Booth building underway

Suzie Harrison

Roaring saws, pounding hammers and the smell of freshly cut wood

mingled with the aroma of eucalyptus trees at the Sawdust Art

Festival grounds during the height of booth building season. Since

the end of May the grounds have been transformed from sawdust and

trees to an art village.

Though it’s a crazy time, it’s not as frenzied as it used to be --

some things have changed since newer regulations have been enforced.

Kurt Blanton, grounds manager for five years, and Joe Krach, a

25-year Sawdust artist veteran, were discussing some of the

extraordinary things they’ve seen.

“Six or seven years ago Ryan [Gourley] built a booth that was

about 28-feet high,” Krach said. “It was just huge and Gavin Heath

had a 3-foot by 3-foot concrete foundation poured.

Now the city and county engineers check to make sure the booths

meet code and have a height restriction of up to 16 feet for safety.

Blanton said that the grounds during booth building are very hectic

and busy.

Marketing manager Rebecca Meekma explained that though Blanton

prepares for this all year, some of the stuff he is responsible for

can only get done in June. The artists have to check in with Blanton

before they can start, go over their building plans and Blanton makes

sure everything is in order during the process and after completion.

“The Sawdust rules are made by the city because we’re building

them for the public,” Meekma said.

Overall the mood was that of excitement with the artists working

diligently, adding the different necessities that make their booth

comfortable, for during the festival most artists will spend almost

every waking hour there.

Artist Greg Thorne said that his booth status was going as

planned.

“This is my 11th year, I’m up to the stained-glass and it’s going

well,” Thorne said. “I have an open back so they [the customers] can

see the hillside -- I like that.”

He said he loves it on the Sawdust grounds.

“I do demonstrations all day long, my jewelry making,” Thorne

said. “From 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., I produce half of my work during the

show, of my 12 hours a day that I’m there, which I love to do.”

Artist Patti Oshlund said it’s the most fun she’s had and has been

doing the show for 25 years.

“Each year I always do a different design and the space on the

grounds is laid out differently,” Oshlund said. “It keeps the

vitality of the show going.”

Oshlund has been building an adjoining booth with Walter Reiss

since ’71.

“We’ve been adjoined at least 18 years,” Oshlund said. “How it

happened, I guess one year we just happened to be next to each other

and have done it ever since. Everyone thinks we’re married but we’re

not.”

Steve Covern and his wife Debra have been sharing a booth for

about eight years. She’s been exhibiting for 10 years.

“I use the same type of material because I like the old wood,”

Covern said. “I think it adds a lot of character -- I like to combine

it with some newer tin because it sets off the paintings, and the old

wood looks good with my wife’s Hawaiian shirts, it looks like a

[surf] shack.”

Gourley’s booth can be found in a corner where the most trees

grow.

“You’ve got to have a lot of respect for the trees,” Gourley said.

Meekma added that they are not allowed to nail anything to the

trees or hurt them. He said he has to carve and form the boards to

conform to the tree, build around them, and he uses recycled boards

from the various booths he collects from at booth tear down at the

end of each summer.

“The booth is part of the art,” Gourley said.

Making her booth look like a cottage is Danita Lloyd’s mode of

architecture.

“I have a cottage look and I’m featuring Laguna cottages in

spring,” Lloyd said. “I’ve gone around every nook and cranny from

Woodland, North Laguna and mid-town and the gardens have been

absolutely fantastic this year.”

The Sawdust Art festival will open June 27 and runs daily from 10

a.m. to 10 p.m. and closes Aug. 31. It’s at 935 Laguna Canyon Road.

For information, call 494-3030 or go online to

www.sawdustartfestival.org.