Festival of the Arts selects new faces

Suzie Harrison

There are some adults in Laguna Beach and other areas of South County

who have been feeling a lot like teenagers lately.

But instead of counting the days until they find out if they have

been accepted to the college of their choice, these artists were

waiting anxiously to see if they were accepted into a prestigious

72-year tradition known as the Festival of Arts.

The wait is over.

Laguna artist Sheryl Seltzer is one 22 new artists who have been

juried into the festival, where about 144 artists exhibit each

summer.

“I have applied many years in the past,” Seltzer said. “I was

excited about my work, but I wasn’t necessarily thinking it would

lead me into the juried show.”

She was flooded with a mixture of emotions when she went to check

the bulletin board at the festival grounds, where they had posted the

results of who had been accepted into the show.

“I saw I had gotten in and my knees practically buckled,” Seltzer

said. “It’s really, really exciting to me.”

She said she feels that improvement in her work is being

recognized by others.

“It just came at a great time for me because, as I said, my work

is increasing in depth and excitement,” Seltzer said. “It’s just nice

to have the confirmation of your peers; it’s wonderful.”

The application process begins in February, when artists submit

three slides of their work. From that group the judges pick artists

they want to bring in samples of their work.

“The judges literally have a chance to see the physical work, not

just pictures,” Seltzer said. “Four or five days after judgment day

they post the results.”

Longtime festival artist, and juror this year, Pat Sparkuhl said

the festival will feature many diverse works and artists. He said

that he likes that it changes every year and will be different with

all the new artists.

“There are eight jurors, seven jurors with one alternate,”

Sparkuhl said. “Three of the jurors are from inside the festival and

four are from the outside.”

A certain percentage of artists will jury out during the summer

and new artists are added.

“Around 30 people jury out,” Sparkuhl said. “During the summer the

jurors will go around the Festival of Arts three times, ideally at

the start, half-way through, at the end -- and tabulate between one

and 10 -- their perspective on each artist.”

At the end of the summer all of the scores are tabulated by an

accounting group outside the festival.

“It’s outside the hands of the Festival of Arts,” Sparkuhl said.

“It’s very important for the public to understand, so it avoids any

impropriety.”

He called being a juror a great honor.

“My approach evaluating artwork is to make sure that it has a

higher quality or expression than another,” Sparkuhl said. “I want to

include both my academic experiences of study with my stylistic

concerns.

“I’m really interested in choosing work of a high quality

regardless of style that adds to the art exhibit of the Festival of

Arts.”

Sparkuhl is also a curator of the new exhibit “Fresh Faces” at

Wells Fargo. The exhibit shows the work of the 22 new artists in the

show this year, giving a peek sample of what to expect.

“I’ve been in the festival since 1979,” Sparkuhl said. “Jack

Archer [exhibit director] and myself wanted to develop a venue for

Festival of Arts artists outside of the grounds.”

The Festival of Arts negotiated with Wells Fargo Bank and has

continuously had various exhibits on the third floor of the bank for

more than three years.

“‘Fresh Faces’ spotlights 16 of the 22 new artists on the grounds,

who have never shown at the festival,” Sparkuhl said.

The other Laguna Beach artists who have been accepted this year

include Angela Cunningham, Nicoli Erngren, Pat Whiteside Phillips,

Troy Poeschl and Harry Sloan.

The preview of the new festival artists, “Fresh Faces,” is on the

third floor and will be on exhibit through May 21. Wells Fargo is at

260 Ocean Ave. For information about the Festival of Arts go to

www.foapom.com.