Sawdust adds surfboards to eclectic collection
Jason Rate doesn’t claim to be much of a surfer, but he does have a passion for handcrafting abstract designs onto surfboards.
The Laguna Beach resident, who founded surfboard painting company Laguna Beach Surfboards Co. out of his garage, uses new and recycled surfboards as his canvas and reshapes them into art that can be displayed on walls or used as coffee tables or bar tops.
Such a craft earned him a booth at the Laguna Beach Sawdust Art & Craft Festival, Rate’s debut at the 49th annual summer version of the Sawdust Art Festival.
Rate said he applied, showed his work and was entered into a lottery that would determine the 200 local crafts people for the summertime event.
“It’s really exciting for me and I think they look cool,” Rate said as he stood before two of his designs decorating his home.
The hobby started last year by accident.
Rate had an interest in epoxy flooring and had attended professional classes in Tennessee, Los Angeles and Las Vegas. He was in his garage mixing epoxy when he thought of applying the product to a canvas. He created a painting, a blend of red, white and brown colors, and thought of applying the same technique to a surfboard.
“I started getting good at it and thought it could turn into something,” Rate said.
He begins his process by locating new and recycled surfboards online. Once in his garage, an old or dinged board will be placed atop a sawhorse to be worked on. He’ll widen the surface and flatten the center so it can serve as a smooth top to prevent objects from sliding off.
Rate said he paints the board’s tips first with an epoxy finish and has them air dry on the sawhorse’s rotisserie. He’ll then pour onto the board a colored resin, which can be custom made to match a person’s home or business decor. If a customer orders the board as a coffee table, Rate will include a metal base, welded in Montana by a professional machinist and welder.
He’ll finish the board with the imprint of the Laguna Beach Surfboards Co. logo.
Rate, who said he hadn’t yet priced the boards, plans to showcase at least four of them in his booth and explain to potential buyers the options he can create.
For artist Robert Jones, this festival marks his 25th year of demonstrating and displaying his ceramic works of art.
Jones, who began operating a booth at age 23, first sold ash trays and chip and dip serving platters, but over the years, he changed up his merchandise.
“Every year I am evolving my art, making an effort to redesign and perfect my technique,” said Jones, who estimated that he has about 250 pieces for sale. “I do everything by myself at home and I put my heart into each piece.”
Jones said his interest in ceramics began when he was a student at Laguna Beach High School. Art teacher Bill Darnall served as his mentor, and after Jones graduated, he studied Raku ware, a Japanese pottery, at UC Santa Barbara. Darnall will also sell ceramics at the festival.
Raku, Jones said, is a large part of his exhibit. He also will feature horse hair pottery, a ceramic technique that originated with the Yellow Corn clan of the Acoma Pueblo in New Mexico. Jones said he can custom-make a horse hair pottery piece using hair from a person’s horse or a friend’s horse and engrave the horse’s name on the bottom of the piece.
He said he looks forward to introducing his architectural Raku series and pieces that are fired with seaweed and finished with driftwood.
His work, ranging in price from $10 to a little under $1,000, also includes decorative pieces, such as vases and succulent planters, and functional items like garlic shredders and coffee mugs. Jones said he will explain different techniques to anyone who may swing by his booth near the festival’s food court.
Every year, Jones said, he goes through 2 tons of clay to make about 1,500 items. He sells his work on his website and at local craft festivals, and he has a few pieces on display at the Bowers Museum in Santa Ana.
Showcasing his artwork at his hometown’s art festival, he said, has been a privilege.
“I’m proud to be a part of Sawdust,” Jones said. “It’s a very unique artist festival with a lot of creative people.”
If You Go
What: Sawdust Art & Craft Festival
When: 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily, Friday through Aug. 30; 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on 4th of July
Where: Sawdust Art Festival, 935 Laguna Canyon Road, Laguna Beach
Cost: $4 to $24; free admission for children 5 and younger
Information: (949) 494-3030 or visit sawdustartfestival.org
