The Downtown Davis art and music lounge hosts local artists to teach a wide variety of classes to community members each month
By SAVANNAH ANNO — arts@theaggie.org
Founded by local artists Toni Rizzo, Harry Greer and Stephanie Pell, Secret Spot’s existence marks one of the newest chapters in the Davis art community’s long and sprawling history. Located in the heart of Downtown Davis, Secret Spot has been working continuously to make their space and programs known across and beyond the city’s local art scene since its expansion in 2024.
Open every week from Wednesday through Sunday, Secret Spot isn’t easy to miss. Arriving at 117 D St., visitors are immediately greeted with the sight of a bright teal building and multiple signs welcoming them inside the lounge.
Not just a gallery space or studio, Secret Spot is a mix between every type of place an artist or art lover may enjoy. A large couch and seating area is surrounded by displays of local vendor products — ranging from art prints to earrings to fridge magnets — as well as framed and hung displays from selected artists.
As visitors reach the back of the building, a ramp leads them to Secret Spot’s outdoor space, where they host live music and various events. At the back of the Secret Spot house is the art studio, a garage space that originally all three founding artists used to work out of before expanding and taking over the main house.
Each month, Secret Spot’s studio is home to a variety of teachers and workshops, with topics including comic drawing, making a needle-felt monster eye and harvesting clay to handbuild a pot. Workshops are open to all ages and skill levels, with fees placed at sliding scales and including all necessary materials.
“We really just wanted Secret Spot to be an art hub, where not only we can showcase community art work, but we can host creativity itself,” Rizzo said. “We have so many cool artists here in town with skills that they can teach, and all of our classes are really unique. We have some pretty niche things which are really exciting.”
On Feb. 23, following a cyanotype workshop, a vision board making tutorial and a comic drawing class, Secret Spot closed out its February workshop schedule with sock puppet making. Hosted by local artist and UC Davis alumna Katerina Hanks, the workshop was two hours of hot-gluing, sewing, cutting up felt scraps and excited conversation over puppet personas.
Hanks, who led her first sock puppet workshop at the lounge this past July, has been able to observe the positive benefits of guests being given an opportunity to create something they otherwise never would on their own time.
“There’s not really an occasion to make sock puppets yourself,” Hanks said. “It’s something that brings everybody who comes here so much joy, even if they wouldn’t take the time or have the materials to do it at home.”
Hanks provided various colors of felt, yarn textures, buttons, googly eyes and more to ensure each guest was able to find a unique character through their sock puppet. Some visitors decided to make more realistic sock versions of a loved one, their boss at work or a fictional character, while others took a more experimental route — sock puppets with tens of tiny eyes on their heads or ones sticking out of their mouths.
While Hanks provided guidance on basic techniques, like shaping the mouths of the puppets and attaching hair, guests were given free range to explore and let their imagination guide them to their final product.
Rizzo also explained this fluid workshop style is conducive to feeding creativity and providing a much needed outlet to those who may often get swept up in their demanding daily tasks.
“Especially for students and adults, we don’t carve out the time in our day-to-day life to have a hobby or decompress in a creative way,” Rizzo said. “I think burnout is really real for students, and we tend to get in the mindset of: ‘should just go home and rest and watch Netflix.’ Of course that’s physically resting, but it’s not nourishing.”
For Secret Spot, hosting workshops is a way to promote a productive type of healing to community members. Rather than having to worry about sourcing materials or spreading out a creative project across their busy schedule, Secret Spot sets aside the designated time and resources for visitors to satisfy their artistic desires in a warm and collaborative environment.
“You need to fuel some creativity and tap into the things you used to do as a kid,” Rizzo said. “I also think it’s important we have a space that truly is for everyone — all ages, all backgrounds and all experience levels are coming together to create.”
If you’re in desperate need of learning a new hobby, are looking for a creative way to spend time with friends or maybe even have a skill you’d love to share with the rest of the community, Secret Spot regularly updates their monthly schedules and is always open to hearing ideas for new workshops. More information regarding workshop times, fees and other upcoming events — like their large scale Art Mania painting competition on March 8 — can be found on their Instagram page, @secret_spot_davis.
“You really never know what you’re going to get out of it,” Hanks said. “When you commit the time and you meet all the people here and get to hang out with them, it really makes it all worth it.”
Written by: Savannah Anno — arts@theaggie.org
