Art that changes lives

Local art aficionados will have two opportunities to view works by students from throughout the county and region this month, with the 34th annual Color It Orange Juried Student Art Exhibit and Boys & Girls Clubs of America Regional Fine Arts Exhibit.

Color It Orange, a countywide program now in its 34th year, will be on display at Laguna College of Art & Design from March 16 to 23.

The show is the county’s largest youth art exhibition. It allows K-12 children from every Orange County school, as well as home-schooled students, to show off their artistic abilities “” and honors the teachers who have fostered their creativity.

“It’s a situation where there is no downside,” program champion Nancy Lawrence said.

She and her team of volunteers have sifted through more than 3,000 entries this year, in genres including drawing, painting, sculpture, print and photography, to select about 750 pieces that will hang in the college’s main gallery and studios.

The process is meticulous, with double and triple checks to ensure that no student’s work is misplaced, and that no child’s name is misspelled on their certificate of participation.

This year’s judges were prolific artist and teacher Ray Jacob, who judged the elementary 2-D art; the Garden Grove Unified School District’s retired Coordinator of Fine Arts, Bernie Jones, who judged the secondary-level 2-D art; and Festival of Arts exhibitor and art professor Pat Sparkuhl, who judged the 3-D entries.

Thirteen high school students will receive scholarships to attend the college’s summer Portfolio Development Class.

The scholarship winners will be honored at a reception on the exhibition’s opening day.

Lawrence is also president and a founding member of Designing Women, a volunteer support group for the college that puts the event together each year.

In addition to many second-generation entrants, Lawrence has also witnessed past winners who have gone on to teach children who now submit their own work.

A student from Shanghai who attended a school in Orange produced a gouache that struck Lawrence’s eye; the student earned a Color It Orange scholarship, showed at the Chinese Contemporary Art Gallery and now sends her own students’ work to be judged at Color It Orange.

One of her students will find out soon that they have won a scholarship, bringing the process full-circle.

Another past scholarship winner, Sergio Rebia, went on to receive his bachelors of arts at Laguna College; he is now studying for his masters at the school, and teaches art to kids each summer.

“This event inspires our youth, encourages their creative talents and presents an opportunity to enrich our children’s lives,” Lawrence said.

“Over the past three decades, thousands of young people have been given an opportunity to exhibit their work publicly and have been recognized for their talents. By valuing creativity, by celebrating the work of children, and by honoring the dedication of their teachers, Color It Orange has added inestimable value to the life of Orange County and has been instrumental in strengthening the arts throughout the region.”

Lawrence dedicated herself to the program even in lean years, when art was collected in corrugated steel buildings in Laguna Canyon or in spaces with no electricity.

In the latter, she recalls handing a camping lantern to volunteers who needed to use the restroom.

Now the program is run from the college’s student lounge, in a building constructed by Designing Women.

Lawrence said the school’s support has been integral to the program’s future.

It is her hope that the city takes up the Color It Orange banner, adopting it in their hearts as they have shows like the Pageant of the Masters.

“We change lives,” she said. What she finds especially priceless is that students can show their professionally-hung work to their parents.

“Suddenly, this little person has an identity,” she said. “Most of them dress for the occasion. It’s just a mob of well-behaved people.”

The Color It Orange team is currently seeking volunteers to help set up the exhibition on March 15. To get involved, call (949) 376-6000.

Regional students’ work on display at museum

Laguna Art Museum will debut a collection of the top 37 pieces by the members of the region’s Boys & Girls Clubs on Sunday.

The showing, curated by the museum’s Victoria Murphy, is held in collaboration with the Boys & Girls Clubs of Laguna Beach, and will highlight the best work from the Pacific Regional Fine Arts Competition of the Boys & Girls Clubs of America.

Students in the age groups of 9 and younger, 10 to 12, 13 to 15 and 16-18 competed in mediums including monochromatic drawing, multicolored drawing, pastel, watercolor, acrylic, print making, mixed media, collage, sculpture, and group projects.

Boys & Girls Clubs members in each group’s Fine Arts Club are encouraged to explore a wide variety of art mediums and techniques.

Select pieces from the show, which closes March 22, will go on to a national competition.

What: Color It Orange

When: March 16 to 23; 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Friday; 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday-Sunday; opening reception and scholarship award ceremony noon March 16

Where: Laguna College of Art & Design, 2222 Laguna Canyon Road

How Much: Free

Information: www.lagunacollege.edu

What: Boys & Girls Clubs of America Regional Fine Arts Exhibit

When: Sunday to March 22

Where: Young Artists Society Gallery, Laguna Art Museum, 307 Cliff Drive

How Much: Included in museum admission

Information:www.lagunaartmuseum .org