EDITORIAL:Art to enjoy, inside and out

What could be better than traveling around scenic Laguna Beach looking at art?

If you missed last year’s Public Art Tour Day, we highly recommend that you take advantage of this free tour on April 22.

The city has a marvelous and growing collection of public art, and while much of it is quite visible, there are hidden gems that really should be seen and appreciated.

This year, the Laguna Art Museum is involved, and docents from the museum will be leading the way. There is also a tour of the museum’s current exhibition for an extra treat.

It is said that public art has a special, timeless quality because it takes on the patina of its surroundings and becomes part of the landscape. The works also tend to become part of the urban myth.

One of the city’s public sculptures, “Deer Warrior,” was the scene of a spontaneous outpouring after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Neighbors of the piece — located in an off-the-beaten-track park on Cliff Drive — placed mementos and messages there to express their grief and to seek solace at the loss of life and horrific aftermath of that day.

This is just one of the wonderful public artworks on the tour, which, again, is free.

Another great way to spend the day is by enjoying Saturday’s Sawdust Studio Tour, which takes participants on a merry jaunt throughout Laguna and into the studios of top local artists for an inside look at the business and craft of the artist’s life.

This becomes a virtual rolling house party, as art-lovers ramble through the homes of some of the city’s most well-known artists, enjoying good cheer and offerings along the way.

Again, you can’t beat the scenery as you roll along, and it’s a lot of fun to see how other people — particularly artists — really live.

And it’s all for a good cause: supporting the Sawdust Art Festival.

This is, indeed, a city of art, from the outside in to the inside out.