In The Arts

Sawdust offers entertainment

The Sawdust Festival will feature a weekend of live music entertainment, including an acoustic rock performance by Justin James from noon to 4:30 today at the Main Deck; Folk Jazz by Dave Cross from noon to 4 p.m. at the Grill and a modern blues show by the Sasha Evans Band from 5:30 to 9:45 p.m. Saturday at the Main Deck; Jason Feddy will rock the crowd from noon to 4:30 p.m. Sunday at the Tavern.

For a complete list of performances, visit https://www.sawdustartfestival.org.

‘Out of the Blue’ debuts

The Festival of Arts will introduce “Out of the Blue,” its new Art-To-Go collection, presented by the Artists Fund, Saturday during the Artists Preview Night at Tivoli Lane, on the Festival of Arts grounds, 650 Laguna Canyon Road.

One hundred pieces will be featured by Festival exhibitors, most of which are inspired by the color blue, including photographs by Rick Graves and Pat Sparkuhl, oils by Jeff Horn and Bruce Vanderwilt, ceramics by Carole Martens and jewelry by Don Beres and Karin Worden.

Works will continue to be available daily July 5 through August 31.

Proceeds from sales benefit the Artists Fund, a disaster relief fund for Artists.

“We have helped Artists recover from fire and flood”, said founder and fund president Anne England. “We’ve also helped provide medicine and housing for those with terminal illness.”

The festival will be open beginning on Monday from 10 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. For information on Art-To-Go, contact MikeTauber@sprintmail.com or call (949) 497-3597.

Digital photography workshop

My Artist Loft will offer a preview of its Digital Photography and Photoshop Elements workshops from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Wednesday in the Bridge Room of the Neighborhood Congregational Church, 340 St. Ann’s Drive.

The preview will include a presentation by owner and instructor, Mary Gulino, on various topics covered in the workshops, including the technical workings of the camera, aesthetic qualities of a great photograph and ideal times, lighting, and situations for successful shooting.

Gulino will also show examples of photographs that have been manipulated using Photoshop Elements.

Cost is $20. Advance registration is required; visit https://www.MyArtistLoft.com or call (949) 371-3375.

Jazz Wednesday with Club Django

Laguna Beach Live! will present Club Django from 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday in the outdoor Rose Garden of the Hotel Laguna, 425 S. Coast Hwy.

Back in the 1930s and 1940s, a Belgian born gypsy guitarist by the name of Django Reinhardt developed his own style of swing music, fusing elements of American jazz with indigenous French and gypsy styles.

Club Django is considered Southern California’s foremost proponent of this music. The group also incorporates blues, jump, modern jazz and classical music into their sets.

Cost is $10. Doors open at 5:15 p.m. with food and beverages available for purchase. Reservations for groups of 8 or more are accepted at (949) 715-9713. For more information, visit https://www.lagunabeachlive.org.

Charbonneau and French exhibit

Los Angeles-based photographers Jeff Charbonneau and Eliza French will showcase their work through July 30 at Demossa Gallery, 1294-D S. Coast Hwy.

The artists use large-format film and traditional darkroom techniques to create narrative photographs which are a product of teamwork from conception to finish.

They engage viewers in a discourse about feminine archetypes and myth by creating performance-based images that draw heavily from personal history, memory and dream states, according to the gallery.

The duo, who began exhibiting their collaborations in 2006, have been featured in Photograph Magazine, American Photo Magazine and the catalogue for the exhibition “The Art of Caring: A Look at Life Through Photography,” which opened at the New Orleans Museum of Art in 2009 and is currently traveling throughout the United States.

For more information, visit https://www.demossagallery.com.