Skimming the surface

Suzie Harrison

Sawdust Art Festival’s Project Skimboard brings together two of

Laguna’s fondest pastimes as a way to benefit local nonprofits.

Community and media relations manager Rebecca Meekma said Sawdust

organizers teamed up with Tex Haines, owner of Victoria Skimboards,

who donated the unfinished skimboards.

“The great thing about the project -- we didn’t give the artists

any rules, guidelines or parameters,” Meekma said. “The whole idea

was for them to be as creative as they can be.”

Meekma said it gave the artists an opportunity to turn an

unfinished skimboard into a work of art.

“There’s some beautiful plein-air paintings, ceramic mosaic sea

life, abstract pieces, and one was even made into a table,” Meekma

said.

Meekma appreciated Susan Wade’s plein-air creation.

“What a great way to mix the canyon with the beach by painting the

canyon on a symbol of the beach,” Meekma said.

Artist Joan Corman called her piece “Rescued.” Corman, well known

for her palm tree series, said the idea for her piece came from the

tsunami victims who clung to trees to survive the huge wave.

“I wanted to pay homage to those trees, the palm trees that helped

save lives,” Corman said.

She remembered one story in particular about a young woman who was

found five days after the tsunami, clinging to a palm, surviving off

the tree’s nuts and dates.

“It has the ominous wave coming toward you and a broken wave

behind,” Corman said, pointing to her piece. “The palm tree has

survived the first wave; it’s projected out of the first wave, as

another wave is coming, the tree is there offering survival and

support.”

“I got into these warm colors,” said Corman, who usually uses

blues and greens in her paintings. “I usually use a cooler palette

and this was quite warm,” she said, referring to the cadmium red,

yellow and orange hues. “I felt like it was the end of so many

people’s lives -- it was like a setting sun. But also, these colors

are similar to when the sun rises.”

She said it represents, to those who died, rising to another level

or phase of life. You don’t actually see a sun, Corman said it could

represent either.

Ceramicist Patty Barnett thought Project Skimboard was a great

idea.

“I followed my own medium and was thrilled it worked out,” Barnett

said. “I work in ceramic sculpture; I do lotus blossom votives.”

The fragile pieces can break while she’s creating her work. As

most artists do, she saved the pieces to use in later works.

“I looked at a picture of the surf in Ireland and though those

waves look like flower pedals, like waves crashing,” Barnett said.

“It’s one of the most fun projects I’ve ever done.”

A collaborative mermaid piece by artists Reem Khalil, Sophia

Petway and Kelly Brennan was a standout.

“It’s a neat piece -- Reem is a clothing designer and works in

textile. She stepped out of her medium, but used her layout and

design,” Meekma said. “Sophia is a jeweler and she did all the metal

cutting and Kelly [does] Raku ceramics.”

Meekma said Khalil did all the mosaics, using a lot of pieces the

three randomly collected.

Overall, 36 Sawdust artists participated in Project Skimboard.

Their one-of-a-kind art works will be unveiled during a preview

reception at Gallery 51, 1951 S. Coast Highway, from 6 to 9 p.m.

tomorrow. The exhibit will run at the gallery through June 17.

Meekma said it’s the first time the Sawdust Art Festival has shown

an exhibit at a local gallery. Still, it’s an extension of the

Sawdust family, since gallery owner Don Brown is also a Sawdust

exhibitor.

The skimboards will then be exhibited at the Sawdust Festival from

opening day, July 1, through Aug. 5.

An auction of the skimboard art will be held at 7 p.m. Aug. 5 with

proceeds going to the Surfrider Foundation, Laguna Outreach for

Community Arts and the Sawdust Art Festival’s education and

demonstration programs.

The Sawdust Art Festival is located at 935 Laguna Canyon Road. For

information about the project, call Rebecca Meekma at (949) 497-0517.

For information about the Sawdust Art Festival, call (949) 376-3030

or visit https://www.sawdustart

festival.org.