In broad strokes

Suzie Harrison

Not all students have their final project displayed for an entire

city, not to mention all the tourists who pass by.

Seven Laguna College of Art and Design coeds are putting the

finishing touches on their last assignment, an 8-inch by 40-inch

mural visible from Coast Highway across from Main Beach.

A crowd gathered while music from a deceptively small portable

stereo filled the air with sounds of quirky, alternative,

college-like music, as the artists continued their work, stopping to

answer questions by on-lookers and immersing themselves again.

One man marveled at the work and pointed out the precision of each

brush stroke, “Just look at the detail in the water.” He continued to

wonder aloud, “Their eye to detail is amazing,” and wondered how long

the project must have taken.

With only a week left, Laguna College of Art and Design professor

Mia Tavonatti and her students were on site, putting the finishing

touches on their mural -- a project many months in the making.

Located on the wall at the entrance of Forest Lane, opposite Main

Beach Park, the piece, “A Day in the Life of Laguna Beach,” will be

officially dedicated by the city’s Arts Commission with the support

of Community Art Project on Thursday.

Christian Berg is one of seven students in the mural class

involved in the project. When he would break from his position on the

scaffold, he would walk and get perspective from different angles to

make sure everything was just right. Palette in hand, he was modest

when talking about his design, which was chosen from a panel at the

college and approved by the Arts Commission.

He said their initial introduction to the project started in

January. They were told its location, size and theme and they started

from there.

“All seven had our own individual design,” Berg said. “And a group

of faculty looked at our small-scale designs and chose one that they

felt not only represented Laguna Beach, but would translate well to a

large scale and not be too difficult to finish in the time allotted.”

Berg said he used imagery that was less obvious. “These are hidden

treasures of this community that the locals love and tourists

appreciate,” Berg said.

Another important aspect was color.

The mural is a joint effort between the Arts Commission and the

school. The first collaborative mural was created six years ago and

Tavonatti, who has been with the college for 11 years, feels this is

the best work yet.

“It’s very ethereal and captures that idea of a memory, a moment

sitting in one spot, watching the world go by,” Tavonatti said.

“That’s why we have layers so [the viewer] wouldn’t grab on solidly,

the layers are transparent and could represent the past or present.”

She said the transparent layers might represent what a tourist

might take home in their mind’s eye.

“Memories aren’t tangible,” Tavonatti said. “What we’re trying to

create here is a memory postcard.”

. She said it’s quite an orchestration to get seven people

creating together with different egos, styles and techniques and

making it a seamless image.

“This has been the most cohesive group, the mural is the most

sophisticated and it keeps getting better and better,” Tavonatti

said.

The dedication is at 5 p.m. June 5, before First Thursdays Art

Walk, on Forest Lane, across from Main Beach.