Sculpture

With his bulbous seashell nose and a few spiky tufts of seaweed hair, Bill the octopus seemed to want to crawl back into the ocean as soon as two Newport Elementary School students and their art teacher finished etching his tentacles out of sand Friday afternoon. “I think the tide is working against us,” said art instructor Jeni Erickson, who teaches sculpture with the Newport Elementary School’s After Class Enrichment program, as one wave after another washed over Bill.

The sculpture is a towering, five-sided piece made of massive steel plates. Internationally acclaimed sculptor Richard Serra, a California native, joined benefactors Henry and Elizabeth Segerstrom and a host of local dignitaries, donors and docents for a first look at his work, which is being installed as the centerpiece at the Orange County Performing Arts Center. The sculpture is called "The Connector" because it links the elements of the center. The piece is 60 feet high, with a diameter of 20 feet at the bottom and 4 feet at the top. The base is open, allowing visitors to walk through it. Serra commented, "I am a master of creating useless space."

The Newport Beach City Council recently approved $30,000 for artist Hank Kaminsky to continue work on a bronze sculpture for McFadden Square at the base of Newport Pier. Kaminsky’s design consists of a 5-foot tall bronze sphere covered in images of Newport Beach and surrounded by granite benches and a walking path. The council approved a $412,000 contract in November for the project. Kaminsky has worked in bronze for more than 30 years and is best known for his World Peace Prayer Fountain sculpture in Fayetteville, Ark. The McFadden Square Legacy Project was conceived in 2006 to commemorate the city’s centennial anniversary.

The artist and his ongoing creation began their relationship several years ago. Alrik Yuill was sitting in his old studio in Laguna Beach, sketching the earliest outlines of her form while listening to Beethoven's Symphony No. 9. "I wasn't thinking about sculpture or painting, or even what my hand my was doing while I drew it," he recalled in a video describing the project that has consumed him since January, when he finally started the...

Artists from around the world weighed in with ideas for the sculpture that will be the centerpiece of McFadden Square by the Newport Pier. Designs were submitted by 13 artists from places including Poland, Colombia and Eastbluff in Newport Beach. The city of Newport Beach began planning a sculpture, walking path and benches in 2006 as part of the city's centennial celebration. McFadden Square is integral to the city's history as the site where the McFadden brothers operated a wharf in the late 1800s, ultimately leading to the founding of Newport Beach.

Sage Hill School is scheduled to hold a private screening Thursday of "Chances," a documentary film that follows the story of Magdalene, an organization devoted to helping prostitutes get off the streets. Filmmaker Tom Neff will be on hand to discuss the film after the showing. The event begins at 7 p.m. at Sage Hill School, 20402 Newport Coast Drive. Tickets are $10, $5 for students. Call (949) 219-1395 or e-mail hadley926aol.com for more information.

While Orange County Fair officials are still glowing from this year's record attendance, they're already looking ahead to 2008. The theme will be "Say Cheese!" And a few elements that helped make this year's fair a success will likely be back next year, said Orange County Fair Senior Vice President Steve Beazley. Some possibilities for the 2008 fair are a new sand sculpture with moving parts — something the company behind this year's sculpture, Sandscapes, has never done before.

June Casagrande A stunning sculpture of a majestic sea mammal, designed by a famous artist and standing as a permanent tribute to the village's 100th birthday -- that's how planners for the area's centennial envision a dolphin sculpture they want to erect at Inspiration Point. But parks officials first want to make sure that neighbors see it the same way. They also want to make sure that zoning codes and height limits will allow the sculpture. The Parks, Beaches and Recreation Commission next month will revisit whether to allow a roughly 12-foot dolphin sculpture by artist Wyland to be installed at Corona del Mar's Inspiration Point.

Newport Beach is withholding part of the money it owes an artist commissioned to sculpt the city’s centennial monument while the sculptor removes a tribute, emblazoned on the side of the monument, to an assistant who committed suicide in his studio. Arkansas-based sculptor Hank Kaminsky said Wednesday that he will hire an artist from San Diego to remove a sentence from the monument memorializing an employee who took his own life earlier this year. “This sculpture belongs as much to the city as it does to me, and everything that is on it is a statement on the community,” Kaminsky said.

The Newport Beach City Arts Commission will meet Thursday night to discuss where to place a sculpture of President Ronald Reagan. The City Council commissioned the statue in January and some, including City Councilman Keith Curry, suggest that it be placed at the under-construction Civic Center. Others in the community are opposed to erecting it in the Civic Center. The Arts Commission will meet at 5 p.m. in the Central Library Conference Room, 1000 Avocado Avenue. —Mike Reicher

Public art had a night in the spotlight at the Newport Beach City Council meeting Tuesday, with discussion centered on the creation of an arts and culture fund and the selection of a sculpture to adorn the new civic center grounds. "We think it's [the fund] a meaningful and significant contribution to public arts in our city," City Arts Commissioner Robert Smith told the council members, who voted unanimously to set aside 2% of previously unallocated  fees from development agreements for art and cultural facilities.

The artist and his ongoing creation began their relationship several years ago. Alrik Yuill was sitting in his old studio in Laguna Beach, sketching the earliest outlines of her form while listening to Beethoven's Symphony No. 9. "I wasn't thinking about sculpture or painting, or even what my hand my was doing while I drew it," he recalled in a video describing the project that has consumed him since January, when he finally started the...

The young artists gathered around the gallery, waiting to talk about their framed artwork hanging on the wall. "Oohs," "ahhs" and "cool" could be heard as students walked in single file through Paularino Elementary School's Room 6, admiring the work of their peers. "I especially like that picture of the iguana," said first-grade student Ethan Elvanter, 6. "It would kind of be cool to have my picture up there. " The Costa Mesa campus was buzzing Wednesday after lunch with the grand opening of 5R6 art gallery, a section of fifth-grade teacher Lisa Roberts' classroom that's dedicated to her students' work, which includes paintings, drawings and photographs on the wall and sculptural pieces on a table.

Due to the need for costly renovations, the city of Newport Beach will not accept a donated bronze sculpture once displayed at Fashion Island. The Newport Beach Arts Commission unanimously voted Thursday to decline the Irvine Co.'s donation of "Skydivers" because of the estimated $135,000-plus cost of renovating, moving and installing the iconic work. "It really is such a piece of our history and our community that would be lovely to keep," if it weren't for the cost of renovation, said commission Chairwoman Robyn Grant.

NEWPORT BEACH — What Ed Hart does in his garage is no secret to his neighbors. Wooden and fiberglass sculptures of bending and conceptual figures surround the cabin-like house on Redlands Avenue that Hart built 38 years ago. A totem pole-like figure greets visitors near the handcrafted door. Figures of dancers and curved abstracts are speckled among the lemon trees and bushes. During the day, woodwork horses sit in the alley behind Hart's home, where the retired teacher works on his sculptures.

The Newport Beach City Arts Commission will meet Thursday night to discuss where to place a sculpture of President Ronald Reagan. The City Council commissioned the statue in January and some, including City Councilman Keith Curry, suggest that it be placed at the under-construction Civic Center. Others in the community are opposed to erecting it in the Civic Center. The Arts Commission will meet at 5 p.m. in the Central Library Conference Room, 1000 Avocado Avenue. —Mike Reicher

The Newport Beach City Council votes next week on a proposed agreement with the Orange County Museum of Art by which the organization would provide the city with art pieces for an outdoor sculpture park that is part of the planned Civic Center project. The agreement was brokered by Newport Beach Mayor Keith Curry. The $120 million project will be built on 16 acres at 1100 Avocado Ave., and is scheduled to open in 2012. "This agreement creates a unique partnership between the city and a prestigious museum," Mayor Curry said Wednesday.

Leon Staples Lyon Leon Lyon passed away Tuesday, December 15, 2009, at Hoag Hospital after complications from congestive heart failure. Born May 1, 1920, Lee, was a resident of Newport Beach since 1968. He graduated from USC in 1942 and served in the Marine Corps from then, until the end of WWII, with the rank of Captain; he later served in the Reserves as Major. He then became a partner in the family business, A. Lyon and Sons. They were the first importers of Kahlua, and later purchased the brand.

The Costa Mesa Cultural Arts Committee will hold its 12th Annual Artist Showcase today. The Yogaworks studio in Costa Mesa will host the show, which will go from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. ?This studio has been here for 20 years, and we like to see it as a melting pot for Costa Mesa and the surrounding cities,? said Adam Calig, Yogaworks manager. The free event will feature 74 artists of various genres of arts; among others, music, painting and sculpture. ?This is the first time we?

With his bulbous seashell nose and a few spiky tufts of seaweed hair, Bill the octopus seemed to want to crawl back into the ocean as soon as two Newport Elementary School students and their art teacher finished etching his tentacles out of sand Friday afternoon. “I think the tide is working against us,” said art instructor Jeni Erickson, who teaches sculpture with the Newport Elementary School’s After Class Enrichment program, as one wave after another washed over Bill.