Of Interest

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. “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.”

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 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.

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. “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.”

Drawing on his own desire to feel the sand and water running between his fingers, Jim’s work is extremely tactile.

“I want people to touch it,” he says. Jim also plays with different mediums in his macramé art. It’s fun to ask himself, “Can I macramé that?” The answer is often yes, or it’s at least worth trying. In his studio, visitors will find much more than the traditional rope or twine. He has woven nearly every imaginable material into intricate designs, including computer cables, electrical cords, surf and boogie board leashes, underwater goggle straps, nylon cord, marine or boating rope, hoses and even seaweed. Old leather wrapped around smooth driftwood or even the rough and eroded edges of a piece of fiberglass can elevate the art to another level. His macramé is technical and beautiful. Complicated yet simple. He takes measurements and considers every inch of rope as they intertwine to form the core and exterior braids. The knots are what tie the whole piece together, figuratively and literally. To replicate a weave, he has to remember every thread. “It’s very geometrical and thoughtful,” Jim says. It’s an art within itself to keep the weave tight and balanced, particularly on the more sizable pieces. He doesn’t like to cut the length down, so if he’s working with 100 or 200 feet of rope, it will be woven into the design in its entirety. With every knot, he pulls the full length of rope through. Despite the challenge, Jim always works on a bigger scale. His pieces today soar upward of 10 feet. Scale is very important in his work, he emphasizes, and he often utilizes bunches of items tied together. “One is nothing; 100 means something,” he says. But his work didn’t start out on such a grand scale. Jim got his start weaving a couple of plant holders for his mother in the 1970s, which sent him down other artistic career paths. He owned a vintage clothing store, leading to work as a prop stylist, set designer and art director. On a shoot for Roxy clothing around 2007, a designer asked if he could create a macramé set piece — his original love. He kept creating the pieces for photoshoots and soon he was crafting macramé work for commercial and private clients. At the same time, he was beachcombing the local shoreline. When combined the two passions, his career as an artist went in an exciting new direction. Most recently, he moved into his studio at 950 Glenneyre Street in Laguna Beach in October 2020. The historic little bungalow was built in 1930 and has hosted myriad creative and artistic endeavors over the years. Much like Jim, art is in its bones. Taking the leap of opening a studio during a pandemic was a liminal moment, he says. After 10 years of beachcombing, he contemplated why he kept doing it: Was it just his routine or did he still love the beach? “I still love and need to be at the beach,” he confirms.

But now, he also needs to be at his studio. It’s nice to have a dedicated space where his artistic ideas can come to life, he adds. Hanging in his studio right now is a portion of “Tangle,” a kelp-inspired installation he's working on for the city of Laguna Beach for the Festival of Arts, pending a review by the arts commission.

“Tangle” is meant to reflect a love for the coast, both his and the community in general. The sheer size of the project will make many Festival of Arts visitors stop in their tracks. The proposed concept includes 20 different elements, ranging from six 10-foot pieces to two 30-foot sections.

In the spirit of growth, Jim is also teaching the craft of macramé to the next generation of artists. It wasn’t a calculated decision; instead, he met his apprentice much like how his art is created: naturally and at the beach.

Cooper Root was a student enrolled in an earth art class at Point Loma Nazarene University in San Diego, tasked with creating a sculpture with zero environmental impact. He headed to a nearby beach he knew had some loose driftwood. Jim happened to be sitting nearby reading a newspaper, observing the young artist as he built his sculpture. “My piece … played on the concept of generations and how different beaches are nowadays compared to what they were when Jim was growing up,” Cooper says. The idea behind the piece couldn’t have been more fitting, as the two connected and Cooper soon became Jim’s apprentice. It’s been an incredible experience to teach him, Jim says, praising Cooper for being “open and enthusiastic and curious.” He’s also a quick study. Cooper was weaving rope and creating art after his first lesson with Jim.

While he didn’t even know he had the patience to instruct someone through the process, Jim has found that teaching comes naturally to him. “To actually teach that and watch somebody get it, … it’s amazing,” Jim says. “It’s been a really good interaction.” The younger artist has also helped Jim grow in other, unexpected ways. “It’s actually made me come out of my shell a little bit,” he says. Beachcombing is often a solitary activity and then Jim is typically alone in his studio crafting his sculptures. There’s not a lot of social interaction, he notes, something that teaching Cooper has helped change. He’s even on social media now and fans can find him @jimolarte on Instagram. Those interested in Jim’s art can visit the studio by appointment only or on the occasional open studio Saturday — unless the tides are low enough for good beachcombing.