This rebellious arts festival in Orange County is embracing its inner Santa Claus

The Sawdust Art Festival started successful the mid-1960s arsenic a absorption to — oregon a “rebellion,” arsenic 1 of the participating artists enactment it — Laguna Beach’s much uppity Festival of the Arts, location to the long-running living-pictures amusement known arsenic the Pageant of the Masters. Today, it’s a professionally-run affair, a spot to bent and portion and dine arsenic overmuch arsenic it is to research handmade art.

And successful the winter, its hippie borderline is arguably softened a small more. For that’s erstwhile Santa Claus moves successful for 5 weekends passim November and December.

Children research the gingerbread location astatine Sawdust Winter Fantasy.

Millie Johnson, 5, and Gunner Johnson, 9, fifth-generation Laguna Beach residents, beryllium connected Santa’s lap.

But nary matter, if Sawdust is nary longer a feisty small upstart it erstwhile was, it’s inactive a location for anything-goes, near of halfway art. More enticing: To measurement into Sawdust is to rotation into a taxable park-like satellite of winding paths covered successful wood chips, 1 wherever artists booths are fashioned arsenic mini cottages and each crook is afloat of surprises — psychedelic ceramic mushrooms nest astir 1 bend, a waterfall and a performance signifier astir another.

Sawdust is an artist-filled wonderland, and ne'er is that much evident than during its Winter Fantasy event, which volition wrapper Dec. 21. Christmas lights glisten, a communal histrion beckons to beryllium decorated and a marionette handler wanders the grounds. Artist booths spot an accent connected smaller, gift-ready items — deliberation ornaments, colorful candy dishes, mini plates designed to nest a vino vessel — but Sawdust’s Winter Fantasy stops conscionable abbreviated of going afloat vacation party, arsenic this is inactive an art-driven lawsuit wherever 1 tin articulation a pop-up ceramic people oregon assemblage astir a array and link with strangers for a coating session.

“Sawdust is an experience,” says the festival’s President Jay Grant, noting that adjacent contiguous it conjures a antithetic vibe than the factual grounds of the adjacent Festival of the Arts. “You locomotion done the beforehand gross and you’ve got sawdust-strewn paths. You’ve got a rustic village. You’ve got waterfalls. You’ve got 3 stages, and you’ve got demonstrations going on. There’s an excitement to watching artists make their art.”

And if 1 is excessively shy to bring retired their interior artist, they tin bent with a spiced vino successful the eating alcove.

Sawdust’s wintertime variation launched successful 1991, though the squad had been talking astir it since the ’70s, says Grant, who has been progressive with the festival for 52 years, archetypal arsenic a income manager but occasionally arsenic a participating creator selling ceramics and upwind chimes. As for wherefore a vacation lawsuit took astir 2 decades to get disconnected the ground, Grant cops to being a “canyon hippie” and says, “We took it 1 twelvemonth astatine a time.” It’s shifted implicit the years — determination were stilt walkers for a bit, and Sawdust’s humanities tract notes determination was erstwhile a mascot successful “Jelf,” portion jester, portion elf.

Petey the canine peeks retired arsenic his owners, Erick and Natasha Blaha, not pictured, bargain artwork from creator Tim Hahne.

Jelf didn’t instrumentality astir long, and erstwhile asked wherefore there’s nary ceremonial mascot today, Grant laughs. “We person capable characters conscionable successful the artists themselves here,” helium says. “We don’t request to prosecute immoderate characters. They’re immoderate of the astir eclectic, absorbing ex-hippies.”

Muffin Spencer-Devlin whitethorn not beryllium an ex-hippie, but she is simply a erstwhile pro golfer, erstwhile an outspoken personage persona connected the tour. Today, she’s a Laguna Beach nonmigratory and a full-time solid artist, her enactment experimenting with dashes of colour trapped passim her creations. I met Spencer-Devlin portion eyeing her tiny solid angels with multicolored hearts.

Glasswork started arsenic a passionateness project, but past became a 2nd vocation for Spencer-Devlin. “I privation it was a hobby,” she says with a laugh. “I person to marque a surviving somehow. I didn’t prevention each that wealth that I made, but I’ve been truly bully astatine spending it.”

She’s been attending Sawdust since the mid-2000s, and worked arsenic an apprentice solid creator earlier yet starting to merchantability her ain enactment astir 2009. The lawsuit has been a refuge, she says.

“I felt similar I had recovered my peeps,” she says, “the radical that I resonated with. Anytime I had a accidental successful those days, I was talking solid with somebody, and determination were each kinds of radical to bash it with here, truthful it was an acquisition for me.”

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1. Shamus Skoch, a recovered entity artist, displays his work. 2. Gabe Sullivan is simply a good creation lensman and director. 3. Michelle Burt, an expressive impressionist creator based successful Laguna Beach, stands successful her booth. 4. Artist Lupe Blanton makes ceramic plot art.

Folkloric and whimsical ceramic creator Lilia Venier has been exhibiting astatine Sawdust’s wintertime fest for 22 years. Sawdust’s main summertime lawsuit allows lone Laguna Beach residents to person a booth, but successful the winter, the festival is unfastened to those from different cities. Venier, based successful La Crescenta, has recovered it welcoming, truthful overmuch truthful that Sawdust Winter Fantasy is the astir palmy amusement the full-time creator presents at.

“The radical who spell determination are precise loyal,” says Venier, who besides teaches astatine the Creative Arts Group successful Sierra Madre. “Every year, radical travel to spot maine and say, ‘What bash you person this time?’ I person customers successful Laguna that person 40 to 50 pieces of mine. It’s precise important that festival. It’s radical who get what I do.”

Sawdust is connected the verge of turning 60, which it volition bash erstwhile it returns to Laguna Beach adjacent summer. It continues to evolve.

“Sawdust was a benignant of rebellion from the Pageant, which was first. That’s precise high-end and classy,” says Venier, erstwhile asked however the festival has changed successful her 2 decades of coming. “The Sawdust is much crafty. When I started, determination were a batch of artists who were hippies. They were having fun, selling surfing clothing. You know, hippies connected the beach. There’s not galore anymore — a few.”

David Zhang holds his granddaughter Zoey Huang, 5, portion viewing Santa.

A interest among galore artists was the outgo of surviving successful Laguna Beach, which has Grant wondering however to get younger artists progressive erstwhile they can’t spend to unrecorded wrong metropolis limits. As Sawdust heads into its sixth decade, Grant acknowledged they whitethorn request to unbend immoderate rules for the summertime exhibition, specified arsenic allowing non-Laguna residents to present.

“There’s each kinds of ideas,” helium says of trying to enlistee younger artists.

But nary large changes are yet connected the docket for adjacent season. Sawdust is still, aft each these decades, taking it 1 twelvemonth astatine a time.