MAH’s most breathtaking work of the season delves into the art and history of China

Enter. Then clap. Now look around—quickly. Did you catch it? Stand by the eccentric greenhouse sculpture in the main lobby of the Museum of Art & History at the McPherson Center in downtown Santa Cruz. Now clap again. If you’re paying attention, you’ll notice that a horde of fake flowers in cozy pots will dance when you clap your hands. It’s a rather adorable sight, surrounded by a rather not-so-adorable concept: global warming. The piece, “Green House Tent Dress,” is “a comment on how the U.S. and China need to work on our policies of conservation,” says museum spokesperson Theresa Myers. And the twirling flowers that dance? “I think it has to do with paying attention,” says Susan Hillhouse, curator for the museum. “We’re living things and we want to survive.”

Inside the prolific local poet and writer’s latest read, and why it’s one of his biggest milestones yet

I have known Morton Marcus, or “Mort” as his friends call him, for many years now, and I’ve interviewed him numerous times. I can recall two specific interviews in which he helped me enormously in providing an overwhelming amount of information needed for my journalistic assignments. This much I can say about “Mort”: He does things in a grandiose way. Whether it’s through his prolific poetry or serving fine cheeses, coffee and baguettes over two hours of conversing about Santa Cruz writers (that’s story No. 1) or inviting me to join “The Breakfast Club” (story No. 2) with himself, Sandy Lydon, Geoffrey Dunn, George Ow, Jr. and the late Tony Hill, for waffles and fruit at the Walnut Avenue Café for a series of interviews on a book that Ow published a few years back.

Camryn Manheim on show biz, reality checks and the importance of keeping close ties to UC Santa Cruz

She was the woman who shouted, “This is for all the fat girls,” during her unforgettable Emmy acceptance speech in 1998. Camryn Manheim—then and now—leads a very full life: There was the time she auditioned for David Kelley and challenged the television producer to a game of cribbage—it won her a role on The Practice. There’s her work for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU); her support of the size acceptance movement; and there’s the blessed job of mother to her 7-year-old son who will go to university, she says, quite emphatically. With her warm and big-hearted personality, it’s no surprise that UC Santa Cruz has invited one of the school’s most famous alumni back for a special event. On Feb. 9, Manheim will be the keynote speaker at the school’s fifth annual Scholarship Benefit Dinner.

Digital Media Factory launches new television show

Some cities keep their cultural evolution on the pause button, but not Santa Cruz. It continues to move in a fast forward motion, especially when it comes to the arts, as is the case with a new invention taking off at the Digital Media Factory (DMF) on the Westside of town.

After six years of research, Paul Tutwiler compiles an extensive text on local spirituality

When the rains hit on Jan. 4, in that memorable recent storm that knocked out power lines across the county, I thought I’d try to interview someone up in Bonny Doon. Dumb idea. Fighting the rain and torrential winds on Highway 1, I eventually made my way onto Bonny Doon Road, only to be turned around by a giant tree crossing—the ultimate speed bump. Outside, the weather seemed strangely divine, as if God was maybe speaking to us—loudly. The journey also had that otherworldly feeling to it—the spiritual sense of the weather, joined by the man I was supposed to interview—Paul Tutwiler, a former Catholic priest and the writer of a spiritually dense and fascinating e-book, “Santa Cruz Spirituality.”

Is it just us, or can this woman actually save the human race?

Sandra Bernhard rocks on stage, brightens up a scene whenever she’s got a co-starring TV gig, and happens to be one of the most outspoken comediennes/performance artists around. Fortunately, for us, Bernhard wants everybody to be ready—if not really conscious—for 2008. I caught up with The B recently and we got down and dirty. Read on …

Q: People love you here in Northern California.

A: And I love them.

Time are tough for turkeys, but thanks to one local couple, some feathered friends are flippling the bird for the holidays

Karen Oeh’s girls are spoiled. They’ve got a luxurious room to sleep in and a playground of their own. Ariala and Rhoslyn (‘the girls’) had a lot to be thankful for on Thanksgiving, and the same goes for Christmas. While much of America chows down on Ariala and Rhoslyn’s feathered friends Dec. 25, A&R will have survived the holiday season and they’ll be safe at a new home in Ben Lomond, living with a vegetarian couple (Oeh and her husband Mike Balistreri) who recently adopted them from an animal activist group called Farm Sanctuary.

In 1999 at Aptos Junior High School, Monica Magallanes, a psychotherapist, was working with two severely emotionally disturbed children, when a suicide attempt happened. A child tried to throw himself down a stairwell and Magallanes tried to restrain him. Meanwhile, the other child became upset and smashed Magallanes over the head with an old telephone. A few days later, the damage to her brain began to surface.

“I was in the field working with a child and I lost use of my hands, I couldn’t use them,” Magallanes says.

Bonny Doon artists open their studios

Information in this article was relevant to the event in 2007. Sorry for any confusion. CM
Here’s the bad news: You’re gonna burn up some gas money and put a few extra miles on your car. The good news: It’s worth it. For those daring enough to make the trek out of comfy downtown Santa Cruz, and venture into Bonny Doon for Open Studios—the mountain version—the brief inconvenience of driving out of your comfort zone will turn up rewards of the artistic variety.

First time Open Studios artists come out of hiding

Mike Shuler’s studio is concealed behind a forest of bamboo and a nondescript mailbox. It’s an easy place to miss—nearly hidden in the unincorporated Live Oak area.

Until now, the undeniably talented artist (and his studio) has remained, for the most part, out-of-sight from Santa Cruzans. (His woodwork is typically shown in galleries across the country.) That’s all about to change when Shuler and his wife Rainey, (a photographer), invite Santa Cruzans to walk beyond the bamboo and view their work during the next two weekends of Open Studios.