Art & Architecture

Group Leader: Lois Widom, 423-0184, lowidom@yahoo.com.
Events are listed on the Events Calendar.

Art and Architecture Interest Group

For over eighteen years, our group has been visiting places of architectural and artistic interest all over the bay area and locally. We have been to museums, galleries, homes, public buildings, and tours. Take a look at the list of our past activities near the bottom of this page to get an idea of the possibilities. Suggestions for new or repeat activities are always welcomed. We generally have at least one activity a month throughout the year. The days vary depending on the venue. If we are going some distance, we meet at a central place and carpool. Riders are expected to share the driving expenses. We often go out for lunch. Some recent trips:

  • The Sikh Gurdwara, a Sikh Temple in the hills above San Jose. This was like a visit to India. The architecture is Indo-Persian, a fusion of Hindu and Islamic elements. We also learned about the philosophy and history of the Sikhs, and, in true Sikh tradition, shared a meal.
  • Two Museums, Two Men. Howard Ikemoto, a well known Santa Cruz artist and teacher, accompanied us to the Triton Museum in Santa Clara to see and hear about his one-man exhibit there. Then we went to the San Jose Museum to see the exhibit “Wayne Thiebaud, Seventy Years of Painting.” It was intriguing for us that Wayne had been one of Howard’s earliest teachers in Sacramento.
  • And, we have recently been to San Francisco to see the Impressionist exhibits at the de Young and the Fisher Collection at the SFMOMA.
San Jose Gurdwara
Paintings from museum trips: Picasso self portrait.

Group Leader: Lois Widom, 423-0184, lowidom@yahoo.com.

Membership Status: Unlimited, but some events are size-limited and the leader will request an RSVP. Reply only if you plan to participate.

Meets as announced by email, on webpage, in the newsletter, and on the Institute calendar. If you do not have email, please find another member of the group who will inform you of the details of the activities.

Activities History

June-11Sierra Azul Outdoor Sculpture Show. Fifty-six artists and 135 sculptures are exhibited in the sixth annual show in the beautiful two-acre Mediterranean garden.
June-11Sullivan house
1. Straw bale house of Kristin and Mark Sullivan, Capitola.
2. Capitola Historical Museum.
May-11Bruce Pitcher
“Big Creek Pottery, A Social History of a Visual Idea, 1967-1983,” curated by Karen Thuesen Massaro, The Museum of Art and History. The school is profiled with 70 vessels made by visiting masters, the founders, and students along with photographs primarily from the McDougal collection. Writings by those who came to Big Creek, filmed portraits of Al Johnsen, Bruce and Marcia McDougal, as well as a recorded audio interview of Michael Cardew enhance the exhibition. 
Apr-11How Wine Became Modern
“How Wine Became Modern” exhibit at the SFMOMA. “How Wine Became Modern explores the visual culture of wine and its stunning transformation over the last three decades. Designed in collaboration with renowned architects Diller Scofidio + Renfro, the exhibition combines historical artifacts, architectural models, design objects, newly commissioned artworks, and enticing installations, including a “smell wall,” to probe many aspects of wine culture….”
Jan-11Art of Pegatha Hughes
Art of Pegatha Hughes at Linda’s Seabright Cafe
Jan-11Mary Alice Copp
Museum of Art and History — “Looking At Recovery.” Work of Mary Alice Copp.
Dec-10Christmas in the Adobes, Monterey.
Nov-10Museum of Art & History — Visual Acoustics: The Modernism of Julius Shulman
Oct-10de Young Museum:  “Van Gogh, Gauguin, Cezanne and Beyond”
Aug-10San Francisco Museum of Modern Art — Fisher Collection
June-10de Young Museum: Birth of Impressionism — Masterpieces from the Musee D’Orsay
May-10Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History: scientific illustration; walking tour of Pacific Grove.
Apr-10Stanford House Tour
Apr-10Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History. Art of Nature exhibit, a collection of works created by members of the Northern California Guild of Natural Science Illustrators
Mar-10Cantor Art Museum at Stanford:, Tracing the Past, Drawing the Future; Master Ink Painters in 20th-Century China. Calligraphy and paintings from artists known in China as the “Four Great Masters of Ink Painting.”
Feb-10Two museums, two men: Howard Ikemoto at the Triton and Wayne Thiebaud at the San Jose hills Museum of Art.
Jan-10San Jose Gurdwara
Sikh Temple in San Jose hills
Dec-09Papua New Guinea Sculpture Garden Stanford Medical Center
Architecture of the Stanford Medical Center and tour of the Papua New Guinea Sculpture Garden, created by ten master New Guinea carvers in 1994.
Nov-0911/2009 “Visual Conversations with Women in the Arts,” Smith Gallery, and John Dizikes Concert, Stevenson Event Center, UCSC Campus.
Oct-09San Jose Cathedral Basilica of Saint Joseph; The San Jose Museum of Art for the Alexander Calder, Ansel Adams, and Chuck Close Prints.
Jun-09“Schultz’s Beethoven, Schroeder’s Muse” at Martin Luther King Library in San Jose.
May-09Pajaro Valley Gallery 25th Anniversary exhibit with works of three of our members.
Apr-09Filoli House
Filoli House and Garden
Mar-09“Assemblage + Collage + Construction. A Collective View of Art from Multiple Santa Cruz County Venues.”
Feb-09CA Academy of Sciences
California Academy of Sciences
Jan-09Hanna House
Hanna House on the Stanford campus
Dec-08Cathedral of Christ the Light, Oakland
Nov-08Leonardo: 500 Years into the Future at the Tech Museum
Oct-08Sunset Idea House, Monterey
Sep-08“Four Photographers, Different Directions,” at the Louden Nelson Center. Work of Susan Hillyard, UCSC LLL, was exhibited.
Sep-08Contemporary Jewish Museum of San Francisco
Aug-08Museum of Art and History on Cooper Street for Elaine Badgley Arnoux exhibit.
Jul-08The Audacity of Stripes, the Encaustic Works of Daniella Woolf
Jul-08deYoung Museum, Dale Chihuly exhibit, and Legion of Honor, Women Impressionists
Jun-08Pajaro Valley Gallery, Sierra Azul Nursery and Sculpture Show
May-08Architects Association of Santa Cruz County Open Architecture Tour, Watsonville.
Apr-08Historic Johnston House, New England salt box just south of Half Moon Bay
Mar-08Pajaro Art Gallery, Watsonville, Eight Over 80 In ’08
Feb-08Montalvo Arts Center
Jan-08San Jose Museum of Art: Joan Miro’s Fantastic Universe; Goya’s Caprichos: Dreams of Reason and Madness; and Picasso’s Etchings of Love and Desire
Dec-07Christmas at the Adobes in Monterey
Dec-07IRAQ:REFRAME. Montalvo Art Center, Saratoga; Institute of Contemporary Art, San Jose
Nov-07de Young Museum: The Sculpture of Louise Nevelson; Chim: The Photography of David Seymour
Nov-07Work of Anne Smith Easley, Eloise Pickard Smith Gallery
Oct-07The Pietra Santa winery
Sep-07Revisit home of group member Margaret Ogle to see, admire, and hear about her remarkable worldwide photographs  and the beautiful items she has created for her home.
Aug-07The Art of Being Tuarg. Sahara Nomads in a Modern World. At the Stanford Museum.
Jul-07Boardwalk exhibit and Fiber Art Exhibit at the Museum of Art and History
Jun-07Sanchez Art Center for Susan Hillyard’s gallery show celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Boardwalk. Fiber Art Exhibit at the Santa Cruz Art League.
May-07Architecture tour by the Architects Association of Santa Cruz County to benefit Habitat for Humanity
May-07“The Sea Around Us: Depictions and Imaginings” at the Smith Gallery at Cowell College with Linda Pope, the curator of the gallery.
Apr-07Oakland Museum adventure
Mar-07Susan Else’s studio
Feb-07Maybeck Church, Berkeley
Feb-07Straw bale house, Capitola
Feb-07UCSC Campus architecture – Frank Zwart
Dec-06MAH Public Art Tour
Nov-06San Jose Museum
Oct-06Sunset House, O’Neill home
Sep-06DeYoung + Legion of Honor
Jul-06Pajaro Sculpture show – Sierra Azul
Jun-06three Palo Alto houses
Jun-06San Jose City Hall & Library tours
May-06Stanford Museum – childhood exhibit
Apr-06Pajaro gallery fiber show
Mar-06Ellen Kimmel’s victorian home
Feb-06talk by FLW apprentice
Feb-06Smith Gallery
Jan-06DeYoung Museum, SF
Dec-05San Jose city Hal
Nov-05DeRosa Show, MAH
Nov-05Symphony Home Tour
Oct-05Allied Arts, Menlo Park
Sep-05Pajaro Gallery
Aug-05Mannie Santana + artists
Jul-05Palo Alto Clay and Glass Festival
May-05Garden Tour, Los Altos Hills, Woodside
May-05Santa Cruz Architecture tour
Apr-05Modern Design – SJMA
Mar-05Sikh Temple, San Jose
Feb-05Pacific Grove Tour
Jan-05Triton Museum, Santa Clara – Tea
Dec-04Marine exhibit – MAH
Nov-04San Jose Architecture – Frank Wolfe
Oct-04San Jose Quilt Museum
Sep-04Monterey Marine Museum + adobe tour
Aug-04San Jose Library + outdoor art tour
Jul-04Ansel Adams, MAH
Jun-04Domestic Odyssey, SJMA
May-04Exemplary Contemporary, Smith gallery
Apr-04Four gardens, Woodside, Atherton
Mar-04Guatemala Exhibit, Pajaro
Feb-04Victoria May, Smith Gallery
Feb-04Doyle Forman, Porter Gallery
Jan-04Straw Bale House, Capitola
Dec-03Clark Center & Museum, Stanford
Nov-03Margaret Ogle’s home
Nov-03Native American Glass – MAH
Oct-03Surf Culture – SFMA
Sep-03Sunset Idea Houses, Los Gatos
Aug-03Stanford Memorial Church, Museum
Jul-03Nido Gallery,
Jun-03Jerry Lomax, architect, Carmel
May-03Exemplary Contemporary, Smith Gallery
Apr-03MAH, River Reflections
Mar-03Santana Row
Feb-03Carother and Zscheile homes
Jan-03McLelland – art & poetry
Dec-02Monterey Aquarium – Chihuly glass
Nov-02Heimer Struck – MAH
Oct-02Glass Gallery – Larry Silman
Sep-02Wm. Morris Glass Works – MAH
Jul-02SJMA – Art in Public Places
Jun-02Carolyn Fitz – Japanes brush painting
May-02Filoli House and Gardens
Apr-02Mary Warshaw – Smith Gallery
Mar-02Steinbeck Center – Dorothea Lange
Feb-02MAH – Rfichard Deutsch
Jan-02Mexican Heritage Plaza – San Jose
Dec-01Two Eichlers – Palo Alto
Oct-01Bronze Works – sculpture casting
Sep-01SJMA – Art in Public Places
Aug-01Stanford – sculpture walk +
Jul-01Pajaro Gallery – self portaits
Jun-01Tor House – Carmel
Apr-01Cabrillo Gallery – Alan Couerhone
Mar-01Cabrillo Gallery – Displacements
Mar-01Palace of Legion of Honor – Tolouse Latrec
Feb-01Hanna House
Jan-01Space Odyssey – Smith Gallery
Dec-00Anderson Collection – SFMOMA
Nov-00Chihuly – SJMA
Oct-00Craig & Dusty Miller Victorian
Sep-00Carmel Walk
Aug-00Stanford Museum
Jun-00Fran Raboff’s home
May-00Santa Cruz Architecture Tour
Apr-00Georgia O’Keefe show, SF
Feb-00FLW Hanna House, Stanford
Feb-00Print Lab, UCSC
Jan-00Monterey Museums
Dec-99Margaret Ogle’s home
Nov-99SF City Hall & Library
Oct-99Whitney exhibit at SJMA
Sep-99Pajaro Dunes, Bartelts home +
Aug-99Stanford Architecture
Jul-99Sa Jose Museum Art Walk
Jun-99San Jose Museum Art Walk
May-99Paramount Theater, Oakland
Mar-99Villa Montalvo
Feb-99Stanford Museum
Jan-99Tech Museum – San Jose
Dec-98DeSaisset Museum – Santa Clara
Nov-98Weygandt Show – UCSC
Nov-98FLW house – Los Banos
Oct-98Calder – SFMOMA
Sep-98Capitola tour
Jun-98Rich Deutsch Studio
Apr-98Stanford sculpture tour
Mar-98Victorian tour – Darling House +
Feb-98Asilomar Tour
Last modified: Jul 23, 2024