Luck of the draw

Suzie Harrison

“To be or not to be” -- that is the question well over 200 Laguna

Beach artists faced Tuesday, vying for a coveted exhibit booth at the

39th annual Sawdust Art Festival summer show.

Known to locals as “booth-pick day,” it’s a matter of simple

mathematics and luck of the draw that determines an artist’s fate.

Since the mid 1960s the Sawdust has used an annual lottery, which

determines priority to pick a booth location.

“Lottery day is in February,” said Rebecca Meekma, community and

media relations manager. “All the artists’ names are put into a

hopper. The order the names are pulled [determines] the order in

which they get to choose their booth space.”

For every five years that an artist has exhibited in the show, his

or her name gets put into the hopper an extra time, making the odds

better that they will get a good number, and thus, a good location.

With a record 240 applicants and only 185 booth spaces, it’s no

wonder many artists ride an emotional rollercoaster during the hours

they wait to see if they’ll get a booth.

At the 9 a.m. check-in time, those with the lowest numbers were

casually waiting and chatting. Conversations were light and breezy,

no need for these artists to stress; they get to pick the prime real

estate.

“This is the senior class,” glass blower Loren Chapman said. “I’ve

done it 32 years and I have number 36. Anyone who has been here a

long time has a good number.”

Good numbers also go to lucky people whose names happen to be

drawn. Just because an artist has been in the show for years doesn’t

guarantee they’ll get in the following year. Each summer the artists

have to go through the process, which can be very stressful. Some

artists live all year off the income of their sales at the Sawdust’s

eight-week run.

Printmaker Julita Jones has been in the Sawdust since 1982. With

number 68 or 69, she wasn’t worrying too much.

“I’m not stressed until I walk on the grounds and get the

vibrations,” Jones said.

One year she had a high number and wouldn’t have gotten a booth

space had she not been able to share a space with her daughter, which

is another way an artist can be in the show despite a high number.

“The system is crazy, but it works,” Jones said. “This is the

Sawdust Art Festival and they do things their way.”

Grounds manager Kurt Blanton does the layout every year. The three

acres of prime real estate are marked off into tiny parcels with

white lines dictating the boundaries.

“They’re roughly 9-by-9 feet and the maximum height limit is 16

feet,” Blanton said. “There’s also space for mini-booths, which are

about 5-by-6 feet.”

A map showing the layout of the grounds with each booth space

numbered according to its location serves as booth-pick day

headquarters. Board members announce over the loudspeaker whose turn

it is to stake a claim to the summer property.

Because the process is time-sensitive, many artists scope out

their preferred sites well in advance. However, the location they

might have coveted could be snatched up by an artist with a lower

number.

Once the artist decides, his or her name is put on the map in the

desired location. A stake is put in the ground in the chosen booth

area indicating the spot is taken.

As the number of claims begin to fill the three-acre area, the

stress level grows. After lunch, at 1:05 p.m., the booth pickers were

up to number 106.

Board members Dennis Junka and Bud Weir manned the “HQ” while

board member Sian Poeschl raced around the grounds marking the chosen

areas.

Acrylic painter Don Brown was number 129. This will be his second

year in the show. He carefully surveyed and studied each location.

“I think I’m picking this space, I walked by and it spoke to me,”

Brown said. “Because I’m a painter I look for a space where I can

have four walls that are visible.”

He said it’s hard to make a final choice.

“You always second-guess your decision,” Brown said. “But there’s

really no bad booth locations.”

Meekma said an oversized map of the grounds is posted a week prior

to booth-pick day so artists can start looking at the layout.

“Some artists are superstitious, they’ve had good luck in a

certain location,” Meekma. “They all have their own process.”

Jewelry maker Catherine Reade said it’s her sixth year at the

show; although she has a high number, 175, she’s not stressed.

“The universe is going to give me what I need; I’m just ready,”

Reade said.

At 2:25 p.m., as number 149 was picked, emotions and stress could

be felt in the air, as the pickings got slimmer. An hour later,

number 179 was called. Expressions on artist’s faces and body

language told their story.

Twenty minutes later they were down to the last handful of booths.

All the remaining artists holding their high lottery numbers were

asked to convene at the final map.

First-year applicant Suzette Rosenthal, with number 194, lucked

out.

“It’s my first year in the show; I’m so lucky I got a booth. I was

so scared and nervous,” Rosenthal said.

At 4:08 p.m., Jim Stanaland, lucky-number holder 198, got the last

spot.

“It’s my second year in the show,” Stanaland said. “I was so

stressed out; I didn’t think I was going to get a booth.”