I would practically have to take it...

I would practically have to take it as far as cloning myself to make

it to all the art and entertainment happenings in Laguna this

weekend.

In spite of the cold, the whirlwind started at last night’s public

art dedication of Andrew Myers’ “The Shopper,” a reception at Diane

DeBilzan Gallery, Art Walk and the Art Walk post event at Laguna

College of Art and Design. Today I can get all the fun I need in one

place at one of my favorite events of the year, Hospitality Night,

which will begin at 5 p.m.

Here’s where the madness marathon begins. Saturday and Sunday the

options are endless with Laguna Canyon Artists’ Holiday Open Studio

event from 10 to 6 p.m. and the Sawdust Winter Fantasy from 10 to 6

p.m. No Square Theatre’s performance of “Beehive” is at the Forum

Theater at 8 p.m. Saturday and 2 and 7 p.m. Sunday. Marion Meyer

Contemporary Art is exhibiting “One Time around the Sun,” recent

works by Paula Schoen with an artist reception from 6 to 9 p.m.

Saturday and a holiday celebration from 4 to 6 p.m. Sunday.

On Saturday, Lagunatunes Community Chorus holiday concert will be

at 7:30 p.m. at the Artists’ Theatre.

Gallimaufry’s Youth Theatre fundraiser will be at 5 to 7 p.m.

Sunday at a private residence; “First Sundays” concert and gallery

exhibit from 2 to 4:30 p.m. at Laguna College of Art and Design and

Laguna Art Museum at 1 p.m. will feature a lecture “The Spatial

Orchestration of Form:uLA Dimension Laboratory,” by “OsCene”

architect exhibitors Bryan Cantley and Kevin O’Donnell. The

Greenwood/ Chebithes Gallery will have a holiday open house two year

anniversary celebration, featuring new works by Glenn Ness and Sally

Storch from 4 to 6 p.m. Sunday.

Then there’s only one day’s rest until 8 p.m. Tuesday with Woody’s

seventh annual wreath auction to benefit Shanti OC. All the proceeds

from the auction help support services for those living with

HIV/AIDS. Woody’s at the Beach is at 1305 S. Coast Highway. For

information, call (949) 376-8809.

FAREWELL FITZ MAURICE

Fitz Maurice, who has become a friend and confidant, is moving to

New Mexico after the Laguna Canyon Artists Holiday Open Studio show

this weekend. I will truly miss her.

“I’ve been here 17 years and don’t feel I’m leaving Laguna Beach,

my son, Dylan Fitz Maurice Metzler, was raised here and loves

Laguna,” Maurice said. “Dylan works for the Laguna Beach Police

Department every summer. I feel like I’m passing the baton and it’s

his town and I’ll come visit him now.”

Maurice said she would always come back to Laguna because she has

hundreds of friends here. She promises to have future shows in

Laguna.

“It’s not about leaving Laguna Beach it’s about going toward my

inspiration, which is the enchanted land of New Mexico,” Maurice

said.

I met her several years ago while writing one of my first stories

for the Coastline. I was mesmerized during our interview. While we

were talking, she was working on the piece “Rescued” for the Florence

Biennale in Italy. Maurice was juried to represent the U.S. in the

international exhibition, which she explained is the Olympic arena

for artists.

In 2002, Maurice won the Jackson Pollock-Lee Krasner Foundation

Award, New York, where thousands of artists from 62 countries

submitted their art to compete.

“Winning the Jackson Pollock Award is a feather in my cap and the

New York pat on my back and seal of approval,” Maurice said. “I

believe I won it after years of painting and developed a unique way

to put down the paint.”

More recently Maurice was chosen to represent the U.S. in the

Paris International Juried Exhibition at the Grande Arche National

Monument.

Another highlight is that her work is a permanent part of the

German Parliament’s private collection.

“They exhibited my work as the artistic rendition of the fall of

the Berlin Wall and the reunification of Germany as a country,”

Maurice said.

* SUZIE HARRISON is a reporter for the Laguna Beach Coastline

Pilot. She may be reached at (949) 494-4321 or

[email protected].