The Laguna Art Museum has a flurry of activities happening this weekend for adults and kids alike, and this is some kind of creative going on!
Both a festival and a conference, this weekend’s Art & Nature’s largest draw (I mean this quite literally) will be Jim Denevan’s monumental sand drawing on Main Beach. Interesting that sand drawings seem to be the theme of the week in Laguna with the Buddhist monks simultaneously creating their intricate sand mandala at the Neighborhood Congregational Church. Jim’s work will be substantially larger, though, as he will be filling the entirety of Main Beach with a design he’s devised, above.
Once it’s completed, Laguna Beach High School students will help Jim light the entire drawing with solar lantern Saturday evenings. Personally, I’ve been a fan of Jim’s for years as he’s the founder behind one of the most interesting traveling gourmet dinners in the world. I’m looking forward to finally meeting him! (Check out his Outstanding in the Field initiative, which feeds hundreds of diners in the middle of a field . . . that field being located in various locations such as Europe, Queens, New York, or Napa Valley.)
But, back to the Art & Nature event at the Laguna Art Museum! Jim Denevan will be a panel speaker on Sunday, as will a number of art historians (including renowned Kevin Starr), Scripps marine biologist Michael Latz, landscape architects, and many artists who are participating in the Museum’s substantial Art & Nature exhibition.
On Sunday, a Family Festival joins the already-busy agenda with all sorts of art activities for children. The free event from 2:00 – 5:00 p.m., includes clay pot making, under-the-sea collage and coral-making, a Haiku writing workshop, face painting, live music, and a batch of fun nature and science activities brought in by our own Pacific Marine Mammal Center, the Discovery Science Center, the Aquarium of the Pacific, the Bird of Prey Center and many more.
It’s Laguna Beach at its finest zenith – ART! As most of the activities are free or available through the Laguna Art Museum’s small admission fee ($7 general admission, $5 for kids, seniors and active military), it’s a perfect weekend activity for residents and visitors alike. I’ll see you there!