Sniffing sea smells is part and parcel of the Laguna Beach experience, but the rich aroma of sawdust is overpowering as you enter the grounds of the storied Sawdust Festival on Laguna Canyon Road.
The summer extravaganza has been going on for 59 years, and the joy of viewing and making art, meeting artists, listening to music, catching a bite to eat and relaxing in the sun or shade has not diminished.
More than 185 area artists are participating in the show this summer, with booths that measure from a few feet across to lavish digs with fancy décor and the look of summer cottages.
Many artists have shown their work at the festival for decades, while each year new participants present their artistic vision to the public. Creations range from ceramics to jewelry to painting, glassmaking and fabric items.
The atmosphere is festive, with food and music areas dotting the grounds. Opportunities to create your own paintings or pottery are available as well, along with continuing demonstrations in the glass blowing facility, easily seen through protective walls.
Several Laguna Woods Village residents are showing their work this summer.
Near the entrance in Booth 300 is acrylic painter Sue Thompson, a new Village resident but show vendor for nearly a quarter century.
Thompson considers herself an artistic late bloomer: She started painting at age 47, about 25 years ago.
“I took my first class from a Sawdust artist,” she said, and found her first inspirations in the restaurant world she worked in.
Leafing through her mother’s photo album gave her the idea to paint people and memories from the 1940s to the 1960s.
“There are a lot of hula hoops, jump ropes and women at the beach,” she said with a laugh. “Many are memories from childhood.”
“Painting memories” became her watchword as she switched to commission work.
“People started bringing old photos for me to (recreate in) paint,” Thompson said, adding that she created colorful renditions of black and white photos that seemed to please her customers.
“I am very moved to see how overwhelmed they get when they see the paintings,” she said. “They represent a special memory or moment in time for them.”
Thompson’s advice to others is simple and twofold: “It’s never too late to start doing art” and “You don’t know if you don’t try.”
She maintains a studio at the Laguna Canyon Artists facility on Laguna Canyon Road, where Hedy Buzan works as well.
A longtime Village resident, Buzan (Booth 523) is also a longtime festival artist who grew up in Laguna Beach. She has taught art at Saddleback College and sold her work at the Festival of Arts across the road.
Buzan began her art journey as a teenage ceramist, studied lithography in college and painted clothing while in the Peace Corps in Jamaica.
Moving on to printmaking and etching, she chose subject matter both abstract and representational. Landscapes, birds and decorative items along with Laguna sights and scenes are among her subjects.
“I tend to think abstractly and have a penchant for graphics,” she said while putting the finishing touches on several small acrylic pieces that will be framed and put out for sale.
“Working on these keeps me in my booth and from eating ice cream,” she said with a laugh.
Also situated not far from the entrance is Village resident Mary Keating, who has maintained a show booth for 15 years.
“I had three daughters so I learned to sew, crochet and knit their clothing,” said Keating, who is also an acrylic painter.
Her booth (205) could double as a clothing store, with delightfully decorated children’s dresses, aprons and other items fashioned from vintage fabrics and pieces of embroidery.
“I love vintage embroidery and mix and match fabrics for my original designs,” she said. Materials with ethnic motifs form part of her patterns as well. Each is one of a kind.
Keating hand sews the insides of her pieces and has created a “signature apron” with neck straps that adjust to fit any size person. She also makes “themed” quilts, celebrating flowers or the ocean.
“I try to come up with something new each year,” Keating said, pointing to a grouping of whimsical sun hats shaped like witches’ caps that seem to be big sellers this season
“I’m doing what I love and loving what I do,” she said.
For the second year in a row, Keating is sharing her space with her grandson Henry White, who used to work in her booth when he was young.
Now 28, he repurposes surfboards to create artwork ranging from coasters to wall hangings with colorful abstract designs.
“I grew up working my grandmother’s booth, and it is nothing short of an honor to be sharing the space with her now,” White wrote in an email. “I am inspired by her ability to make functional art out of limited material, and it encourages me to have my own unique take on that practice.”
Another Village grandchild is showing her painting and glass work at the festival. Olivia Selley, granddaughter of glass artist Rose Marie Moriarty, maintains a booth (701) with fellow glass visionary Quinn Harmon.
“I got my artistic talent from my grandmother,” Selley said. “It skipped over my parents’ generation,” she added with a laugh.
Laguna Beach resident Paul Renner, a longtime show artist, sits surrounded by the magnificent images he has captured with his camera in Africa. Retired now from leading safaris, he enjoys visiting the national parks and wildlife areas in America and recently showcased his work at a Village Camera Club meeting.
“The lions and the leopards sell well,” he said of his multitude of wildlife photos. A lion covered in mud from a recent bath lies in wait among his best sellers, available in sizes small and large (booth 322).
Another Laguna Beach resident, Greg Sheets, is a first-time show exhibitor, painting nature-inspired acrylics (booth 106).
“I paint in layers and my process involves ideas that morph and evolve,” he said.
On the other end of the vendor spectrum is Walter Reiss, also of Laguna Beach, who has shown at the Sawdust for 55 years (booth 200). His ceramic vision has evolved from the functional pieces that might have served as planters in a macramé hanger back in the day.
Today his whimsical work carries social and political messages as well as funny observations he makes as he pursues his artistic vision. Wonky teapots immediately draw attention in his booth near the show entrance.
Two other Village artists in the show this summer are Star Shields, with clothing and mixed media (booth 625), and Tim Hahne, with painting and ceramics (booth 518).
The 59th annual Sawdust Festival continues daily through Aug. 31 at 935 Laguna Canyon Rd. It is open from 11 a.m., with closing time at 8 p.m. Sundays through Thursdays and 10 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays. General admission is $12; for seniors it’s $10, with discounts available at sawdustartfestival.org.