Photos by Cory Bilicko
By Rachael Rifkin
Staff Writer
Art has a way of popping up in the most unexpected places. Sitting among a long row of houses and apartments on Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue, Pacific Wind Arts suddenly appears in a flash of color. Once a nursery, the quarter-acre lot has since transformed into a community garden and gathering place, complete with a 12-foot mosaic-covered monolith, mini mountains of pink and lavender ice plants, and a constantly changing landscape of art.
Local Long Beach artist Trace (Tres) Fukuhara founded the non-profit organization in 1999 as a public art space for the community. “I leave the gates open and different things happen,” said Fukuhara. “I’ve taught art here. We have gatherings and musicians have come. Last year I sponsored the first block party on Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue, between 20th and 21st, and it was a great success.”
Trace inherited the land from his parents Henry and Mary Fukuhara, who from 1953 until 1981 operated the M. Hara Nursery at the location. After they retired, the land lay vacant for 15 years.
“In 1996, I was encouraged to run a ceramic tile program for at-risk youth. It was through the City of Long Beach Summer Youth Employment Training Program and the Homeland Cultural Center,” said Fukuhara. “We needed a location and this was a prime spot, so I did some work on the interior and reopened it. In the meantime, I put in drought-tolerant plants and made some simple art structures so people would get the idea that this place was being utilized again.”
It wasn’t the first time Fukuhara had created art at his parents’ nursery. As a child, he’d dig holes there to find adobe. Then he’d mold the adobe into pots and little animals. “I’d leave my art all around the nursery. And look what I’m doing now. I’m still leaving my art around the nursery. I think I went full circle in my life,” said Fukuhara.
Art wasn’t always such an obvious choice for him though. As a child, he felt lost. It wasn’t until college that he found his place.
“My gym coach at Long Beach City College said, ‘Why don’t you try an art class?’ So I took one and suddenly it got easy. I was so hungry for all kinds of art, but pottery really caught my attention because I’ve always seen things in 3D,” he said.
Fukuhara quickly immersed himself in the art world, going on to study under master artist Marguerite Wildenhain. In 1972, he received his BA in ceramics from San Diego University. Then he was off to Japan, where he worked with a sculptor who carved out of granite. Back in the states, he earned his MFA in sculpture from California State University, Long Beach. He has since worked in the community at large as a muralist and sculptor.
“I have some large pieces at the Long Beach Senior Center, Mary Butler Middle School, Japanese American Community Center and El Monte McLaren Center. I’ve done a lot of ceramic murals. I collaborated with another artist on a mural in Sochi, Russia that was funded by the Long Beach-Sochi Sister City Association. My most recent project was an art piece that Long Beach Transit hired me to do at a bus stop on Hill and Atlantic,” said Fukuhara. “Currently, I’m working on a children’s coloring book that teaches about drought-tolerant plants and water conservation. I’m also envisioning doing a lot more sculptures in the garden. I’m excited about that. Other than that, I’m open for anything.”
Pacific Wind Arts is located at 2095 Martin Luther King Jr. Ave in Long Beach. For more information, call (562) 599-6663.
