LCAD students get their time in the public eye

A torn photograph. Payette sequins. Francois Boucher paintings.

Miguel Camacho Padilla used them all as he meticulously crafted a fiber art piece for his graduate project, which is work now on display at the Laguna Art Museum.

Padilla, who graduated from the Laguna College of Art + Design’s MFA program in painting and drawing and is currently an artist in residence at LCAD, is one of the Laguna Beach school’s 22 students from the graduate program whose work is being showcased in the museum’s lower level gallery through July 12.

LCAD said its collaboration with the Laguna Art Museum in showcasing the work of graduate students for the past three years has been successful and exciting.

For his piece, Padilla said he was interested in reflecting on a memory and making a shrine to that moment. He found a picture of himself when he was 6-years-old, but the snapshot was glued to other photos and it was torn.

Padilla embarked on transferring the photo to a fiber-based paper and embellished the piece by sewing on sequins and hand-sketching Boucher facial types onto the print.

“I was making something beautiful out of something damaged,” he said as he stood before the piece, titled “Self-Portrait as Wonder Boy,” hung on a gallery wall.

To add texture to the collar of his shirt in the photo, Padilla, a self-taught embroiderer, handcrafted disk-shaped beads and attached them to the fabric. He estimated that the artwork took him three months.

Having his piece curated in a gallery exhibition provided a sense of what to expect from the professional art world, Padilla said.

“You enjoy the experience and in the end it was a very positive response,” he said. “It’s been beneficial.”

LCAD’s MFA chairman, painter Peter Zokosky, guided the students through the different stages of their work.

“This is more of a joint venture where I do a lot of questioning and no assumptions are made,” Zokosky said. “My approach is, ‘Let’s figure out what you’re about, and let’s explore that and make it work.’”

Laguna Niguel resident Therese Conte said the MFA program in painting and drawing helped her gain valuable exposure to the public and professionals in the field.

“I wanted to step up my game and become a focused artist,” said Conte, who graduated from the program this year. “I had the luxury of time to paint in a studio, and the camaraderie was incredible.”

“It gave me the confidence ... to be proud of my work,” she added. “I know I’m working at a high level and this was really fun for me.”

Conte said she focused her series on gender after a friend confided to her that he was a cross-dresser. To research the subject, Conte read case studies and attended a gay pride festival. There she met a man wearing a designer dress. He would become her inspiration.

“I wanted to approach this with compassion, and I wanted to learn about the person behind the behavior,” Conte said.

She arranged to photograph the man so she could use the images as inspiration for her thesis. The two met at an outdoor studio decorated with succulents, garden lights and packing boxes. Conte said the location served as a theatrical fantasy world that she wanted to be reflected in her painting.

When she was in the beginning stages of putting paint on a canvas, she wasn’t particularly fond of her work.

“I started it and I hated it,” Conte said with a laugh. “This piece was the most difficult for me, but my paintings go through an awkward teenage phase. You get to like it.”

The oil on canvas is one of six pieces in Conte’s series.

Also on display are paintings of bonobos and other primates by Charity Oetgen, co-founder of Artists Inspiring the Raindrops, a nonprofit aiming to generate funds through the sale of donated art to raise awareness of world problems.

Last year, Oetgen gave Jane Goodall, the renowned expert on chimpanzees, a personalized painting for the anthropologist’s 80th birthday.

Other artists featured in the exhibit are Barbara Brown, Jeff Clendenning, Angela Colon, Mario Colon, Trevor Christiansen, Lani Emanuel, Emily Gordon, Teresa Hill, Angie Jones, Stephanie Leonard, Emily Moore, Jacqueline Nicolini, Robert Nichols, Leanne Reinhold, Pegah Samaie, Bradford Smith, Justin Snodgrass, Sally Strand and Brandon Tucker.

“There’s that balance of craft, but innovation and experimentation as well,” Zokosky said. “Everything displayed is a sign of respect to the public because the artists worked hard on each piece.”

If You Go

What: “Emerging Masters: Laguna College of Art + Design MFA”

When: Through July 12; 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays, Tuesdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays; 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Thursdays; closed on Fourth of July

Where: Laguna Art Museum, 307 Cliff Drive, Laguna Beach

Cost: $5 to $7; children under 12 and museum members are admitted for free

Information: (949) 494-8971 or visit lagunaartmuseum.org