Gate & Garden Tour will take place in person on May 1, with timed entries
Laguna Beach Garden Club has announced that it will be resuming its 15-year tradition of a spring garden tour open to the public and Garden Club members alike. In 2019 the Club had a stellar, sold-out event that broke records for funds raised to support local school gardens, scholarships for local students, and civic environmental and beautification projects in town.
Consequently, the bar has been set high to provide another experience that will thrill the senses.
“When I think of spring and Laguna Beach, one of the first thoughts that jumps to mind is the incredible experience of attending a garden tour. It just screams out spring, a new beginning!” says LB Garden Club member Karen Nelson. “To think about being outside, enjoying nature, and seeing beautiful gardens created by some of our city’s residents is a joy.”
Of course, 2021 will have an entirely new normal given the necessary adjustments to living in the time of COVID-19.
This year Susan Denton, a Garden Club member and retired nurse practitioner with a Master’s Degree in Nursing from UCLA, has taken the position of Gate & Garden Tour Director. Susan’s medical background and knowledge of epidemiology are a wonderful bonus in planning for a safe and enjoyable tour for all.
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Susan Denton, 2021 Gate & Garden Tour Director
“For the foreseeable future, when people are out in public and wearing masks, social distancing and frequent hand washing are ‘musts’ to help prevent disease that may occur wherever we go,” says Susan.
“In addition to these precautions, entrance tickets will be timed this year to allow for social distancing of our tour guests. This will be integral to providing our guests a safe Gate & Garden Tour experience.
“By nature of the tour being an outdoor event, it meets the threshold of being a lower risk event as the large volume of air outdoors serves to dilute the virus that might be shed by others in the space. But each individual needs to make their own health decisions based on their risk factors and vaccination status.”
The host venue will be the beautiful and historic Laguna Beach County Water District’s “Mediterranean Revival” District headquarters located at 306 Third St.
“This venue allows us much more space to spread out and allow our guests to experience all that the tour has to offer,” Susan adds.
For more details, and to purchase tickets visit www.lagunabeachgardenclub.org.
Early Bird tickets are available until April 23 for $50 plus a handling fee. For more information or sponsorship opportunities, email Susan Denton at cnnpinca@yahoo.com.
LAM’s California Cool Art Auction grosses over $460K to support exhibitions and education programs
On Saturday, Feb 6, Laguna Art Museum’s California Cool Art Auction sales totaled over $440,000. With an additional $20,000 in sponsorships, the event raised over $240,000 in net unrestricted income in support of the museum’s exhibitions and education programs.
The museum’s 39th annual benefit auction took place entirely online, with bidding conducted via Artsy, and special virtual content from the museum during the extended online preview month.
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Installation view, California Cool Art Auction 2021
Thanks to the museum’s long-standing relationships with California artists and galleries, and their generosity in supporting the institution, Art Auction 2021 included 125 highly desirable works by both established and emerging artists. From January 11 to February 6, the museum shared content on its website and social media channels, including a preview with former director Dr. Malcolm Warner, a tour with art historian Dr. Julia Friedman, and a special bidding update from Aaron Bastian of Bonhams.
More than 100 art collectors won bids in the online auction, originating from seven countries outside of the U.S. and from nine states outside of California. Twenty-four buyers are local to Laguna Beach, including some who won multiple bids. With sale prices ranging from $300 to $42,000, twenty percent of the works sold above estimate.
Sponsors, Benefactors, and Host Committee members gave critical philanthropic support to the event, and contributions were also made to an online Make-a-Difference campaign for unrestricted funds to support the museum’s operating costs, exhibitions, and education programs.
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Tracey Sylvester Harris, “Horizons (detail),” 2020
Featured Artists include: Lita Albuquerque; Daniel Angeles; Charles Arnoldi; Natalie Arnoldi; Ken Auster; Eddie Barbini; Marlo Bartels; Mark Beck; Paul Béliveau; Kelly Berg; Maria Bertrán; Paul Binnie; John Botz; Morris Broderson; Mildred Bryant Brooks; Laurie Brown; Lyn Burke; Sandra Jones Campbell; Mark Chamberlain; Mindy Cherri; Alex Couwenberg; Kimerlee Curyl; Stacy D’Aguiar; Paul Darrow; Deborah Davidson; Laddie John Dill; Jorg Dubin; Heidi Dobrott; Julie Easton; David Eddington; Cheryl Ekstrom; Ned Evans; Paulden Evans; Baldemar Fierro; Kaori Fukuyama; Jacques Garnier; Gianne de Genevraye; Eric Gerdau; Jimi Gleason; James Gobel; Joe Goode; Kristina Grace; Rudolf Grossman; Kenny Harris; Tracey Sylvester Harris; Danny Heller
George; Scot Heywood; Chris Hite; Nicholas Hunt; Kelsey Irvin; Kathy Jones; Jeff Juhlin; Catherine Kaleel and Aaron Berg; Sherry Karver; G. Ray Kerciu; Jeremy Kidd; Mary-Austin Klein; Peter Krasnow; David Krovblit; Roger Kuntz
Tom Lamb; Charles Levier; Kristin Leachman; Dave Lefner; Kim MacConnel; Victoria Macmillan; Adam Mars; Claudia Marseille; John Mason; Jay D. McCafferty; Danny McCaw; Dan McCleary; Elizabeth McGhee; Scott McMillin; Pierce Meehan; Yevgeniya Mikhailik; David Milton; Geoff Mitchell; Mia Moore; Lena Moross; Andy Moses; Gwynn Murrill; Kenton Nelson; Glenn Ness; Michael Obermeyer; Fabia Panjarian; Kenton Parker; David Allan Peters; Jeff Peters; Snezana Petrovic; Astrid Preston; Bret Price; Gregory Price; Robert Redding; Gregg Renfrow; Richard Reiner; Chris Richter; Matthew Rolston; Jerry Rothman; Ed Ruscha; Brittany Ryan; Carol Saindon; Bradford Salamon; Carmen Salazar and Caleb Siemon; Marco Sassone; Daniela Schweitzer; Jeff Sewell; Adam Silverman; Gerard Basil Stripling; Robert Szot; Don Suggs; Cecil Touchon; Clay Vorhes; Stephanie Weber; Roger Weik; Andrea Welton; Kirsten Whalen; Andy Wing; Joy Wolf; William Wray; and Scott Yeskel.
Laguna Art Museum is the museum of California art. It collects, cares for, and exhibits works of art that were created by California artists or represent the life and history of the state. Through its permanent collection, its special loan exhibitions, its educational programs, and its library and archive, the museum enhances the public’s knowledge and appreciation of California art of all periods and styles and encourages art-historical scholarship in this field.
Laguna Art Museum is proud to continue the tradition of the Laguna Beach Art Association, founded in 1918 by the early California artists who fostered a vibrant arts community. The gallery that the association built in 1929 is part of today’s Laguna Art Museum.
For more information, visit www.lagunaartmuseum.org.
Laguna Art Museum is located at 307 Cliff Dr.
Pacific Marine Mammal Center celebrates 50-Year Anniversary
Pacific Marine Mammal Center (PMMC), formerly Friends of the Sea Lions (FSL), is celebrating its 50th Year Golden Anniversary in 2021. From a small three-person rescue team, rehabilitating seals in a bathtub, PMMC has grown into a leader in marine mammal rescue and rehabilitation and top-level scientific hub and education center.
FSL was the first licensed marine mammal rescue and rehabilitation center in the state of California. It began with two lifeguards, a veterinarian, and a concerned little girl for a sick harbor seal on the beach.
“In 1971, Jim Stauffer, Dr. Rose Ekeberg, and I started a small group known as the Friends of the Sea Lions,” said John Cunningham, co-founder for FSL. “With the help of a handful of Laguna Beach high school students, our mission was to rescue, rehabilitate, and release sick and injured seals and sea lions along the Orange County coast. Today, 50 years later, I am so proud to still be a part of what’s become a world-class nonprofit now known as the Pacific Marine Mammal Center.”
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Courtesy of PMMC
A field trip to FSL in the original barn
“I’m so proud to continue to see the community get behind this important mission,” said co-founder Jim Stauffer. “It’s been great to watch it grow all for the benefit of these precious marine mammals.”
To date, PMMC has rescued over 10,000 marine mammals, all of which are federally-protected species that contribute significantly to our ocean eco-systems. Additionally, the organization educates tens of thousands of students annually, hosts up to 50,000 patrons annually at its visitor center in Laguna Beach, and is now diving head first into forefront research projects including ones involving cancer in sea lions and crucial killer whale research in hopes to save the dwindling southern resident killer whale (SRKW) population.
“I am excited to join the Pacific Marine Mammal Center in celebrating their 50th Anniversary and all of the extraordinary contributions they have made to our region,” said U.S. Representative Mike Levin. “Now more than ever, it is critically important that we protect marine life and promote conservation, and I deeply appreciate the PMMC’s leadership on those values over their storied history. Like many families in our community, my kids have made lasting memories at the Center and we look forward to more visits in the future.”
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Courtesy of PMMC
Sea lion kisses at the beach
The organization has been through many ups and downs, surviving two catastrophic floods and mudslides, multiple fire evacuations, and a three-year-long sea lion UME or unusual mortality event – bringing PMMC to the very limit on resources. The PMMC community has always shown up and the organization would not be where it is today without that continued support.
“Pacific Life has been a proud supporter of the Pacific Marine Mammal Center for over three decades,” said Tennyson Oyler, President of Pacific Life Foundation. “We have seen firsthand the critical work that the Center has done for our local marine life, and we are delighted to see the organization continue to grow as an important contributor to conservation and science-based education and a champion for our environment.”
As part of the ongoing celebration of this historic milestone, PMMC will make this year’s annual Gala a very unique and memorable event highlighting the organization and community’s achievements over the years, and will release limited edition products and apparel, and host other surprises.
To start off, the organization has released a special homage to PMMC’s 50th Anniversary with the creation of a commemorative 50th Anniversary page at www.pacificmmc.org/50thanniversary.
“Throughout its history, it’s been a collaborative effort. That was made clear from Day 1 with the transformational work of John Cunningham, Jim Stauffer, and Dr. Rose Ekeberg, who were volunteers for years in making this the organization it is today,” said Peter Chang, CEO of Pacific Marine Mammal Center. “We continue to be a direct product of the remarkable passion and compassion from the community 50 years later, and that’s something we are extremely proud of. PMMC would like to thank every single volunteer, staff member, supporter, community member, donor, person who called an animal in, educator, collaborator, and everyone in between. Because of you, we are not only celebrating the past. We are looking forward to the future of Pacific Marine Mammal Center.”
Meet Pet of the Week Derby
Derby is currently taking over Pet of the Week. He is a one-year-old neutered short-haired black and white cat. Derby is known to be very fast and would do best in a home that is secure without any small children as he often tries to get outside. He is very friendly and loves all the attention he can get. Derby is always on the go and is looking for a companion to call his own. Nancy Goodwin, shelter director, is hoping to have Derby adopted as soon as possible.
Derby is fast, loveable, and looking for a new place to call home
The Laguna Beach Animal Shelter adoption procedures are designed to make sure that both the potential family and the animal adopted are in the very best situation possible. Due to their approach to adoption, the shelter’s return rate is five percent as compared to the national return rate of 50 percent.
The LB Animal Shelter is located at 20612 Laguna Canyon Rd. For information on adoption procedures, call (949) 497-3552 or go to www.puplagunabeach.org/our-pets.php.
JoAnne Artman Gallery presents Yes, Masters II: A MANthology
A marker of a great work of art is its timelessness. JoAnne Artman Gallery proudly presents Yes, Masters II: A MANthology, an exhibition of recent works by Danny Galieote, Greg Miller, and Michael Callas, which pays homage to the past by putting a present-day spin on age-old masterpieces. The exhibition runs through April 16.
A departure from their typical styles and subjects, each artist created works specifically for this exhibition. Daring to assume a different artistic paradigm that combines 20th century attitude with traditional European sensibility, the culmination is a shared dialogue challenging conventional narratives in art with expressive color and a focus on figuration.
Playful and satirical, these contemporary adaptations of art history merge the classical with the commodification of art in pop culture and mass media, all while bringing Old Masters into a new world.
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Danny Galieote, “Freedom of Speech,” Edition 1 of 10, giclee on archival acid-free rag paper, 46 x 38 inches, framed
Drawn from the term “Old Masters,” the title refers to such prolific artists as Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, and Rembrandt. Derived and abstracted from Old Masters paintings and ideologies, Galieote, Miller, and Callas deconstruct pictorial language and artistic agency through investigating the ways in which their masculinity, identity, and individualism are embedded in both the significance and composition of each work.
Using art history as a stepping-stone for newfound interpretations through the lens of pop subjectivity, these artists acknowledge the legacies of their predecessors in their modern and spirited anthologies.
A California native, Galieote began his art career in Disney animation studios. A top animator for films such as The Lion King and Tarzan as a character artist, Galieote honed his skill at hand drawing and the human figure. Well versed in art history, his influences include Renaissance masters such as Michelangelo, Rubens, and the Mannerist Jacopo Pontormo, as well as American realist painter George Bellows and other AshCan artists. Incorporating whimsical elements with modern social concerns, Galieote imbues light-hearted imagery with deeper connotations, illuminating timeless truths of the dualities of human nature.
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Greg Miller, “Les Demoiselles,” acrylic paint, spray paint, collage paper on panel, 36 x 36 inches
Steeped in the process of taking all aspects of culture, art, architecture, and images that surround him, Greg Miller combines his paintings with found elements to the surface of his canvases and panels. Addressing art history and the fleeting nature of cultural ephemera and collective memory, his selection of pieces are a foundation of our culture, and with the found collages added to the surface, each piece tells a story of past, present, and future.
With these new paintings, Miller redirects his penchant for depicting the human figure towards reimagined classics. Evoking a sense of history, as well as magic, the historical influences of his recent painted works transcend time. Rooted in Pop art, street art, graphic design, and his life in Southern California, Michael Callas’ paintings are done with spray paint and precise stencil work. Intricately produced through a rigorous process of drafting, mapping, and hand-cutting precise templates before being transposed onto canvas with aerosol paints, Callas creates a surface that is uniform and rich in color.
Remaining true to his practice, Callas meticulously maps out color planes of saturated hues and gray tones, crafting dimensionality and dramatic light sources on his subjects. Applying his distinct approach of working in aerosols to the traditional oil paintings of the Renaissance, Callas explores the famous character archetypes and narratives throughout art history.
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Michael Callas, “American Modern,” spray paint and stencil on canvas, 62.5 x 52 inches
These artists’ work will inspire, provoke, engage, and mesmerize. With visual perceptions always changing, peek behind the stories told and you’re sure to find the right artistic expression.
The art is on view by appointment at 326 N Coast Hwy. For more information, contact JoAnne Artman at (949) 510-5481, email joanneartman@aol.com, or visit www.joanneartmangallery.com.
Ocean Institute will host Marine and Environmental Sciences College Fair on March 27
Ocean Institute is thrilled to host a Marine and Environmental Sciences College Fair on March 27, sponsored by The Nicholas Endowment, to provide students with post-high school, college, and career pathways. Nova Southeastern University (Fla.), SUNY Maritime College (N.Y.), University of Plymouth (U.K.), and University of Southampton (U.K.) are also sponsors of Ocean Institute’s inaugural fair.
“Ocean Institute has a passion for developing the next generation of environmental stewards, explorers, and researchers. Our fair bridges the gap from K-12 to post-secondary by providing students with a full day of presentations from diverse programs and options,” said CEO and President, Dr. Wendy Marshall.
During the fair, there will be student and alumni panels, university exhibits, live presentations, and more. This fair will allow students to learn more in-depth information about programs across the nation and enable them to talk to representatives from these institutions.
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Ocean Institute is no stranger to offering virtual programs
Ocean advocate, TV personality, and science communicator Danni Washington will be the keynote speaker for this year’s fair. Washington is currently a correspondent on Mission Unstoppable with host Miranda Cosgrove who is also co-executive producer alongside fellow actor Geena Davis. She also is the first African American woman to host her own science television series, called Xploration Nature Knows Best.
Participating institutions include Alaska Pacific University (Alaska), California State University Fullerton Department of Biological Science (Calif.), California State University, Long Beach (Calif.), California State University Maritime (Calif.), Cape Fear Community College Marine Technology (N.C.), Eckerd College (Fla.), Hawaii Pacific University (Hawaii), Los Angeles Maritime Institute (Calif.), and others. Sponsorships and exhibitors are still available.
More information can be found by clicking here.
“We are thankful to our sponsors for enabling us to provide this program at no cost. Access is a big issue in higher education and removing the cost of admission to the conference opens the door for all students to participate,” said Dr. Marshall.
Attendees – students, parents, and counselors – can attend for free. Exhibitor (colleges and universities) pay $250, while sponsor fees (for foundations, companies, colleges, and universities) are $750.
For more information and a full list of participating institutions, go to www.oceaninstitute.org or call (949) 496-2274.
Ocean Institute is a highly respected ocean science, maritime history, and experiential education nonprofit located in Dana Point Harbor.
