OF I NTEREST TRA N S F O R M I N G FOU ND ART INTO FINE ART By Sara Hall
For local artist Jim Olarte, searching the beach for items washed ashore and repurposing his finds into sculptures is a fine art. Jim, a macramé craftsman, artist and beachcomber based out of Laguna Beach, keeps his art materials close to their natural state. The fiberglass washed ashore is utilized as-is in sculptures. He doesn’t cut down rope for his large-scale macramé. He’s visited local beaches his entire life and excavated his finds as a professional found-art beachcomber for more than a decade. It can be challenging to spot a sliver of fiberglass hidden amongst the rocks.
fiberglass. They are shaped and transformed by the ocean water or exposure to the sun, each piece distinctive and unique with textures and interesting colors. Also, it’s a finite resource, he explains. Other unusual artificial, found items that can make for compelling art: lead weights used for fishing. Jim has an entire crate full of them that he’s found washed ashore.
“It’s almost like archeology,” he says. “Your eye has to be trained in that aspect, looking for textures and shapes. I’m always looking for unnatural shapes in the natural world.”
Jim collects most of his items from local shores, doing it both for the work and because he loves the beach. His work revolves around the ocean, watching the tides and the rhythm of the sea. It creates a feeling of timelessness, he says.
It’s an epic discovery to unearth some human-made synthetic materials in a natural environment where they don’t belong. He gets most excited over finding
“I have not been to the beach … I get antsy,” Jim says of his daily ritual of visiting the beach to touch the water. “I need to connect in that way.”
Photos courtesy of Sarah Hall and Beach Portal by Cooper Root
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