The art of skimming

Organizers of Project Skimboard knew one thing heading into their second year: They needed more space.

The artistic fundraiser, in which Sawdust Art Festival participants use skimboards as the basis of their work, had overflow crowds in its first year as it raised $15,000 for local nonprofit arts organizations.

“The reception was such a success that it overflowed into the streets,” Rebecca Meekma, co-director of the project, said of the 2005 preview held at Gallery 51.

The solution this year? For the first time, the Sawdust Art Festival will join forces with its neighbor, the Seven Degrees gallery, to hold a preview of Project Skimboard 2. An artists’ reception will be held from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. June 1.

The exhibit at Seven Degrees, 891 Laguna Canyon Road, will feature skimboards designed by 40 Sawdust artists ? four more than last year ? from June 1 to June 25. They then will be moved to the Sawdust festival grounds.

There, each board will be displayed in its artist’s booth, where the public will be able to bid for them. The boards will be sold at the Sawdust’s Benevolence Fund Auction Aug. 6.

“It’s great to have the opportunity to work with our neighbors,” said Dora Wexell, director of Seven Degrees. “We’re happy to have them here.”

The participants’ instructions were purposefully left vague.

“The whole idea was to have them be creative,” Meekma said.

The exhibitors used a diverse variety of media in creating their works, including paint and glazes; paper; metal mesh; wood; ceramic; mixed-media (including sand and shells); and dichroic fused glass. One even used the ancient “en caustic” method, featuring beeswax and pigment, to create a thickly textured work.

“The surprising array of media was really fabulous,” Meekma said, though the majority of the submissions still featured water-inspired imagery.

All types of paintings were included, from impressionist to abstract to highly representative.

And feline, apparently.

“You gotta have a cat,” Meekma said.

Several artists blurred the edges of their boards, turning them into larger works.

“Seeing last year’s entries inspired them to break boundaries,” Meekma said. “They really are putting a lot of heart and soul into it.”

The wooden boards were again supplied by Laguna Beach company Victoria Skimboards.

“They’ve been in since the beginning; we couldn’t have done it in the first place without them,” Meekma said.

The arts community has turned out to like using the boards as a new medium, said marketing director Trigg Garner, who worked with Meekma on the project.

“We’ve had a good response there,” Gardner added.

The “woodie”-style boards retail for $60 to $70, he said.

“We just liked the idea of getting local artists to create art on our skimboards,” he said.

Victoria sells boards with their own artwork on them, but has considered licensing some of last year’s Project Skimboard designs.

“A lot of them don’t suit our marketplace,” Garner said, citing a young male demographic, “but I saw a lot of really impressive art on the boards last year.”

He hasn’t seen this year’s boards yet, but is still receptive to the notion of licensing designs.

“If anything catches our eye, I would be completely open to it,” he said.

Meekma is happy to see the Sawdust’s standing in the community enhanced.

“In the past few years, we’ve had a few progressive board members,” she said. “The whole reason Sawdust exists is to support Laguna Beach artists. If we can expand it, it’s good for the artists, and it’s good for the show.”

The first Project Skimboard featured 36 pieces of art.

The Sawdust Art Festival is at 935 Laguna Canyon Road. For information about the project, call (949) 497-3030 or visit www.sawdustartfestival.org. cpt.26-happs-1-CPhotoInfoO21RAQ2F20060526izu2f0nc(LA)cpt.26-happs-3-CPhotoInfoO21RAPVJ20060526izu2fwncCourtesy of Sawdust Art Festival(LA)Left, Colleen Corbett’s “Dragon Dreams,” mixed media. Middle, Jim Stanaland’s “She Says,” acrylic. Right, Linda Pirri’s “Very Victoria,” hand-painted silk on board.cpt.26-happs-2-CPhotoInfoO21RAQ1A20060526izu2finc(LA)