Sanibel Lions Club fine art & craft fest March 27 & 28

Surf on over to Sanibel to check out the Sanibel Lions Club Fine Art and Craft Festival on Friday and Saturday, March 27 and 28 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The festival will feature the very unique art of Laura and Jimmy Rajner. The Rajners create magnificent works of art from repurposed surfboards made into art for a better planet.
Laura Rajner and her husband, Jim, started carving and decorating out-of-commission surfboards six years ago after he went through a triple bypass
“The doctor opened him up and pumped his heart to bring him back to life, they say when a person dies that something can happen in your brain and it can trigger something in your brain that hasn’t been used before,” Laura said.
And for Laura’s husband, he focused in on creativity. The long road to recovery forced Rajner to explore new hobbies. He started going to the beach and drawing in the sand with sticks and rakes, eventually drawing a crowd. Onlookers stopped and stared as Rajner outlined a large octopus in the sand.
Now, the couple that has a second chance is giving a second life to these boards. “We had 12 surfboards in the garage and we read it takes a million years to break down a surfboard so we just started carving them.” He turned that octopus he drew in the sand into inspiration for his first carved board. “Then as fast and we would get one done the neighbors would buy them,” Rajner said. “We do this for a reason, it comes from our heart. You want to share it, you love what you do, you really want to share it. It’s important to us that we can make something beautiful to share with the people that come to the events.
The couple splits the tasks that go into making the boards evenly, Laura says no one just paints or just carves.
“We think that every home should have at least one surfboard,” a sign painted on an old surfboard outside their display says. “But, we suggest somewhere between 5 – 15.”
Jimmy says they both work on new designs together, including both city and beach inspired. So get inspired and surf over to The Sanibel Community House on Sanibel Island to see this unique artwork alongside wonderful, painting, sculpture, jewelry, and much more. The Sanibel Community House is located at 2173 Periwinkle Way.
For further Information call 239-293-9448 or visit www.boulderbrook.net