Summer is here, and with it the art festival season in Laguna Beach. Prime among them, the Festival of Arts is open for its 92nd year, with creations by 120 artists, including 21 newcomers. It’s no exaggeration to say that there is something for everyone at the Festival of Arts.
Throughout the uniquely arranged and decorated booths, there’s the work of photographers, painters, printmakers, glass artists, ceramicists, textile artists, jewelry makers and multimedia artists combining a variety of skill sets. For some art fans, it might take more than one visit to take it all in. Photographer Greg Boratyn took these photos of indigenous horses in the coastal Camargue region of southern France.
His work is on display at the 2024 Festival of Arts in Laguna Beach.(Courtesy of Daniella Walsh) The colorful, geometrically shaped ceramics by Fred Stodder have been a draw at the Festival of Arts since 1980. Here they are at the 2024 Festival of Arts in Laguna Beach.
(Courtesy of Daniella Walsh) First-time Festival of Arts exhibitor Cody Nicely creates fish and other sea creatures out of glass. Here he stands with his abstract rendition in clear glass of a fish suspended from a metal post and hook at the 2024 Festival of Arts in Laguna Beach.(Courtesy of Daniella Walsh) Mustapha El Basri specializes in street photography and portraits, with an emphasis on the homeless and addicts in Santa Ana.
Here is work is on display at the 2024 Festival of Arts in Laguna Beach.(Courtesy of Daniella Walsh) Textile artist Sachiko Sukegawa uses old kimono fabrics to create designs based on the philosophy of wabi-sabi. She is a first-time exhibitor at the 2024 Festival of Arts in Laguna Beach.
(Courtesy of Daniella Walsh) Orange County second grader Lucas Wu’s 3-D ceramics piece “Blue Bird” is on display in the Young Artist Show at the 2024 Festival of Arts in Laguna Beach.(Courtesy of Daniella Walsh) Orange County 11th grader Ivy Olivas’ painting “Dress to Impress” is part of the Young Artist Show at the 2024 Festival of Arts in Laguna Beach.(Courtesy of Daniella Walsh) Lynleigh Love’s glassworks resembling colorful woven mats can be found at the Festival of Arts for the first time.
Here they are on display at the 2024 Festival of Arts in Laguna Beach.(Courtesy of Daniella Walsh) Photographer Greg Boratyn took these photos of indigenous horses in the coastal Camargue region of southern France. His work is on display at the 2024 Festival of Arts in Laguna Beach.
(Courtesy of Daniella Walsh) Among the photographers, the work of Greg Boratyn (Booth #118) stands out once again. A world traveler equally at home on the expansive beaches of Australia as among the aspen trees in Colorado, Boratyn aims to widen his repertoire each year. “I constantly make new pictures and come up with new techniques to stay relevant to the festival,” he said.
For this year’s festival, he embedded smaller photographs into thick acrylic frames to give them a sense of three-dimensionality. But the stars of Boratyn’s show are his stunning photos of white Camargue horses, with majestic heads and graceful bodies, galloping and jumping in the water. Camargues are work horses indigenous to the coastal Camargue region in southern France.
Because of their beauty, they have increasingly become tourist attractions and subjects for prearranged photography workshops, Boratyn said. His photos are largely devoid of backgrounds, monochromatic in shades of whites and subtle grays, suggesting black and white photography. However, they are color shots manipulated by post-production techniques, he said.
Moroccan-born Mustapha El Basri (B#107) is an intriguing addition to the photographers at the festival; this year is only his second summer here. “I connected with photography in 2015 and am mostly attracted to street photography and portraits,” he said. El Basri works in film with a dual lens camera and shoots mostly black and white.
Living and working in Santa Ana, he has trained his lens on the area’s homeless and addicts. He provides added impact by not just photographing them with long lenses in the anonymity of a street environment but by inviting his subjects to his studio, where he creates stunning portraits that reveal multilayered personalities. At his best, he brings to mind master portraitist Yousouf Karsh.
Also noteworthy among up and coming photographers is Hailley Howard for her sensuous portrayals of women of color (B#13). And let’s not forget festival veterans Rick Graves (B#104), whose panoramic photographs continue to intrigue, and Cheryl Kelleher Walsh (B#41), whose ageless mermaids draw us into their calm, colorful undersea world. Prominently represented at the festival is the intricate art of glass making, with five glass artists this year.
First-time festival exhibitor Cody Nicely’s glass recreations of fish and other sea creatures (B#56) stand out due to their layered three-dimensionality and intricacy of color. Take his rendition of a leatherback turtle, which is not only beautifully rendered but seems to have a personality. An artist since childhood and self-taught in many media, Nicely said he was introduced to glass making at age 13 on a visit to Murano, an island in the Venetian Lagoon in Italy.
He was originally intent on studying marine biology, but art and marine science merged in works like the glass sculpture of a multicolored fish surrounded by other sea creatures, and a somewhat abstract rendition in clear glass of a fish suspended from a metal post and hook. “He is based on a parable of a fish having been caught and talking the fisherman into setting him free,” Nicely said. Lynleigh Love’s glassworks (B#62) resembling colorful woven mats can be found at the Festival of Arts for the first time as well.
She came to the art of fired glass after making stained glass windows and also falling in love with kiln-fired glass. “The woven glass takes at least five firings and roughly 140 hours to cook,” Love said. She said her firing techniques keep improving while her understanding of the relationships between colors deepens as well.
“After four years at (Laguna Beach’s) Art-A-Fair and still being there as well, I see the Festival of Arts as a new opportunity to meet new artists,” Love said. At previous festivals, visitors may have become acquainted with the intricately executed and intriguing woodwork of Troy Poeschl (B#87). This year, his wife, Sian Poeschl, an inventive glass artist, is exhibiting at the festival for the first time (B#1).
Previously, her beautiful kiln-fired vessels have won acclaim at the Sawdust Art Festival. Here she also exhibits multilayered pieces of glass that bring to mind woven tapestries. “Currently I am showing five pieces, but I intend to change them out throughout the season,” she said.
“My work kept getting stronger and with it my confidence to exhibit at the Festival of Arts. I am happy also to exhibit alongside Troy; it’s nice to experience what he has been experiencing here for 21 years.” Sian acquired her glass fusion skills through apprenticeships with Laguna Beach glassmakers Jane and Patty Slowsky.
Also new at the festival is Sachiko Sukegawa’s textile art. (B#82). Using old kimono fabrics, she created designs based on the philosophy of wabi-sabi — elegance in design through tranquility and simplicity, harmony through color, line and form.
The resulting works appear busier than that on first impression, but viewers taking time to study them will come away impressed. In the three-dimensional realm, the vessels and figures by Fred Stodder (B#77) have been a draw at the festival since 1980. His colorful, geometrically shaped ceramics resemble porcelain, but, he explained, they are fired cooler at only 1900 degrees.
That technique allows for a broader range of colors. “I am influenced by lots of movements in 20th century art – Art Deco, Bauhaus, Mid-Century Modern design, ceramic forms from Japan,” Stodder said. “My color palette is intuitive, and I invented my own techniques.
I see what the glazes will do, and I’ve had the experience to develop my characteristic color schemes over the years.” Besides featuring beautiful art, the festival brings other feasts for the senses. There are chocolate and wine tastings accompanied by smooth jazz, a variety of food and beverages to sample, and music to be enjoyed.
The main stage music program features a new series, “Spotlight on the Music of the Hope Blue Piano,” in partnership with the City of Hope, Orange County. Pianists Josh Nelson, John Proulx, Scott Wilkie, Bill Cantos and Althea Waites are performing on Saturdays through Aug. 10 to help battle cancer and honor those who have had the disease.
Feeling inspired? There are art classes for children, teens and adults on schedule. Not to be missed is the Young Artist Show featuring works by Orange County students ranging from kindergartners to high schoolers. Especially works by the littlest ones are heartwarming and sometimes amusing, while those by teens show talent and aptitude.
The Festival of Arts is at 650 Laguna Canyon Road in Laguna Beach. It runs through Aug. 30.
For information, call 949-494-1145 or visit foapom.com..
