Chasing Down The Muse: Sawdust Festival by the numbers
Seems like lately everything is coming up by the numbers.
56 …10 … 89 … 450 … 103 … 24 … 36 … 2 …. Not usually much of a number-oriented person, I am somewhat befuddled by this anomaly. I try to break it down to something I can manage.
Suddenly, I realize that all the numbers floating in my mind have something to do with the summer’s upcoming Sawdust Festival. I am unsure whether this makes things more manageable or more overwhelming, as it seems to be too fast approaching.
Fifty-six: This is the number of 12” x 32” x 2” panels that Sawdust artists have turned in for the Collectors’ Panels fundraiser at the end of the summer. This fundraiser will benefit the Art Education Fund and go toward many much-needed improvements and new and old programs.
The Sawdust Art Festival has long held that it is a nonprofit organization dedicated to educating the public and promoting the art created in Laguna Beach. In the past few years there has been a concerted push to fully live up to the potential of that statement.
As I write this column I realize that the direction my muse is taking is in just that same vein — to educate the public and promote the art created in Laguna Beach.
The concept for this fundraiser grew out of discussions over the past two years. At the end of the summer festival of 2009, a committee of artists and Sawdust staff began to talk about what we would like to see happen and what end result we sought. With big dreams, we set the number of panels at 100 and decided to ask participating artists to go wild in their imaginings as to how they might utilize these uniformly sized and shaped wood panels.
The committee began setting dates (more numbers!). Pick up the panels by Jan. 13; completed panels due April 30; auction Aug. 22. Ninety-one panels have been taken to work on by artists in a diverse array of media. To date, 56 of the panels have been turned in, with more still in process (you just can’t push the creative spirit too hard!).
The myriad manifestations of that creative spirit and imagination are definitely showing up in these wonderful pieces of art. The panels have been turned every direction and all surfaces have been utilized. Painters have painted. Glassblowers have found unique and exciting ways to use the panels. Ceramic artists, jewelers, milliners, photographers — all have come forward with exciting concepts, many stretching outside their comfort zone to demonstrate hidden talents.
Do I sound excited about this? Well, I am. And I am here to tell you about it! The past couple of years have seen changes at the Sawdust Festival and in the world at large that have been uncomfortable and controversial. The Sawdust artists have set all that aside and pulled together on this fundraiser, as usual, with generosity and pure genius to create something pretty wonderful.
Others have helped as well. Mark de Palma, of Mark’s Restaurant, is generously hosting Press Night to kick off the fundraising campaign June 7. Laguna Culinary Arts has offered whatever assistance they can give as well. Ganahl Lumber has donated the wood for the panels, which Sawdust Board member Bruce Linder so generously donated his own time to make.
That’s the educating part in regard to the Collectors’ Panels fundraiser. The promotional part is telling you all that there will be pre-auction bidding on these fabulous works of art all summer long at the Sawdust Art Festival. The live auction is scheduled for Aug. 22 and promises to be both live and lively. We expect to have at least 80 panels to auction off.
And all those other numbers? Well, I guess they will take care of themselves in time. Summer festival preparation time is in full swing starting this week with Booth Pick Day at the Sawdust grounds, where artists pick their spots to build for the summer. My lottery number is 103. No telling what will manifest from that propitious number. Wish me luck.