-Boinus. A reception from 5 to 6 p.m. will open the evening, followed by Art Walk from 6 to 8 p.m. For more information, visit firstthursdaysartwalk.org.
Susi Q’s Evening With An Author to feature Pulitzer Prize-winner Hector Tobar
Susi Q’s next Evening With An Author will feature Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and novelist Héctor Tobar, the author of six books, most recently, “Our Migrant Souls: A Meditation on Race and the Meanings and Myths of Latino,” published by MCD/Farrar, Straus & Giroux.
The New York Times calls “Our Migrant Souls” “a resonant and deeply affecting book.” In the best-selling book, Guatemalan-born Tobar, an English and Chicano/Latino Studies professor at the University of California, Irvine, explores what it means to be “Latino” in the United States in 2024.
Podcaster and arts columnist Marrie Stone will be in conversation with Tobar and anticipates an informative and lively discussion.
“We’re living through dark times, and 2024 is poised to be another difficult year. What gives me hope, and the only path I can see through this mess, is making authentic human connections and having meaningful conversations about race, class, and the ‘great American experiment,'” Stone said. “This offers that opportunity.”
The Evening With An Author takes place on Tuesday, Feb. 13. The event will start with mingling, snacks and wine at 4:30 p.m. The program begins at 5 p.m. and ends at 7 p.m. with book signings. Cost is $40, which includes a copy of Tobar’s most recent book, “Our Migrant Souls.”
Register online for the event at www.thesusiq.org. To RSVP by phone, call 949-715-8105 or email [email protected]. The Susi Q Center is located at 380 Third Street, Laguna Beach.
Pruning workshop for healthy and beautiful plants this Saturday
Is pruning judged by the number of branches chopped off and hauled away or by the beautiful and safe tree form resulting at the end of the day?
You will learn the beautiful and safe approach at the next South Laguna Community Garden Park workshop on Saturday, Jan. 27 at 9 a.m. Participation is free. Reservations are requested. RSVP at [email protected].
Gilbert Briseño, master tree artist and landscape contractor, will demonstrate pruning for the health and beauty of trees and shrubs while considering each plant’s role in the total landscape. He will demonstrate and give you an opportunity for hands-on learning while making the Garden Park more lovely. Bring your gloves, loppers and clippers. The garden park is located on 31610 Coast Highway.
