Studio Protector Blog

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Friday, July 01, 2011 

by Cornelia Carey

Carey points to water line on Laguna Beach studio

It’s no surprise that artists figure deeply in Laguna Beach’s past and present. The deep canyons of the San Joaquin Hills and the white sand beaches of the Pacific Ocean are perfect backdrops for inspiration and for working in outdoor studios a good portion of the year. “I can’t imagine living anywhere else,” noted longtime resident and bronze sculptor, Louis Longi, who lives along the canyon road. But like much of southern California, this area has seen its share of wildfires, floods and mudslides over the years. And so why do artists live here? The answer is summed up perfectly in the early 1900’s by Hildegarde Hawthorne, a granddaughter of the novelist Nathaniel Hawthorne, who described Laguna Beach "as a child of that deathless search, particularly by persons who devote their lives to painting or writing, or for some place where beauty and cheapness and a trifle of remoteness hobnob together in a delightful companionship."

And it’s the “beauty and cheapness” that has brought many artists to live along a stretch of Laguna Canyon Road two miles northeast of the ocean and the very trendy seaside community of Laguna Beach. When a powerful storm dumped up to 10” of water and released cascades of mud from the canyons  last  December, this small artists’ enclave was especially affected. Recovery and clean up efforts were initially focused  more on the coastal community, getting stores and restaurants back open for business. The artists whose homes and studios line the canyon road did what artists do, they cleaned up and did the repairs largely by themselves.

Schwartzman & Schear talk with glass artist Gavin Heath

A couple of weeks ago, I traveled to Laguna Beach with Susan Schear of Artisin and Amy Schwartzman, a consultant to the National Coalition for Arts Preparedness and Emergency Response to hear firsthand what had happened to some of the artists who had been affected by the storm. From my office in Montpelier, Vermont, I knew that it had been bad but there’s nothing like visiting a community that’s been hard hit to get the complete story and even six months after.

Sian Poeschl the director and sole employee of the City of Laguna Beach Cultural Arts office organized and joined us for visits to seven artists’ studios, five of whom received emergency relief assistance from CERF+. Here’s some of what we learned:

• Flood insurance did not include mud removal and many artists reported as much a three feet of water and 18 inches of mud in their homes and studios

• Flood insurance did not cover mold removal

• Six months after the disaster none of the artists were fully or, in some cases, partially back to work  as they’re still cleaning up, repairing and replacing equipment, and rebuilding

• As this event was not a federally declared disaster, FEMA assistance was not available. The only financial assistance (aside from families and friends) the artists reported were from the arts community through two benevolence funds created by the Sawdust Art Festival and the Festival of the Arts, and through organizations like CERF+

• Every artist community needs someone like the indefatigable Sian Poeschl who took it upon herself to connect personally with each artist who suffered losses and who helped these artists connect with assistance through national organizations like CERF+

• The artists reported that every bit of assistance helped from the coupon for a dinner in town to the checking in phone calls 

As Craig Nutt and I experienced after Katrina, the artists in Laguna Beach asked us to make sure and tell the outside world what we saw and I hope that this blog entry does just that.

If you want to send an artist in Laguna Beach who is still struggling to get back on her/his feet a coupon for a lunch or dinner, I bet that Sian Poeschl could help arrange that. You can connect with her at: spoeschl@lagunabeachcity.net. Tell her Cornelia sent you.

 Cornelia is Executive Director of CERF+

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