Cahill named president of Art-A-Fair

Art-A-Fair recently elected Michael Cahill to a three-year term as president of the Board of Directors. Cahill succeeds Richard “Scooter” Brewer, who served from 2005 to 2010.

Cahill has served as treasurer of the organization since 2007, as well as on the jury selecting new artists. The Irvine resident has also been an exhibitor since 1996 in the medium of photography.

A test pilot in the U.S. Navy who discovered his love for photography while cataloguing his travels, Cahill began attending Laguna’s art festivals with his wife, Patricia, a fellow photography exhibitor. Feeling an affinity for Art-A-Fair, Cahill applied for membership and thus began his now 14-year association. His professional career was in the aerospace industry. He retired from Northrup Grumman’s advanced projects organization in 2006.

As president of the board, Cahill said he plans to grow and improve the Fair so it remains a key player, along with the other two festivals, in making Laguna Beach a renowned summer art destination. He also plans to capitalize on the synergy of Art-A-Fair and the co-located Tivoli Too! restaurant to make the combined venue a popular destination for large events.

“Another top priority is to enhance our reputation as one of the premier fine art shows by constantly ratcheting up the quality of our art, the selectivity of our jury system, and correspondingly, our customers’ satisfaction,” he said. “I plan to continually increase potential customers’ knowledge about what we have to offer, because once they visit, they usually return.”

Other members of the Board include Madeline Smith, vice president of membership affairs; John Baer, vice president of operations; Joyce Kaspryzk, vice president of marketing; Rosemarie Rush, business manager; Sarah Ross, entertainment; Meryl Epstein, secretary; Pamela Crook, treasurer; Victor Dworak, assistant operations; Todd Nelson, assistant business manager; and Michelle LaRae, assistant for marketing.

For more information about Art-A-Fair, visit https://www.art-a-fair.com. Goldsmith Dorothee Naumburg will hold a jewelry trunk show from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday at the Artist Eye Gallery, 1294-A S. Coast Hwy., Laguna Beach.

Goldsmith holds trunk show

The event will feature fine art jewelry, in which Naumburg combines high karat white and yellow gold, then interweaves the blend with richly colored fine gemstones and the muted hues of pearls.

“I am inspired by the shape and brilliance of a gemstone or the glow of a stunning pearl,” she said. “Starting from a sketch, I begin by using gold, silver or brass sheets, tubing and wires. Convincing precious metal to conform to my wishes by hammering, forging, sawing and soldering, along with the precision and patience needed to do it well, appeals to me.”

Naumburg’s passion for jewelry making evolved from drawing and sculpting in her early childhood to an intense desire to become a “goldsmith” in her later teenage years. Nurtured by her painter mother and engineer father, she embarked on a three-year goldsmith apprenticeship under a master jeweler near Frankfurt, where she learned traditional goldsmith techniques of fabrication.

Her studies brought her to the U.S., where she added lost wax carving, casting and stone setting to her repertoire of techniques. She took classes and learned her craft by working for a custom jeweler in the city of Orange for 14 years. In 1999, she started her own business, creating and selling her work at juried art festivals throughout the country. She lives in Dana Point.

For more information, call (949) 497-5898.

Lucas with the lid off

Reggae artist and Laguna native Lucas Early recently returned to his hometown where he will join other local performers, Chili Davis, Brian Roark and Captain Dano and the Nobodies for a show from 4 to 8 p.m. Sunday at Hennessey’s Tavern, 213 Ocean Ave.

The musician and sound engineer (Advanced Sound Entertainment), who has opened for several famous reggae acts in Orange County and internationally, and has engineered shows for legendary artists like Blondie Chaplin of the Beach Boys, Kymani Marley, Black Uhuru and the Rolling Stones’ Bernard Fowler, brings special sound effects to his own music and the artists with whom he shares the stage.

“I can lend drums, bass, keyboards, horns and a variety of other backing tracks to, say, a guitar player on stage,” Early said.

After a successful debut at the Sandpiper earlier this month, Chili Davis will bust out another “dirty” performance, with a mix of hip-hop and dance compositions.

Singer-songwriter Brian Roark will also return with a set of classic-rock inspired originals and a handful of covers.

Bringing “reggae with a comedic twist,” local Dan “Captain Dano” Davison will take the stage with his acoustic guitar to deliver an entertaining musical comedy, along with classic cover songs.

For more information, call (949) 494-4723.

Laguna Beach Live! taps Ellebie

Laguna Beach Live!, which brings an eclectic mix of professional live music to Laguna, recently welcomed Tom Ellebie as the latest member of its Board.

A former senior executive for Kodak Company, Ellebie has had a long career of providing coaching, facilitating and consulting to senior managers and teams in the U.S., Latin America and Europe. Since he moved to Orange County, Ellebie has served as Board Chair of Orange County Head Start, a mediator for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission/Western Region, and a board member of the Centennial Heritage House Museum of Orange County.

“His interest in and knowledge of music plus his desire to get involved in this community make him a great addition to our Board,” said Board member Joe Hanauer. “We feel he will be a big asset as we look for the best ways to achieve continued growth.”

Ellebie joins Cody Engle, Paul Freeman, Sam Goldstein, Judith Jelinek, Betsy Jenkins, Danny Melita, Elizabeth Pearson and Cindy Prewitt on the board.

Festival of Arts ‘Top Scores’ show

Visitors to the Wells Fargo Bank through Nov. 15 can find out who the Festival of Arts jury selected as this past summer’s top scorers out of 146 exhibitors. A special reception for the artists is planned from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 6 at the gallery on the third floor of the bank.

The 2010 “Top Scorers” featured in this exhibit include Scott Albert (watercolors), Ken Auster (oils), Sandra Jones Campbell (acrylics), the collaborative team of Stephanie Cunningham and Betty Haight (mixed media), Roger Folk (watercolors), Dirk Hagner (printmaking), Robin Hall (oils), the collaborative team of Michael Hermann and Gina Lunn (glass), Kathy Jones (oils), Todd Kenyon (oils), Mark Kerckoff (oils), Tom Lamb (photography), Anne Moore (printmaking), Mia Moore (mixed media), Scott Moore (oils), Casey Parlette (sculpture), Troy Poeschl (mixed media), April Raber (oils), Michael Situ (oils), Ralph Tarzian (sculpture), Marcus Thesing (glass) and Vinita Voogd (printmaking).

“It’s a pleasure to the senses when viewing this exciting group of artists whose personal expressions exemplify the quality that is synonymous with the Festival of Arts,” said Curator Pat Sparkuhl.

The Wells Fargo building is at 260 Ocean Ave., and is open to the public 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday.