CHASING DOWN THE MUSE: Art and fun merge out of the Blue Fu

“We all have this in common — we love what we’re doing.” – Karen Hedges, Blue Fu member

This seems to be the year of the Blue Fu Studio at the Sawdust Art Festival. Sue Thompson was the first Blue Fu Studio member to show there in 2001, and 2006 has fellow painters Betty Haight, Kathy Jones, and Stephanie and John Cunningham on board as well. (Newest member Karen Hedges was already showing her paintings at the Sawdust when she became a member of the group.)

I have been following the adventures of the Blue Fu group for a few years now, so I knew when I saw some of their names on the roster of artists for this year that the Sawdust would be in for some titillation and excitement. I have not been disappointed.

Before going forward with this story, though, let me go back a few years.

Betty Haight, who is the acknowledged force behind the Blue Fu group, retired and moved to Laguna Beach in 1995.

Betty is one of those “bundle of energy” people for whom retirement was just another huge range of possibilities. She had long taken art classes in her evenings and other “spare” time and so she dived right into classes here in this area. It was in Michael Hallinan’s painting class that she and the nexus of the Blue Fu group came together.

The group began doing social outings together and over and over again I heard from each of them that their outings were — and still are — a lot about food and fun.

They gathered together at times in Betty’s studio to paint — and eat — and they would go on their outings to the Fun Zone in Balboa, to Chinatown, and more. As Betty put it, it was “the magic of binding together — from the heart, rather than art” that pulled them closer and closer.

When I decided to write this column on the Blue Fu Studio group, Betty and I got together to talk on a warm weekday morning at the Sawdust Festival grounds in the booth Betty and Kathy share. Betty carried in an armload of large books she has put together of the Blue Fu happenings. As we pored over the pictures and writings in these “scrapbooks”, I felt I was being brought into their magic circle.

The group did their first show/event together in 2000. In the time between then and now they have celebrated births of grandchildren, deaths of pets, birthdays and joyful successes. In that time, three of them have also survived cancer and it is clear that the unconditional love and support of the group has helped them in this as well.

Through all of it, they paint and they paint and they paint. They paint on canvas and paper and boxes and glass. They just keep on painting and trying new things.

The dedication and joy that is part of the magic of the Blue Fus reminds me of an anonymous quote I was given earlier this summer: “...if art-making is in the very marrow of one’s bones, then hallelujah! That is something to sing about. That is empowering. Surely part of that empowered state will contribute (absolutely) to the improvement of everything …. “

This is the empowerment that I find so engaging and why I am drawn to what the Blue Fu Studio represents for artists and non-artists alike.

While my intention was to tell you of the impact I have seen of the work of the Blue Fu Studio at this summer’s Sawdust Festival, I cannot begin to tell the many wonderful stories I associate with this group in the span of this column.

I invite you to ask them yourself. They will be happy to share. The generosity of spirit that is at the very heart of this fun-loving group is part of their art and a part of their lives they are more than willing to relate.

Ask Betty about the 11-year-old who bought a painting. Ask any of them about their excitement when a painting that was a collaboration of artists and the public was one of the top money-makers at the Artist’s Benevolence Fund. Ask them, as I did, what it means to be a Blue Fu.

Supportive. Fun. Non-competitive. Respect for each other’s work. Inspiring. Talking art. Being art. Doing art. Belonging. Unconditional friendship.

If you throw generosity to the universe, it can’t help but come back. We love what we’re doing. These are some of their words. I could not say it better.