In The Arts

D.E. Knobbe at Latitude 33

Author D.E. Knobbe will host a creative writing workshop and sign copies of her new book, “Runaway Storm,” at 4 p.m. today at Latitude 33 Bookshop, 311 Ocean Ave. in Laguna Beach.

The teenage adventure tells the story of 15-year-old Nate, who is frustrated by his parent’s divorce, and deals with it by running away from New York to the Gulf Islands near Vancouver, a place he has spent a lot of time exploring. At first, everything seems to fall into place – the successful trip across country, finding the new kayak his father planned as a birthday present, keeping each of his parents thinking that he was safely with the other. But then everything changes, and his story becomes one of struggle and survival with strangers who want to harm both him and the Goth girl he tries to help.

Knobbe is an author, editor and freelance writer who grew up in Vancouver, Canada, and spent a lot of time adventuring in the Gulf Islands, the Cariboo-Chilcotin, the Yukon, and Alaska. She is passionate about preserving our oceans and wilderness and believes the best way to bring that about is by igniting the same passion in others. Her work has been published in the Los Angeles Times.

Inviting in the outdoorsy

Local authors Nanda Fischer and Jutta Gamboa who will lead a hike at 3 p.m. and sign copies of their new book, “Active in Orange County: A Guide to Physical Activity and Exercise in Nature,” at 4 p.m. Sunday at Latitude 33, 311 Ocean Ave., Laguna Beach, The book encourages readers to be active outdoors and at the same time enjoy the beauty of Orange County.

For more information, call (949) 494-5403.

Women Artists Boutique

The Woman’s Club of Laguna Beach will hold its semi-annual Women Artists Boutique from noon to 5 p.m. on Sunday at 286 St. Ann’s Drive.

The free event will include a silent auction and refreshments, and will feature local women artists selling their handmade crafts, jewelry, apparel and art work. The artists donate items for the silent auction, which will close at 4:30 p.m., with proceeds benefiting the Woman’s Club and the Women’s Resource Center community programs.

LAM gets Naked

Laguna Art Museum will feature author Bram Dijkstra at 1 p.m. Sunday who will speak about his newly released book, “Naked: The Nude in America.”

The book is a presentation of the nude in American art, photography and popular culture, from the 18th century to the present and features more than 400 color illustrations.

Dijkstra’s explores the history of the subject from its earliest manifestations in the paintings of John Singleton Copley and Benjamin West to the taboo-shredding imagery of late 20th-century artists such as Alice Neel, Robert Mapplethorpe, Eric Fischl, and John Currin.

A book-signing will follow the author’s lecture in the Museum’s California Gallery, Hard-cover copies of the book will be available for sale in the Museum Store for $75.00.

Admission to the lecture is free for Museum Members, and free for non-members with paid admission.

Dijkstra is a professor emeritus of comparative literature and cultural history at UC San Diego. For more information, visit https://www.lagunaartmuseum.org.

‘Stories of Home’ benefits Friendship Shelter

Noted actors will take the stage at 3 p.m. Sunday at the Forum Theater, 650 Laguna Canyon Rd., to benefit Friendship Shelter.

The performance will feature short stories relating to home in the broadest sense of the word, from writers like Ron Carlson, Jonathan Saffron Foer, Aimee Bender, and O. Henry. Produced by WordTheatre, a non-profit promoting the storytelling tradition, and directed by Cedering Fox, the program features actors Richard Burgi of “Desperate Housewives,” Justin Chambers of “Grey’s Anatomy,” Gary Dourdan of “CSI,” Tess Harper of “Breaking Bad,” Kate Levering of “Drop Dead Diva,” film actors Chris McDonald and John Heard, and Friendship Shelter’s Associate Executive Director, Mark Miller.

Tickets are $65 and available until Saturday at https://www.friendshipshelter.org and at the door, pending availability. For more information, or to reserve seating, call Taylor at (949) 494-6928.

Gallerists’ perils and pleasures

The Laguna Beach Historical Society will sponsor a free program, “Laguna Beach Art Galleries, Perils and Pleasures” by Richard Challis and Gene Crain from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. Monday at the Laguna Beach City Hall Council Chambers, 505 Forest Ave.

Challis opened Laguna’s first commercial art gallery, now the Esther Wells Collection, which became Challis Galleries in 1950. Prior to that, he opened a frame shop, which he displayed paintings by Laguna Impressionist Virginia Woolley and other artists.

Crain, a significant art collector who exhibited “California Holiday: The E. Gene Crain Collection” at Laguna Art Museum in the earlier part of the decade, holds a collection that includes artists from the California School including Rex Brandt, Phil Dike and Millard Sheets.

For those who cannot attend in person, the program will be televised live on Cox channel 30.

For more information about the Historical Society, visit https://www.lagunahistory.org.

‘Earth: Fragile Planet’ at college

Laguna College of Art & Design will present the New York Society of Illustrators traveling exhibition “Earth: Fragile Planet” from Nov. 19 through Dec. 18 at the college gallery, 2222 Laguna Canyon Road. Exhibition hours are Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is free and complimentary parking is available. The public is invited to the reception to be held in conjunction with First Thursdays Art Walk on December 2 from 6 to 8 p.m.

“Earth: Fragile Planet” will showcase 40 works from many accomplished illustrators and newcomers. The exhibition will be divided into five categories: earth, energy, air, water, and wildlife. It gives the artists a forum to set forth their personal views about the state of the world and the environment.

Stone carving workshop set

Master stone carvers Marvin Johnson and Joseph Sovella will teach a Holiday Stone Carving Workshop beginning Nov. 20 at Laguna College of Art and Design, 2222 Laguna Canyon Road.

The 4-week workshop, open to all levels from novice to advanced, will take place from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays through Dec. 18, where students will work outside, sculpting stone into forms of almost any size or shape.

Sovella has worked with great sculptors across the globe. He has also exhibited in Europe since 1990 and has just completed an exhibit in Nice, France and Kealakekua, Hawaii.

Johnson, who holds an MFA in sculpture, was a foundry pattern maker in the mid-1960s and designed parts for Barbie Dolls; sculpted civil war soldiers for diorama in Gettysburg; was a clay modeler at General Motors; and developed a line of jewelry made of tropical hardwood. His work has been widely exhibited.

Cost for the four-week workshop is $140 and includes basic tools and a practice stone.

Additional resources to purchase specialty stone are available. To register or receive additional information, visit https://www.lagunacollege.edu.