A locally recognized figure in architectural macrame and fine art, Olarte’s work has graced the entryways of public and private spaces alike. The longtime Laguna Beach resident has been profiled across a variety of publications and digital spaces like Surfer’s Journal and Orange Coast Magazine. Olarte’s work ranges from large to small installations created out of marine objects that he’s found or salvaged.

A self-described “beach person,” Olarte is drawn irresistibly to tide pools; he recognizes in every one a perfectly contained world constructed by the vagaries of water and rock. Inspired by this microcosmic significance, he frequently incorporates into his artwork the detritus he has lovingly collected on beaches over the course of years. Detritus has become the central concept upon which several of his series are based. In his hands these sea-salvaged objects become the aquatic artifacts that characterize his hanging sculptures. Each piece, whether a delicate seashell or a piece of wave-tumbled driftwood, is treated with respect, as coequal elements of an infinity of integrated life cycles. These bits from the sea and shore are often knotted into his macrame art. He doesn’t drill holes into any natural element of the earth, shells or rocks, but only uses their natural or eroded holes and openings.

“My friends always say, ‘Jim, you’re not finding stuff; it’s finding you.’ And it really is. It wants to be a part of my sculpture, it’s telling me. It’s like that Rick Rubin book says: You have to be open. Otherwise, you may not receive it…Everything you find will be a surprise. Whatever I find will be amazing.”
— Jim Olarte

*The number 108 is significant in many spiritual and religious traditions, associated with wholeness, infinity and the divine.

2022
27” x 96” (pole is 48”)
Keyhole limpets collected over a decade, individually knotted in polished hemp, and knotted onto a cotton braid panel of alternating square knots finished with a “puddle” on floor, mounted on plexiglass pole
$14,000

2024
10” x 53”
Found driftwood knotted in cotton cord
$1,900