‘Fulfillment of a dream’: New exhibitors excited for summer at Sawdust

Laguna Beach’s summer art festival season is in full swing, and where the Sawdust Art Festival is concerned, that means that a handful of local artists are getting their opportunity to shine.

The festival has 20 new faces gracing its booths, adding to the assortment of creative works found throughout the grounds.

Barbara Bond, 74, who resides in the Laguna neighborhood known as the Village, is bringing an old artform into modern times. The mixed-media artist is using glass and metal to put her own spin on stained-glass windows.

“I devised a way to hang them on the wall, rather than just display them in a window,” Bond said of her stained-glass projects, which are framed in steel. “If you have an overhead light on, it reflects the piece itself onto the wall with all the colors.”

Formerly the dean of the physical education and athletics department at Orange Coast College, Bond recently threw herself fully into her passion project. In 35 years at the college, she coached badminton, basketball, field hockey, soccer and softball, and she also served as athletic director.

She was juried into the Festival of Arts fine art show in 2017 and 2018, which served as validation of her talents in what had been a hobby for 45 years.

“When I retired, instead of doing it just as a hobby, I wanted to be juried, so I juried into the Festival of Arts, which was really a bonus,” Bond said. “I loved it. Most of the people would come through my house, and my friends would say, ‘Oh, I like it,’ but I wanted a jury to tell me that.”

After years of coming to the Sawdust, Steve Lerum said he felt he had finally compiled enough photography to showcase on site. His initial experience as an exhibitor has surprised him, as customers have keyed in on unexpected images.

“It’s really funny because the stuff that I thought would be more popular is actually the least popular,” Lerum said. “[I thought] some of the flowers would be a big hit this year. It’s actually been the series from Venice, Italy, with these clothes lines hanging from these buildings [that] has been the main one.”

Lerum, 43, also brought a series that he shot about a decade ago, showing oil rigs out in the ocean near Long Beach as seen from South Laguna after a storm.

The beginnings of Lerum’s time in Laguna had him working at Victoria Skimboards, producing photography and video for the local business. The Vic skimboarding competition will be Aug. 17 and 18, and Lerum has a fun wrinkle planned to recognize his roots.

“I’m actually going to switch this booth into a bunch of skim photos, and I’m going to do a little Vic promotion on my booth,” Lerum added. “That’s what I used to do … all skim photography.”

On the more practical side, Claire Hynes was producing clothing at her station. The items included swimwear, hats and more.

Hynes, 24, grew up in Laguna Beach, gravitating to the arts sphere in high school and developing personal connections within the creative community. Her debut at the Sawdust came during the Winter Fantasy show last year.

“Sawdust definitely has a certain pull where when you grow up here, in the summers, you definitely feel a calling towards just one day having a booth,” Hynes said. “It was always a dream with all of my friends. We did the winter show, my best friend and I, and it was so much fun. … It was definitely a fulfillment of a dream we had forever.”

Now in its 58th season, the Sawdust Art Festival has approximately 180 exhibiting artists this summer. Guests have the opportunity to shop for art, participate in art classes, and take in the music being played at three performance stages.

The Sawdust, located at 935 Laguna Canyon Road, runs through Sept. 1. The festival opens its doors daily at 11 a.m. It closes at 8 p.m. from Sunday through Thursday, and the grounds are open until 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.