Marguerite Costigan, longtime artist, poet and author, and former SLO County Poet Laureate took a humble and eccentric childhood and continued to live an elaborate and successful life.
Marguerite Costigan’s parents were New York City natives and artists. Upon their move into the Pennsylvania countryside in 1951, her father turned a 200+-year-old farmhouse into a freelance art studio and continued to sell his artwork in NYC, while her mother took on the role of a stay-at-home mom.
The Costigan family was scrutinized by the local Pennsylvanian community for being “outsiders” and “city folk.” As a result of this scrutiny, Costigan and her two younger sisters found it extremely difficult to make friends– they faced physical abuse at school and were forced to endure daily insults from their peers.
“I guess I was the original loner,” Costigan said. “I was doing artwork and writing poetry and stories and piling up awards, hoping I’d have enough to put toward a down payment for college.”
Costigan used her talents and knowledge to graduate as her high school’s valedictorian and attended Philadelphia Museum Art School to study her life’s passion. Her love for art blossomed at 4 years old when her mother handed her crayons and slick paper. After her sixth birthday, Costigan’s father led her in a more structured art direction.
“He was strict, demanding, and literal in every sense. He would give me specific art assignments and then would critique the results,” Costigan said.
Two things came of this unique father-daughter relationship: Costigan became hyper-aware of the criticism of her art and, to this day, struggles to find confidence in her abilities. Despite this, Costigan pursued a career in art and painted as a living for over fifty years.
After graduating from Philadelphia Museum Art School, Costigan worked as a graphic artist for the Army Training Aids Department in Fort Sill, Oklahoma. After moving to the Central Coast, she worked for Cal Poly’s Audio-Visual Productions as an artist-illustrator alongside late local artist, Robert Reynolds. After working in these positions, Costigan followed in her father’s footsteps and became a successful fine arts landscape painter.
“For over twenty years I became very active as a plein air painter and my work was juried into numerous regional, national, and international art shows,” Costigan said.
While Costigan may be hesitant to give herself credit where credit is due, her husband, Terry Sanville is always there to congratulate her.
“At one time, Marguerite was a member of ten regional and national art associations. To become a member of these groups, her artwork had to be judged by the associations’ executives and demonstrate the excellence of her craft,” Sanville said.
In 1996, at 53 years old, Costigan noticed tremors while working on her art. Later, she considered that her “last year of painting.” However, Costigan’s success continued after her painting halted.
“I countered by holding the paintbrush with two hands. My husband noticed and urged me to get a diagnosis by a neurologist,” Costigan said.
In 2004, Costigan was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and decided it would be best to switch to poetry as her primary artistic outlet. Costigan’s now been living with Parkison’s disease for over 20 years and has written three poetry collections: “War and Whispers” (2016), “Rock and Fire” (2016), and “Wind and Hills” (2024). She is working on her final collection, titled “Death and Babies,” which is a compilation of some of her poems developed over the last three years.
Aside from her personal writing, Costigan taught creative writing classes for both high school students and adults; she was a part of the California Poets in the Schools program. Additionally, Costigan serves as a copy and story editor for Sanville.
“We’ve been together since 1969. The unique way she uses language coupled with her worldview continues to excite me… she paints with words and it’s beautiful,” Sanville said.
Costigan’s literary work led her to a place of leadership and to serve as a role model for other writers.
“I was nominated for a laureateship by the [SLO] County Arts Council, and then appointed Poet Laureate for the years 2015 and 2016 by the SLO County Board of Supervisors,” Costigan said. “I was ecstatic! I felt it was a great honor and an even greater responsibility, to present and promote poetry county-wide.”
Costigan is still an inspiration to other artists, to her husband, and is an advocate for those living with Parkinson’s disease.
“Even with Parkinson’s, you are still you… it needn’t break you,” Costigan said in hopes of reaching others living with Parkinson’s disease.
From her simple upbringing, Costigan made a name for herself, led a successful career, and fell in love. She is proof that with the proper motivations, everyone has an opportunity for an incredible future.
