Sawdust Art & Craft Festival unveiled the city’s first sculptural bicycle rack on April 16 at a public art dedication attended by Laguna Beach city officials, Sawdust artists, supporters and locals.
Billy Fried, Steve Dicterow, Chris Prelitz, artist Liz Avalon, Jay Grant, and Sean Poeschl in the ‘Bicycle Garden.’
Entitled “Bicycle Garden,” the unique and functional art piece was designed and constructed by emerging Sawdust artist Liz Avalon after being commissioned by the Sawdust board of directors. With funding provided by the Sawdust Art Festival, Avalon worked alongside Chris Prelitz and Billy Fried from the board of directors of Transition Laguna and advocates for bicycle safety in Laguna Beach; and Sian Poeschl, cultural arts leader for the city. Installed in front of the Sawdust grounds, the team intends for the whimsical bike rack, which is made of metal and formed to look like large flowers, to not only serve as a beautiful art piece, but to also make a statement on the importance of making Laguna Beach a pedestrian- and bicycle-friendly city.
“I decided on the garden theme and to title my design ‘Bicycle Garden’ because it expresses connection to the natural world, environmentally conscious lifestyles and the planet-friendly practice of using bicycles for transportation,” says Avalon.
Having grown up in Lake Forest, Calif., Avalon was a frequent Sawdust visitor as a child, and started exhibiting at the Sawdust Art Festival in the summer of 2012. While she mostly works with glass, she constantly looks for ways to expand her medias to provide visually pleasing and engaging pieces. This project coincides with Avalon’s greater mission to not just be a decorative artist, but to make pieces that are focused as much on people’s experiences with them, as how they look.
Sawdust Art & Craft Festival invites the public and media to visit Avalon at the Sawdust Art Festival’s 50th Celebration, open from June 24 to August 28. (www.sawdustartfestival.org)
— By OCinSite Staff
