What started a decade ago as a venue for artists to showcase their wares in Laguna Woods Village retirement community has become a homegrown garden of local talent.
If the annual show Saturday, June 7, had a theme, it might have been “found, formed and fashioned.” More than 40 Village artisans offered their handmade work for sale at Clubhouse 2 while attendees shopped, then schmoozed and noshed on the patio to the music of Midnight Martini.
Linda Gibboney, left, and Tracey James, center, turn raw natural materials into birdhouses, seen here at the Laguna Woods Village Art Affair in Clubhouse 2 on Saturday, June 7, 2025. (Photo by Mark Rabinowitch, Contributing Photographer) Susan Stocker, left, is a “senior citizen dumpster diver,” searching for materials for her art. Here, she displays her works at the Laguna Woods Village Art Affair in Clubhouse 2 on Saturday, June 7, 2025. (Photo by Mark Rabinowitch, Contributing Photographer) Bonnie Wolf repurposes vintage product cans and tins into whimsical figures. She displays her wares at the Laguna Woods Village Art Affair in Clubhouse 2 on Saturday, June 7, 2025. (Photo by Mark Rabinowitch, Contributing Photographer) Annie Hartfeld, left, shows off her handmade jewelry at the Laguna Woods Village Art Affair in Clubhouse 2 on Saturday, June 7, 2025. (Photo by Mark Rabinowitch, Contributing Photographer) Georgie Hackford, left, is an artist and a poet. She combines art and words in her pieces, seen here at the Laguna Woods Village Art Affair in Clubhouse 2 on Saturday, June 7, 2025. (Photo by Mark Rabinowitch, Contributing Photographer) Carolyn Moore paints watercolors of Indigenous people she meets on her travels. Here, she shows her works at the Laguna Woods Village Art Affair in Clubhouse 2 on Saturday, June 7, 2025. (Photo by Mark Rabinowitch, Contributing Photographer) Cheryl Dillard, left, creates jewelry out of fused glass. Her pieces are seen at the Laguna Woods Village Art Affair in Clubhouse 2 on Saturday, June 7, 2025. (Photo by Mark Rabinowitch, Contributing Photographer) Diana Sherrod displays her fused glass lanterns at the Laguna Woods Village Art Affair in Clubhouse 2 on Saturday, June 7, 2025. (Photo by Mark Rabinowitch, Contributing Photographer) Show Caption1 of 8Linda Gibboney, left, and Tracey James, center, turn raw natural materials into birdhouses, seen here at the Laguna Woods Village Art Affair in Clubhouse 2 on Saturday, June 7, 2025. (Photo by Mark Rabinowitch, Contributing Photographer) ExpandSeveral presenters repurposed found objects into works of art. Participating in her first Village show, Susan Stocker has turned her passion for “old stuff” into newly minted wooden stand-alone pieces dubbed “Alley Art.”
She fashions the backings and stands from old wooden pallets found in alleys along with old wire, screens, rusty nails and metal.
“I find beauty in the aging metals and woods,” said Stocker, who at one time was a fused glass artist. Mounted on the pieces of old wood are small glass vases that can hold artificial or real flowers. The decorations are recycled bits of metal and other found objects.
Garbage nights in the Village offer Stocker great opportunities for foraging junk from residents’ throw-aways. She admits to being a “senior citizen dumpster diver,” searching for materials on the ground rather than climbing into dumpsters.
“Where others see junk, I see art,” Stocker said.
A pair of artists who also create formidable forms from found objects are Linda Gibboney and Tracey James with their breathtaking birdhouses.
During the pandemic, they walked through the Village picking up sticks, bark and pine cones. The idea of turning the raw natural materials into birdhouses soon took flight.
“We each have slightly different styles,” said Gibboney, although all their bird-sized domiciles feature natural wood grain and adornments. Many are full-sized, but several are dubbed “bookshelf birdhouses,” meant to be displayed indoors in smaller spaces.
Many of the larger houses, which can require about 40 hours of workmanship, are built to specification for birds to inhabit as well as being pieces of art.
“Each has a trap door underneath for cleaning them out each season, and on the inside wall is a ladder of sticks that helps the baby birds climb up to the opening,” James said.
The pair made a study of fowl necessities when designing the residences for their artistic endeavor, which they call “Sticks & Cones.”
Turning trash of a different sort into treasure is Bonnie Wolf, who repurposes vintage product cans and tins into whimsical figures that feature doll or teddy bear parts. She titles her work “Kick the Can.”
Wolf has fun combining objects based on a theme or a color or just a fanciful idea in her head, she said. Animal heads, doll heads, Cream of Wheat boxes and Cadbury tins come into play when her imagination gets going.
“When I find something I like, I look for pieces that might go with it,” Wolf said.
“I do lie awake thinking about these things and how they might be connected,” she added with a laugh.
Combining words in an artful or whimsical way are the stock in trade of Georgie Hackford, who goes by the artist name Gigi.
“I like to laugh and get others to do the same,” said Hackford, who is also a poet and slips some bits of verse into the pockets of her handmade dolls.
A series of her paintings features a group of “saints,” such as “St. Ew, patron saint for cooks,” and “St. Ir, patron saint for bakers.”
Then there’s the painting of a bunny on a brush titled “Hare Brush” and the woman with bare arms demonstrating the “Right to Bear Arms.”
“Gigi’s unique gift is to put words together,” said bystander Rick Takagaki.
He said her works resemble New Yorker cartoons and sometimes it takes people a while to “get it” when they look at her pieces. They have to take the time to let the words sink in, he said.
Glass art was well represented at the show. Relatively new to the craft is Cheryl Dillard, who started fusing glass just a year ago after years of doing ceramic work
“I love the look and feel of fused glass and the fact that each piece looks different when it comes out of the kiln,” she said from behind her table filled with colorful necklaces, bracelets and rings. “You never know what a piece will look like.”
Scraps from previous stained glass work inspired Diana Sherrod to design and decorate the sides of table lanterns with fused glass panels.
With twinkling lights placed inside, the lanterns require four different sides of glass, a fact that makes for more work but more chances to be creative, she said.
Annie Hartfeld did an about-face after working as a professional chef for years. She turned her skills at creating colors and textures to enamel work, which she often does in the Clubhouse 4 jewelry studio.
As a supervisor there, she indulges her passion with other artists, who have become like family, she said.
Woodworker Steve Neuburger also gave a shout-out to Clubhouse 4, where he creates his serving boards, tables and boxes in the woodshop.
“Along with skills, other woodworkers have taught me patience,” he said with a laugh.
Often there are seven to 10 things going on at one time with his projects and he has to wait for each part of the process to be done before starting another, he said.
Painters of every subject and style made their presence known at the art show.
Eye-catching in terms of color and subject matter was the work of Carolyn Moore, an inveterate traveler.
“I love to take photos of Indigenous people to use later when I paint my watercolors,” she said.
Sometimes she will sketch on site, but travelers in her tour groups usually like to stay on the move, she said. Her paintings resemble photographs, featuring the colorful denizens of the Inca and Maya worlds of Peru and Central America as well as Australia and other far-flung locales.
Perusing the show’s cornucopia of booths were Steve O’Neil and Olivia Batchelder.
The Village Art Affair was one of the first events they attended when they moved to the Village three years ago and they’ve made a point of coming back every year, O’Neil said.
“The range of items, from beautiful paintings by professional artists to craft items by residents taking classes, are all wonderful to see,” he said.
Batchelder, an artist herself, agreed.
“This has been an afternoon delight with one-of-a-kind discoveries,” she said.
Glass artist Monica Berg also perused the booths as a shopper for this show, which she termed “fabulous.”
“There is so much diversity and talent in the Village, and there are so many unique things to see,” she said. “ I just love days like this!”
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