June 5th is the next giveaway We have been out of town the last couple of months and not around to supply the community with awesome art from local artists. But look for #HiddenArtSLO next month! Keep tabs on us via Instagram and Twitter and of course our website. Would you like to be a partner artist? Sign up on our webpage! (Pssst. Past artists! Please come back and play! Sign-up again to give more art)  Vote for us! Crusade Engagement Grant Finalist! We are prototyping the #HiddenArtSLO concept by crafting a hybrid concept titled #HiddenPhotoSLO! To help fund this concept we applied for grant funds and the project is now a finalist for Crusade for Art’s “Crusade Engagement Grant.” Crusade for Art awards $10,000 annually to the applicant with the best idea for building an audience for fine art photography. One of ten Crusade for Art finalists, #HiddenPhotoSLO turns collecting photography into an adventure by encouraging the interactivity of finding art and the photographer’s story of making art—bringing creativity and serendipity to the collecting process. The winner will be announced in June. You can read more about the project and vote for us #HiddenPhotoSLO by going to http://www.crusadeforart.org/2015-finalists . Update: Read our interview with Crusade4Art!  Michele's opening line for Typing in Public, 2009. Que en paz descanse, chica. Her humor, wit, and literary grace inspired many generations of Chicanas, including me. She was the voice of Californians, Mexicanos, and Chicanas/Chicanos. We identified our stories in her stories. Her unique prose and her ability to pull the reader in made us all believe that we belonged. Her writing and the way she personally engaged with us provided the confidence that our histories--our stories--her stories were important and should be heard. Mucha Michele, thank you for your literary gifts. Read Antonio's dedication here.
 Laura Righetti Garzoli at 109 A beauty queen and a businesswoman. She was elegant, polished, and much venerated for her styling and cosmetics expertise. Laura Righetti Garzoli was a memorable figure at the cosmetics department with the longstanding but long-retired Riley’s Department store in San Luis Obispo. She passed away at the age of 109 earlier this week—ever present and grand. Yes, you read that correctly: One-hundred and nine years old. With an infamous alabaster Swiss-Italian profile, Laura cruised around town in her bright-yellow hot rod while maintaining her perfectly manicured yard, orange trees, and home. She wore her hair long and in a perfect French twist, dyed grayish-blue and wore matching sweater sets with complementary costume jewelry. Dress for going out about town included a smart hat and cane. She was a shrewd player of the Victorian card game Spite and Malice and played with her small network of neighbors. She taught me to play, and in turn I taught my daughter. She not only taught me the game, but the manners behind the game: Straight posture, tidy card pile, and drinking tea without slurping. She was born in 1905 to Italian-Swiss immigrants Orazio and Gina Donati Righetti on the coast in Cayucos, California. She was Miss Cayucos in 1923 and shortly thereafter brazenly moved to San Francisco to attend Munson Secretarial School. She shared her scrapbook with me displaying small snapshots of herself impecably styled and regal in the big city. I fondly recall a fantastic photograph of her circa 1930, wearing wide-legged pants amongst a group of women in traditional dresses of the era. Even then she was a fashion-forward icon. During WWII she served her country as a secretary to the war effort in Utah. It is there that a former childhood friend played matchmaker and orchestrated a blind date with Frank Garzoli. They married and returned to San Luis Obispo to make their home. Tragedy struck when her husband, a motorcycle patrolman was killed. She remained a widow and dedicated to her husband all these years. After her tenure with Riley’s, Laura struck out on her own, opening a Merle Norman Cosmetics Studio in the Laguna Center in San Luis Obispo and operated it until her retirement in 1978. She had a creative side—playing the piano and mastering the fine art of embroidery. At her side was always a distinguished “Mr Blue” cat. (She had several iterations of Mr. Blue…) My last visit I brought with me a bottle of red wine for her and her “young” friend Arlene Zanchuck (age 94). Laura’s secret for a long life was half a glass of red wine every night after dinner. Although 109, she took a few minutes to recall who I was, but then the glimmer of remembrance came to her. She told me that her memory was not what it used to be. “I am letting go of some memories so that I can treasure the memories I hold most dear.” As we sat and chatted I reminded myself that I was in the presence of a special woman and to soak in every moment and not let the memory go. Read more in her obituary in the Telegram Tribune. 
Clue #1:
Stone lion sentries kept guard centuries ago, today they watch over #hiddenartslo Find the art between 5:30-7PM Art After Dark, SLO Sept 5 
I am volunteering my time to launch a project to promote the arts and artists in our county. HiddenArtSlo is a new endeavor that relies on donations of art from artists. I will be placing art within the community the 1st Friday on the month in SLO and the 3rd Saturday county-wide. The donated art will be hidden in plain site (no digging necessary!) and clues will be sent out via Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and my website.
Partner artists are given a cigar box (or similar box) to curate to their hearts content. Some artists are writers, poets, photographers...a diverse pool of creatives! The artists give me back their curated box and I then take the box and propel it into the community. Each box will have the artwork, artist's bio and instructions for sharing the art find on social media. The finder keeps the art forever. No strings. My hope is that the finder shares via social media and helps generate interest for the partner artist and their work. And in a quiet way, I hope that finders can become collectors and find a love for our local artists and creatives and become life-long collectors of independent artists. Follow: http://instagram.com/hiddenartslo https://twitter.com/hiddenartslo And read more: http://www.nothinghappenedhere.org/hiddenartslo.html (Thank you Suzi Bliss for her pup image!)  Call for Artists/Creatives
HiddenArtSLO places art in the hands of the community. For free. One just needs to find it. It is contrary to HiddenCash a Twitter endeavor that grossly required people to hunt down and compete to find hidden envelopes of cash. I wanted to do something benevolent for our community. Help artists promote their work and help make art accessible in a unique way. I am seeking artists, writers, musicians, creatives, who would like to participate by donating a piece of their art. The art will be placed inside cigar boxes and hidden around the county. Read this for more info: http://www.nothinghappenedhere.org/hiddenartslo.html Musician? Share your latest CD. Writer? Share your latest story, poem, or scribblings. Artist? Can it fit in a box? Share it! Lastly, if you would like to join the fun, I have cigar boxes for you. I hope you will contribute. If you can, please send me: - short bio (150 words or less) this will be placed/ with art along w/ following: - website (if you have one) - Instagram moniker - Twitter moniker Or use the online form under "I want to Give Art" Woo Hoo. (If you are on Instagram or twitter please follow HiddenArtSLO) 
may 19 2014
Come celebrate the culmination of a year-long collaboration to highlight the diverse populations of the Central Coast! Join Kennedy Library and Dr. Grace Yeh for the May 23 reception for “Objects of Affection” exhibit. The exhibit draws upon the personal papers of families featured in the Re/Collecting Project, an online archive and ethnic studies memory project featuring families of California’s Central Coast, and directed by Grace Yeh, associate professor of ethnic studies at Cal Poly. Through stories, photographs, letters, songs, and performances, “Objects of Affection” explores the intimate lives of those within our diverse community. The exhibit shows the powerful ways people can forge rich community bonds and friendships in response to social and legal exclusion. The exhibit is free and open to the public during regular library hours starting May 12 until June 6, 2014. • Location: Robert E. Kennedy Library, Learning Commons 2nd floor. • Reception: The opening reception will feature spoken word and musical entertainment as well as authentic Filipino cuisine, May 23 in Kennedy Library’s 2nd floor Commons, 3PM-5PM. Artwork: Courtesy Robert E. Kennedy Library. Design by Ragini Sahai (2014) 
Cal Poly’s Chicana Latino Faculty Staff Association (CLFSA) is proud to present acclaimed author, Michele Serros on Friday, May 30, 2014, for a talk on her work from 4:10 – 5:00 p.m. in Philips Hall (06-124) in the Christopher Cohan Performing Arts Center (PAC). Named by Newsweek as “One of the Top Young Women to Watch for in the New Century,” Serros is the author of Chicana Falsa and other stories of Death, Identity and Oxnard; How to be a Chicana Role Model; Honey Blonde Chica; and her newest young adult novel, ¡Scandalosa! A former staff writer for The George Lopez Show, Serros has written for the Los Angeles Times, Ms. Magazine, CosmoGirl, Marie Claire, The Huffington Post and The Washington Post and contributes satirical commentaries regularly for National Public Radio (Latino USA, Morning Edition, Weekend All Things Considered, Anthem, Along for the Ride, and The California Report). An award-winning spoken word artist, she has read her poems to stadium crowds for Lollapalooza, recorded Selected Stories from Chicana Falsa for Mercury Records, and was selected by the Poetry Society of America to have her poetry placed on MTA buses throughout Los Angeles County. While still a student at Santa Monica City College, Michele’s first book of poetry and short stories, Chicana Falsa and other stories of Death, Identity and Oxnard, was published. After Lalo Press, the original publisher, ceased business, Michele continued to sell copies from her garage, while maintaining a devoted following of fans as well as a place in academia where Chicana Falsa became required reading in many U.S. high schools and universities. In 1998, Riverhead Books (Penguin/Putnam) reissued Chicana Falsa in addition to publishing Serros’ Los Angeles Times Best Seller, How to be a Chicana Role Model. Serros’ work has garnered a diverse fan base ranging from Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers (“Michele is the great Californian writer who makes me proud of my state. When I read her books I cry and laugh and cry.”) to author Sandra Cisneros (“Serros is a young, sassy writer whose brilliant weapon is her humor.”) 
Photo: Marie Gregorio-OviedoOriginally from Oxnard, CA, Michele is currently working on a new novel, A (sorta) Unmarried Mexican.
Serros will be available to sign books after the presentation. The talk is co-sponsored with Cal Poly’s Academic Affairs, Student Affairs, Office of University Diversity and Inclusivity, Career Services, and the College of Liberal Arts. The talk is free and open to the public; parking is available in the parking structure next to the PAC for a fee. Nov 8 2013 Traveling the world to chronicle septuagenarians, octogenarians, and even a few centenarians, photographer Sky Bergman is in pursuit of standard-bearers who are living life to the fullest. Bergman aims to marry photography and the life stories of everyday senior citizens with the launch of her project, Lives Well Lived. http://lives-well-lived.com/ The idea of a well-lived life is often characterized in obituaries or the past tense, but this project is current and forward thinking, serving as an opportunity to inspire the younger generation with older generations who have found the fountain of youth and want to share their discovery. Meet three San Luis Obispo County residents in their 70s, 80s, and soon to be 90s: Rachael Winn Yon, 78 Terminally optimistic Ken Schwartz, 88 Architect, educator, civic leader Dr. Lou Tedone, almost 90
Happiness is a state of mind. 
Sep 17 2013 A community-driven digitization project aims to share the cultural history of the Filipino community emanating from different perspectives and nontraditional formats. The sweeping story begins with a 1587 landing of the Spanish galleon Nuestra Señora de Esperanza at Morro Rock whose landing party consisted of Filipino seamen sent to the California shore to claim the land for the Spanish king, and progresses through the many generations and love stories of Filipinos living on the Central Coast. Read more at KCET’s Artbound and click “Like” to vote! 
July 17 2013
The exhibit “Links to the Land: Ranching the Central Coast” will be featured at the California Mid-State Fair July 17 – July 28. Experience the exhibit at the fair’s Mission Square! 
Feb 13 2013 Click on over to KCET’s Artbound to read about Tony Corley, founder of the Black Surfing Association, as he recalls his early life on the Central Coast and his lifelong quest for unity amongst Black surfers. Tony Corley: Evolution of the Black Surfing Association Corley shares his personal memorabilia that documents his founding of the BSA. 
Travel along the coastal route of the El Camino Real and explore the rich, diverse cultural and artistic identity of San Luis Obispo County. This installment in the series celebrates the mavericks, pioneers, and experimental thinkers of the county.
Two designers I greatly admire are the architect Julia Morgan and the book artist Meryl Perloff. To my delight these two creatives converged in a lovely way. Artist Meryl Perloff created this beautifully rendered replica of a playhouse designed by Julia Morgan. 
JULIA MORGAN, ZEGAR PLAYHOUSE (Dec 2012) By artist Meryl Perloff, San Luis Obispo, California From the artist “While not a scale model, this structure is my impression from photographic records of the playhouse designed by Julia Morgan for the daughters of Steve Zegar, her devoted driver during the period of the design and construction of Hearst Castle. This smallest of Morgan’s projects resides in San Luis Obispo. The model is constructed of binder’s board, handmade Lokta paper, coarse sandpaper, mylar and wood trim. Clay pots of flowers complete the image of this caringly composed structure.”
About the Zegar Playhouse
San Luis Obispo County is home to San Simeon, the greatest of Julia Morgan’s commissions. It is also the location of her smallest job, the enchanting playhouse Morgan designed and built for the daughters of Steve Zegar, the local taxi driver. Morgan continued a full-time practice from her San Francisco office, so she devoted most weekends during the 1920s to design and on-site supervision of construction at San Simeon. Morgan would leave her San Francisco office late on Friday afternoon to catch the coast train, sketching during the 200-mile trip to San Luis Obispo. Upon arrival, Morgan would dine on oyster stew and coffee near the station and then join Zegar for the journey up the coast. Their friendship was forged during the many trips they made back and forth over the years between the train station and the construction site on the hilltop nearly 45 miles away. According to previous owners, the playhouse was designed in 1925 on the back of a brown paper bag, as Zegar ferried his passenger up Highway 1. On other trips, Morgan made time to supervise construction and soon the Zegar girls were playing in a custom-designed Julia Morgan house right in their own backyard. (Special Collections, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo) Nov 1 2012 Cal Poly’s Kennedy Library announces the opening of their fall exhibit, Atelier Morgan: The Personal Archives of Architect Julia Morgan with a reception from 3-4 p.m. on November 9 in the library, followed by a lecture from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. in the Business Rotunda at Cal Poly by historian Victoria Kastner. 
The exhibit, which is designed to travel to other libraries and galleries, presents visual representations of Morgan’s craft and design aesthetic. It will be shown alongside Cal Poly architecture student work inspired by her design principles.???Featured in the exhibit will be reproductions of Morgan’s student work at the cole de Beaux-Arts in Paris, William Randolph Hearst commissions, civic work with YWCAs and residential commissions.
Exhibit Dates • The exhibit is open during regular library hours, November 9, 2012 – January 11, 2013. • Location: Robert E. Kennedy Library, Learning Commons 2nd floor. Opening Reception • Friday, November 9, from 3pm- 4pm at the Gallery at the Commons, 2nd Floor, Kennedy Library Opening Talk • Victoria Kastner, Historian for Hearst Castle (Hearst Lecture Series, Sponsored by CAED) • Friday, November 9, from 4- 5 p.m. in the Business Rotunda, Cal Poly The College of Architecture and Environmental Design’s 2012 Hearst Lecture Series features Victoria Kastner, historian for Hearst Castle and author of two books: “Hearst Castle: The Biography of a Country House” and “Hearst’s San Simeon: The Gardens and the Land.” All events are free and open to the public. Image Credit: Julia Morgan Studio Portrait, Paris, c. 1900 | Courtesy Special Collections, Kennedy Library  The latest Central Coast installment for KCET’s Artbound highlights the architecture of Mark Mills.
http://www.kcet.org/arts/artbound/counties/san-luis-obispo/coastal-modern-mar… Designing primarily along California’s Big Sur Coast, Mark Mills was an experimental architect of structures of an organic quality with emphasis on modern elegance that was informed by the building sites’ natural landscape. More images: http://www.flickr.com/photos/slomuse/sets/72157631569757944/ Travel along the coastal route of the El Camino Real and explore the rich, diverse cultural and artistic identity of San Luis Obispo County. This installment in the series celebrates the mavericks, pioneers, and experimental thinkers of the county. 
Oct 1 2012 A piece for the Kennedy Library’s Banned Book Week display.More info: Banned Book Week 2012 The Catcher in the Rye – JD Salinger | Altered book by Cate Trujillo Banned Books by Mark Bieraugel 
Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson | Altered book by Jan Kline
Yard Bombs in Kennedy Library’s Atrium
Print Like It’s 1897, The Shakespeare Press Museum | Photo: Courtesy Shakespeare Press Museum.
Sep 26 2012 Enjoy the latest installment of Arts & Culture Along the el Camino Real: The Shakespeare Press Museum offers a collection of rare equipment and early examples of printing that spans 150 years of California printing. Printing scholar Laura Sorvetti shares the history behind the type. ARTBOUND | KCET http://www.kcet.org/arts/artbound/counties/san-luis-obispo/print-like-its-1897-the-history-behind-the-shakespeare-press-museum.html The Shakespeare Press Museum is not a rumination on Romeo and Juliet but rather a working 19th-century printing museum located at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo. The museum’s collections are behemoths of a forgotten era of printing: metal and wood type, printing presses, and a library containing early examples of printing in California and the West. The museum’s pioneering beginnings originate with Charles “Shakespeare” Palmer, whose private collection of printing presses and type were donated to Cal Poly in 1964. (A predilection for poetry earned Palmer his Shakespearian nickname in high school.) The California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly) campus adopted Palmer’s moniker and the museum was named in his honor, officially dedicated as the Shakespeare Press Museum in 1966. 
Photo | Jeff Van Kleeck
sep 24 2012
October is “Arts Month” and three local groups are hosting PASSPORT TO THE ARTS, Saturday,October 6th from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. in downtown San Luis Obispo. The Central Coast Center for Arts Education at Cal Poly, the San Luis Obispo Museum of Art and ARTS Obispo, the San Luis Obispo County Arts Council have joined forces to entice families to come downtown to experience the arts for free throughout the city center. PASSPORT TO THE ARTS is intended as a celebration of the arts and will allow children to see performances and meet local artists and talk to them about their art disciplines. PICKUP A PASSPORT: Families can pick up their free bag of arts information and passport for autographs in front of the San Luis Obispo Museum of Art beginning at 10:00 a.m. SLOMOA is located at 1010 Broad Street (on the west end of the Mission Plaza) San Luis Obispo, California 93401. The Passport package will include:
For more information contact: Susan Duffy of CCCAE (543-7963) Karen Kile of SLO Museum of Art (543-8562) or Charlotte Alexander of ARTSObispo (544-9251) 
Hummingbird outside of author Catherine Ryan Hyde’s kitchen window. | Photo: Catherine Ryan Hyde.
Sep 12 2012 Author Catherine Ryan Hyde has a very special connection to the Central Coast. Her bestselling novelPay It Forward which was adapted into a movie of the same name, is one of several novels with themes of do-goodery and chance acquaintances. All of these narratives were written from Hyde’s small coastal enclave alongside views of the Pacific Ocean and SLO County wildlife. Spend a day in the life with Catherine Ryan Hyde as she helps document this episode with her personal photographs of the coastal paradise she calls home. Read her story on KCET’s Artboud: http://www.kcet.org/arts/artbound/counties/san-luis-obispo/catherine-ryan-hyde.htmlAbout the Series: Arts & Culture Along the El Camino Real: Travel along the coastal route of the El Camino Real and explore the rich, diverse cultural and artistic identity of San Luis Obispo County. This installment in the series celebrates the mavericks, pioneers, and experimental thinkers of the county. 
Author Catherine Ryan Hyde in Morro Bay. | Photo: Catherine Ryan Hyde.
 Courtesy Sky Bergman Photographer Sky Bergman sets out to marry photography and the life stories of senior citizens with the launch of Lives Well Lived. The project is inspired by her 100-year-old Italian grandmother, Evelyn Ricciuti. Her wise and witty “rockin” grandma cracks people up wherever she goes with her unique and well-earned perspective on health and happiness: “Live life to the limits, be kind, have younger friends, and learn something new every day.” Read about Lives Well Lived: ARTBOUND http://www.kcet.org/arts/artbound/counties/san-luis-obispo/sky-bergman.html  Courtesy Sky Bergman More images:
About Arts & Culture Along the El Camino Real Season #2: Travel along the coastal route of the El Camino Real and explore the rich, diverse cultural and artistic identity of San Luis Obispo County. This second season celebrates the mavericks, pioneers, and experimental thinkers. http://www.kcet.org/arts/artbound/columnists/pedro-inzunza-arroyo-and-cathe/of the county. Aug 12 2012 Temporary outdoor public art installation of a unicorn-shaped piñata. 
Instructions: 1. Write down wish 2. Place inside piñata The purpose was to record SLO’s wishes as the community hiked up the Irish Hill’s trail. These are a few of the recorded results. (there were over 500!) 
Dear: “I wish for the wife of my dreams…should I use Facebook?” See more: here
Aug 3 2012 Wrapping up season one for KCET’s ARTBOUND, we interview Inga Swearingen, Jim Bagnall, Gary Dwyer, and Heidi Harmon: Episode #5: Inga Swearingen Explores Swedish Jazz Roots on the Central Coast 
Photo: Enrique Perez
Swedish-American jazz vocalist Inga Swearingen and A Prairie Home Companion regular creates her unique hybrid of jazz, Bossa Nova and Swedish folk ballads on the Central Coast. Pedro Arroyo and Catherine J. Trujillo interview her in two of her most treasured environments: her coastal home and her beloved hometown venue the Steynberg Gallery. Episode #6: The Polymath Designer, the Salon Keeper, and the Illustrated Diarist 
San Luis Obispo shelters a small enclave of cultural theorists who put their ideas and dreams into practice through their artistic pursuits, community organizing, and quiet interactions with the county’s natural landscape. Their stories are a source of rich depth and understanding because of the commitment they hold to the community, and their identifiable points of view. These artists and architects are of two-minds and many have collaborated on designing their habitats for artistic expression and production. Their collective artistic approach has resulted in building and living that are inhabitable installations. (Gary Dwyer, Jim Bagnall, and Heidi Harmon)
Epilogue
Arts & Culture Along the El Camino Real set out to document San Luis Obispo County with a new voice. What emerged was an operatic note about the love for our county. These residents, occupants, transplants to the county are deeply invested in their community and stitching together their stories has built a road with an ongoing mix of voices, opinions, connections — a road of people’s dreams. 
April 27 2012
Arts & Culture Along the El Camino Real An illustrated six-episode narrative Travel along the coastal route of the El Camino Real with writer Pedro Arroyo and curator Catherine Trujillo as they explore the rich and diverse cultural and artistic identity of San Luis Obispo County incorporating personal narratives, photography, art, infographics, and sound. About Artbound Artbound is a Southern and Central California cultural journalism project produced by KCET dedicated to producing an online destination about the arts and culture of our region. Columns are penned by more than 20 experienced artistic advisors, cultural critics, curators and definitive tastemakers of the arts. This unique trans-media multi-platform initiative explores the arts in 11 counties using a participatory methodology in which visitor and fan engagement propel popular columns to the next strata of production; first as in depth short form video documentaries; and based on the volume and quality of user comments, a 30-minute episode for television. Find out more: http://www.facebook.com/NothingHappenedHere and ARTBOUND http://www.facebook.com/kcetartbound March 12 2012 Kennedy Library and Special Collections would like to invite the community to attend their upcoming opening reception: Pressing Forward: The Book Club of California at 100 Thursday April 5, 5pm-7pm 
A partnership with the Book Club of California, the traveling exhibition makes its premiere at Cal Poly and showcases fine press books, keepsakes, and ephemera published by the Book Club of California, and includes selections from Kennedy Library’s Special Collections Fine Print and Graphic Arts Collection. Tom Killion, woodcut artist, is our special guest and will be speaking about his work.http://www.tomkillion.com/ 
(Images: © Cal Poly, Special Collections.
Art Direction, Catherine Trujillo Photo by Kaori Funahashi.Josie, Cairn Terrier belonging to a member of the Book Club of California. “Centennial Keepsake” designed by Bryn Hobson, courtesy Special Collections) |
