Collaboration Births a Desert Warrior

Artist collaborators and their sculpture, “Art.” Laguna Beach resident Michael O’Neill purchased “Art,” a figurative statue created by collaborating Festival of Arts’ exhibitors this summer, at a silent auction.

O’Neill, who followed the progression of the piece’s development over the eight-week period of its creation, said that it will symbolically serve as a protector-warrior for his Palm Desert home, where it was recently installed.

The eight-foot tall sculpture weighs more than 700 pounds and was a byproduct of “Art Live! Work in Progress,” a new event on the festival grounds to allow patrons to follow an artwork from concept to completion.

Contributors included Monica Dunham, Carol Tripp Martens, Gary Monji, Walter Reiss, Greg Riley, Scott Schoenherr, Fred Stodder, Derek Voien, Scott Young, Patricia Turnier, Linda Saville, Less Hall, Gavin Heath and Michael Ezzel. “Art” has a concrete base, was constructed primarily with paper clay and found objects, and was made structurally sound with rebar and metal fittings.