Wednesday, July 13, 2016

We are moving

My Art Resources is thrilled to share that we have acquired the popular local interview blog San Jose Creatives. We are proud to carry on their mission of interviewing the diverse and abundant creative community of Santa Clara County. We will be featuring a new artist every month and changing things up a little bit by asking some new questions and adding lots of images to each interview.

We are going to keep all of the current interviews on this blog as an archive and all of the new interviews will now be hosted on the My Art Resources site blog.  

We hope you will join us on the My Art Resources site to read all of the new interviews. You can also find us on social media.


Monday, January 18, 2016

Amy Brown aka Jumbo Jibbles


Website: JumboJibbles.com


What do you do? 
I am a fabric sculptor focusing on fruits and vegetables.

Where can we find your work? 
I sell on Etsy, and have social media presences practically everywhere. I'm not hard to find.

What inspires you to create and how do you keep motivated when things get tough?
I invented an embiggening machine-- it's really just myself, seeing pleasing objects and replicating them on a larger (or sometimes smaller) scale. When things get tough, sometimes I get pretty low. It's the strangest thing being in a depressive period surrounded by large, brightly colored things. I have a lot of support from the people around me-- my spouse, and a fantastic group of lady artists who are in my same boat. It's ok to be sad sometimes. The contrast between depression and making things that bring people joy is a kind of fuel.

What do you think is more important content/finished product or technique/process? 
I love the process-- every little sketch and iPhone note of "OMG DO IT THIS WAY" when I get a sudden bolt of inspiration on the train. But then I look back at it and wonder what the hell I was getting at. I should make better notes.

Who are some people who influence and/or inspire you?
I get excited by the biggest things. I remember the first time I saw Christo and Jean-Claude's Surrounded Miami Islands in a magazine. I was 11 and had next to no exposure to contemporary art. I love showing their pieces to kids in my sewing classes, then asking, "Now what would you make if you could make anything?" Friends with You make great big inflatable installations, and last summer I volunteered at their book signing at MOCA LA and wore an inflatable suit for a few hours. High point of my life. One day I'd like to see Toshiko Horiuchi MacAdam's work in person. Locally, I love following Kyle Pellet on Instagram and Tricia Stackle's sumptuous felt work.

What is the most incredible art moment for you so far?

When I need a pick-me-up I think about Younhee Paik's installation of Ascending River at the ICA. I wanted to stay in there forever. I went to the EMP Museum in Seattle this month-- call me silly, but I got chills looking at the Chuck Jones sketches in the What's Up, Doc? exhibit. The pieces of my childhood disassembled and came back together. I saw the guts of my favorite cartoons. 

When do you get your best ideas?

Randomly! Sometimes I loiter in the produce section at Whole Foods and fondle dragonfruits, but it's usually in that space just between work and relaxation that my best thoughts come.

What materials/tools do you use most to create your work?
For a long time I've worked within the constraints of space and tools, so fleece was my main fabric for creating. I needed fabrics that didn't fray. I'm about to get a serger and all hell is gonna break loose. Also, my heart says pompoms, but I'm just a pom junkie. I buy bags of them, make them, never really use them in my work. Just squirrel them away like a fiber Gollum. 

Are you self-taught or formally educated? How do you think that has influenced or affected your work?
Self-taught. I started making little things after I graduated college, fabric mix tape covers, patches for friends' bands. I took two or three sewing classes when I first got interested in making clothing, but after that I have have pushed through on my own. I've made so many mistakes, but mostly they've been fruitful. I had a great production assistant who went to West Valley fashion classes, and she passed on lots of great tips on making patterns. One day when I have time, I'll go back to school and take some design classes. In some ways I'm working with one hand tied behind my back-- I know I could do much more.

Who would you most like to meet living or dead and why?
My maternal grandmother Cerise! She had 10 kids and sewed all their clothes. I'd like to meet her before they all got there. She was died when I was 9, but [re-read that second sentence] was a little too tired to do any more sewing. I want to know what she thinks about what I'm doing now. Maybe we could go into business together.

When you are not creating what do you like to do?
Comic books, taking incredibly slow hikes to take pictures of mushrooms, and riding my bike. I would love to start traveling more.

How did you learn to access your creative talents and gain the confidence to put it out there for everyone to experience?
Fake it. Try everything until you feel comfortable, and until then, fake it. No one will know. 

What advice would you give others just beginning their creative adventures?

Don't be afraid of making money on your art-- it helps you to live and make what you love. Pay it forward by helping other artists. And dangit, have an online presence!!      







Friday, October 23, 2015

April Gee - Containher

Website:​ containher.com                                


What do you do?
I’m a composer/vocalist and an artist

Where can we find your work? You can find my music on containher.com

What inspires you to create and how do you keep motivated when things get tough?
I can’t help but create, even though I often move at the pace of a dreamy turtle. It’s my catharsis from this often alienating life. I feel like I can get in touch with a deep place within myself and share it with others through music. It’s also my main form of play, something I look forward to, and a better challenge than any puzzle or video game.

What do you think is more important content/finished product or technique/process?I think it’s important to practice getting to that high quality, brilliant, shining diamond in your mind’s eye. So don’t just zen out into a blob, but keep unfogging that view of your piece while you swim forward towards it. As artists, we can all see where we want to be with one work or another...and we should all strive to get there and surprise ourselves with some twists and turns for the better on our way to what feels “finished” on any particular project. Nothing is more gratifying. Who are some people who influence and/or inspire you?

I especially relate to women that have squished their way into the music industry with their own style, completely their own. The kinds of women that you can’t say “Oh she’s the next (fill in the blank)” Sade,for example, was rejected by everyone when she came out with her first album. They didn’t know how to categorize it. She got herself an interview at a hip fashion magazine, sold out her first show and then all the same labels that rejected her wanted her signed with them. She allowed it on one condition..that nothing on the album be changed one bit. Her, Bjork, Enya, Beth Gibbons from Portishead who formed a unique sound as a farm girl listening to very old records. As a composer/producer I’m also all over the map. Like Duke Ellington said..there’s only 2 types of music. Good music and bad music. hehe. So I like whatever feels fresh to me from any era or genre. Whatever feels fresh and juicy!

What is the most incredible art moment for you so far?
It’d have to be right now. I’ve developed myself a lot in the past couple years. I used to only be able to sing and tinker on the guitar. Now, I feel like I can be an architect of sound..building around my voice. I still have a lot to learn and a long ways to grow, but things are more exciting than they are frustrating. I know that I can figure just about anything out. I have the confidence to go for it, and the humility to know where and how to ask for help.

When do you get your best ideas? I get my best ideas in echoey places. I usually find a good tiled bathroom and set up my laptop there and then get all witchy. In any case, the best ideas come when I’m wandering around with my voice and having fun with a beat or pretending I’m some sort of mad genius.

What materials/tools do you use most to create your work?
I’m usually sitting somewhere with my laptop and a portable midi keyboard, or I have a monster version of that at home when I need to get serious. I also like to hash things out on piano or try out different approaches on guitar...and plenty of time is spent with the reverb on high just singing into a cheap microphone.

Are you self ­taught or formally educated? How do you think that has influenced or affected your work?
I’m mostly self taught. It’s hard to know how that has influenced my work. I’m guessing that it leads to a western pop pallet that I’m working with as opposed to having true classical training. In any case, I’m learning whatever I can about the language and theory of music now. I try to keep a positive outlook on it, and hope that I’ve developed a somehow “unspoiled” style of my own that I can fortify with continuing education.

Who would you most like to meet living or dead and why?I’d love to meet Bjork and sit in some cave in Iceland singing with her and maybe just one beat machine. We could bring lunch and a giant keg of hot tea. I think it would be the greatest jam ever. When you are not creating what do you like to do? These days, I like to sit outside with this orange cat that I know named Little Buddy. He stares out into the sunset, and I can really understand that. I like quiet things like that, and drinking tea all day. I recharge alone. When I feel active, I dance like a crazy person. How did you learn to access your creative talents and gain the confidence to put it out there for everyone to experience? I’ve only recently done this public thing. It’s still kind of an experiment. When you put something out there for people to experience..you kind of have to disconnect a little bit so that you can stand back and calibrate where you really are. There are several levels going on: 1) Do you like it, you, yourself personally. If so...then that should be satisfying enough to show it even if you like the rough edges around it and things that people won’t necessarily get. it is authentic if you feel it. 2) Is it good? come on, be honest. Can you stand back and say that it is good quality in the scope of history and your modern peers? If so..yeah..you should definitely share it, even if the people in your immediate circle don’t get it. I guess, all in all, don’t expect anyone to “get it”. But if you’re hitting #1, and at least almost hitting #2, you should get your work out there. Try to think about it from your perspective as an audience member of another artist’s work. Whenever I see something good and fresh, I feel like my soul has been nourished. Remember that you can be that for someone else if you are doing your job right.

What advice would you give others just beginning their creative adventures? I think that it’s very important to stay positive, and to wiggle around in art til you find your stride in a particular aspect of it. Realize that time pays off. Whatever you spend time on, you are becoming more of. That includes being a positive, healthy person...and being an accomplished artist. Be kind to yourself along the way, and treat it like it is a game. Don’t worry, and don’t wallow. Keep your focus on your goal so that everything that gets in your way feels like a tiny pebble. Sometimes, you’re going to suck and will have to start all over again. You can get a boost in your powers when you seek help, or further your education. Also, make friends among people that do what you do in ways that you admire. You’re going to be growing together, learning from each other, and it makes life better in so many way.

Thursday, August 27, 2015

Donald Bruce Wright

Website: www.paintingsbydon.com


What do you do?
I paint modern stylized invented still life compositions based on the classic still life convention of flowers in a vase or other vessel.

Where can we find your work?
-Online at www.paintingsbydon.com
-At my studio at 1068 The Alameda, San Jose (by appointment only please email me)
-Through my art dealer: ArtSmart 1261 Lincoln Ave. Suite 106 San Jose, CA

What inspires you to create and how do you keep motivated when things get tough?Living inspires me to create. I have to spend time creating regularly or I become depressed, unsettled and no fun to live with (so I am told…) When things get tough, I try to suspend thinking about what I am creating and work more quickly in a more intuitive way. I can tend to get too analytical. I try to return to the idea of art as play.

What do you think is more important content/finished product or technique/process?
Although I derive great satisfaction from the end product, the process is more important to my well-being. When I was working on paintings that were meticulously planned, the execution became drudgery at times because it was mere rendering. All the creativity was in the conception. Now I work more spontaneously and creatively throughout the entire process and I am much happier. My favorite painting is usually the one I am currently trying to develop.

Who are some people who influence and/or inspire you?
There is no end to the number of artists from all eras whose work inspires me. I have a large collection of artist monographs that I refer to often and I am always buying more. I find I can learn something and find something useful from artists of all stripes and styles. I love to riff off whatever work happens to be striking my fancy at the time.

What is the most incredible art moment for you so far?
In my studio: the times when I have achieved what they call “flow” and I feel like creative ideas that emanate from elsewhere are passing through me. It’s thrilling when you do something great on the canvas and you wonder where it came from.
In a museum: when in the Guggenheim Museum in New York, I turned a corner in a gallery space and encountered a large portrait painting by Egon Schiele that seemed in that moment to be as exciting and alive as any person in the building. It gave me chills and was so moving and awe-inspiring that I literally wept with joy. Although the online experience can’t convey what I witnessed, you can see the painting here: http://www.guggenheim.org/new-york/collections/collection-online/artwork/3836

When do you get your best ideas?
When I am not actively thinking about them. I find good ideas come unexpectedly when interacting with the world. It’s as though my subconscious is always on the lookout and it pops an idea up into my consciousness when something presents itself.

What materials/tools do you use most to create your work?
I do quick preparatory pencil sketches for new pieces in the Still Life Jazz series, just to flesh out the basic layout idea. Then I develop the idea using oil paint and brushes on canvas or linen.

Paintings seldom end up just how I conceive of them and there are always compositional and color issues to resolve. When I get stuck and I have many ideas to consider, I use Photoshop to audition the different alternatives. I photograph the painting at the point where I need help and then try different color or design ideas using a Wacom drawing pad and the Photoshop Layer feature. Sometimes I will try 30 or more different solutions to a single painting. It’s so fast to prototype them in Photoshop.

Recently, I have also been making smaller works in acrylic paint on paper. Instead of using Photoshop to test out various solutions, I draw and paint on transparencies to simulate what the finished product could look like.

Oils and acrylics require differing rhythms of work due to their vastly different drying times. I enjoy both.

Are you self-taught or formally educated? How do you think that has influenced or affected your work?
I think most good artists are essentially self-taught even if they went to art school. Making art is like writing one’s signature. We are all taught how to write with a pen but no one teaches us how to sign our names. Similarly, in art classes and graduate art school, they taught me about materials and how to analyze and talk about my artwork. But no one taught me how to make it. The way I learn is by studying closely the work of artists I admire, either in person in museums and galleries or via books. Lots of trial and error.

Who would you most like to meet living or dead and why?
I’ll confine my list to artists to simplify the question:
Caravaggio – how could he make those magical paintings with limited resources and no help while being on the run from the law and living underground? Did he invent tenebrism in order to be able to create paintings faster?
Rubens – how did he develop his signature color palette for rendering the human form and what were the layered steps he took in each painting? What would he have painted if he didn’t need to rely on wealthy or royal patrons?
Bernini – how did he develop his ability to imagine the finished perfection of those figures within those blocks of marble? Was there any form that he couldn’t capture to his satisfaction in marble?
Picasso – how was he able to be so prolific over so long a period of time while maintaining quality and constant freshness? How did he keep challenging himself? Which of his accomplishments were the most difficult to achieve?

I could go on with lots of questions for many artist heroes and heroines through history.

When you are not creating what do you like to do?
I have no shortage of things to keep me occupied. I am never bored. I love just being in the natural world (I live in a rural setting); reading fictional books with propulsive plotting; watching and analyzing well-made movies (regrettably few available); watching and analyzing well-written TV comedy (also rare); exploring new places in travel anywhere with my wife and, not least, watching baseball. I work on learning Spanish every day. And I spend time interacting with the two cats that share their lives with my wife and me. They give me endless amounts of pleasure and amusement every day.

How did you learn to access your creative talents and gain the confidence to put it out there for everyone to experience?
It happened later in life for me. In my early 40’s, although I had a very successful and lucrative business career, I was miserable. And I was waking up at night with anxiety attacks. It was awful. So I sought some professional help, and I discovered that I had been repressing an interest in the creative arts. I was encouraged to try a drawing class but was reluctant because I thought that I had no talent. As soon as I started the class, I found out that, in fact, I could draw very well instantly, and the anxiety attacks stopped. It took me years thereafter of taking many classes off and on to get to the point where I could feel justified in calling myself an artist. I set modest goals and when I met them I then aimed a little higher, over and over. Eventually, with the support of my wife this led me to take the leap into graduate art school and make art-making my career.

But it is still hard to me to put my work in front of other people. Self-promotion is excruciatingly difficult for me. I’m still learning how to be confident about my work.

What advice would you give others just beginning their creative adventures?
Give yourself permission to make art. Lots of art. Regularly. Not just when you feel inspired. Breakthroughs come unexpectedly. So you have try things and follow where they lead. Don’t let any one piece be too precious. Think of everything you make as merely a stepping-stone to the next thing you’re going to make. You’re learning, exploring and that process never ends. That’s where the joy is. Discovery. And the possibility for more discoveries.


Monday, August 10, 2015

Patrick Hofmeister

Website: www.WADL1.com



What do you do?
I am a multimedia artist working mostly with paint and I enjoy experimenting with different sculpting materials. I work on large scale murals as well as higher detail works on canvas or wood in my studio.

Where can we find your work?
You can find my work online or by visiting my studio.

What inspires you to create and how do you keep motivated when things get tough?
I do a lot of introspective thinking. I’m learning about myself and the way I deal with the world around me. Learned behaviors and conditioned thinking can govern peoples emotions and how they interact with the environment around them. This is my current focus and what is inspiring me to make visual representations. When I’m going through a tough time, creatively or otherwise, I turn my focus to my other passion, dance. It’s a way to get instant gratification. The joy I get from being in the moment and fully letting go is like no other. I try not to force anything creatively but to remain in motion at the same time. If all I feel like doing is squiggle lines and doodling then that’s what I do, without judgment of what I create. I dance the same way, without judgment of how I want to move. Staying open to whatever comes to mind has been the best tool for me. It’s when I start to tell myself that something should be done a certain way that I tend to get stuck.

What do you think is more important content/finished product or  technique/process?
I believe all four of these are very important. They go hand and hand. But to answer your question I would say content and finished product. What is the work about and did I execute the work to the best of my ability? These are the two questions that drive me when creating. Technique and process are variables and are at the mercy of what you are trying to get across and how far you want to push it.

Who are some people who influence and/or inspire you?
This list has changed so many times over the years. Right now, my wife Desiree has got to be at the top of this list. She is the most insightful person in my life. M.C. Escher has long been one of my heroes along with Todd Schorr, Mars1, Greg Simkins, H.R. Giger, Mike Giant and Robert Williams just to name a few. There are so many artists that have influenced me over the years. When I see that I’m falling too close to someone’s style (because I’m still a fan and love to geek out on someones work), I will usually cut that visual influence out of my life to help keep myself balanced. Being such a visual person and my love for art I can easily get caught up in someone else’s work, trying to wrap my head around it.

What is the most incredible art moment for you so far?
That’s a big question. But I would have to say my participation in the group show “Spiral” at the Triton Museum of Art in Santa Clara. It had so many firsts for me. I was blessed to have been a part of that show and to have been able to work so closely with the staff at the Triton. Really great people. I put so much work into that show and the concepts behind it. To be able to see the response I received from that was the greatest reward I’ve had.

When do you get your best ideas?
When I’m just coming out of a funk or a dry spell. This is when I run with an idea the hardest and get really ambitious. I’m still not totally sure why but I’ve been noticing the pattern. That and if I’m under a great amount of pressure. I’ve had some gems this way too.

What materials/tools do you use most to create your work?
Acrylic and spray paint. Although I’ve recently started using oils in my work and I have fallen deep, deep in love with them.

Are you self-taught or formally educated? How do you think that has influenced or affected your work?I’m a self-taught artist. I think it has allowed me to make a TON of mistakes. I know so much about what NOT to do that it makes it easier to find what to do. I haven’t had anyone tell me how I should paint, what I should paint about and that I could or couldn’t do something. I’m free.

Who would you most like to meet living or dead and why?
Im going to have to pick 2. Andre3000 and Mike Patton. My 2 top musicians. If I could only listen to 2 artists for the rest of my life it would be these guys. These guys inspire me EVERY TIME I hear their music. They are not afraid to do anything, be weird and put themselves WAY out there. They are creative geniuses.

When you are not creating what do you like to do?
I like to bother my friends with toilet humor, bad jokes, insults and inappropriate pictures. I’m a dancing fool, ANY chance I get to hit that dance floor I’m on it. Adventures! Did I mention Dancing?

How did you learn to access your creative talents and gain the confidence to put it out there for everyone to experience?
I was lucky. I had a good friend push me to paint while I was living with him. I started and I started to get pretty good in a short amount of time. I learned to believe in myself and through some pretty tough criticism I learned to let go of what other people thought. I do this for me. But I had to learn that after seeking approval form others for so long. As far as putting myself out there I just thought what have I really got to lose? If not now, when?

What advice would you give others just beginning their creative adventures?
The sooner you don’t give a shit, the better. The sooner you learn to not judge your work until it’s actually finished the better. Go find people to create with. Be prepared to be let down by the artists you look up to and don’t take it personal. You will be told your work isn’t worth it. You will be told your work is the best someone has seen. Take it all with a grain of salt and work for you. Get weird, freak out, paint in the dark or with your eyes closed. Look up every frickin artist that sparks the slightest interest in you. Try everything at least once. Don’t settle because you don’t think you can do it. And ABOVE ALL have a good time on this long journey as an artist. There is no finish line so stay steady strong.

Monday, August 3, 2015

Oddly Even





What do you do?
We (Calvin Sturges and Ashley Macachor) are in a band called Oddly Even that we started back in 2010 when we met.

Where can we find your work?
Bandcamp, soundcloud..at our shows!
https://oddlyeven.bandcamp.com/
https://soundcloud.com/oddly-even-1

What inspires you to create and how do you keep motivated when things get tough? Ashley: Creativity for creativity’s sake. Remembering that there are no boundaries, even when it seems like there are and remembering that there is always something to learn.

What do you think is more important content/finished product or technique/process?
Ashley: I think sometimes if you’re overly focused on an end result you can miss a lot along the way. Ultimately, I think the process is the most important, it’s where the spark is. The finished product is just a representation of that and without the process you have no end result.

Who are some people who influence and/or inspire you?
Ashley & Cal: Everyday people, friends, family, the stranger at the gas station-- too many to list. We never know where it might come from, that's the most inspiring part.

If you could be any fictional character who would you be?
Gandalf and Charlie Brown

When do you get your best ideas?
Ashley: When I’m not thinking.
Cal: No clue. They just sneak up on me whenever they feel like it.

What materials/tools do you use most to create your work?

Cal: The basics: guitar, drums, etc. Right now, we’re gravitating toward earthier sounds like acoustic bass, frame drums etc.

Are you self taught or formally educated? How do you think that has influenced or affected your work?
Ashley: Both. Learning the “rules” can be helpful to some degree and it can also be trapping. Both angles have helped me realize that finding the balance is key. Finding the space to find your own voice so you don’t get stuck in someone else’s is important.

Cal: Self-taught, but have more recently gained an interest in formal education...which has helped me translate some of my concepts with more ease.

What would your creative work taste like?
Sauerkraut

When you are not creating what do you like to do?
When we are not playing or listening to music: getting into nature, eating, learning new things, staying healthy.

How did you learn to access your creative talents and gain the confidence to put it out there for everyone to experience?
Ashley & Cal: It seems like that’s not necessarily a place you arrive at once and for all. It’s more of a constant ebb and flow. For us, a big key has been not to be too self-critical and knowing we always have something to learn; you just have to be willing to try things.

What advice would you give others just beginning their creative adventures?
Ashley: Learn to trust your gut and intuition. It won’t fail you.
Cal: Do what you love, not what you think will get you love.

Sunday, July 19, 2015

Miguel Machuca



What do you do?
I am an A.B.A Therapist (Applied Behavior Analysis). I work in a school and home environment. I help children diagnosed with autism, implementing appropriate behaviors and fading out inappropriate behaviors by applying positive reinforcement. I’ve been in this particular field going on18 years now, and counting.

Where can we find your work?
I’ve participated in many local art shows and have been involved in countless San Jose art events. I have also been a guest on NBC/Telemundo. You can see my interview for Comunidad del Valle with Damien Trujillo (link to interview is above) alongside fellow artist, Elizabeth Montelongo. You can also see some of my work displayed at the Triton Museum of Art for the show "50 and Looking Forward", featuring artists to look out for in the near future. There are pieces of work that are also finished references for my upcoming 2017 solo exhibition at the museum called “333 The Sacred Connection”. I also have a Facebook artist page (link above) where you can follow me as I produce more work. I also have an Instagram account that you can follow as well.

Interview with Damien Trujillo: Https://youtu.be/Dwz9Ea346uo

What inspires you to create and how do you keep motivated when things get tough? Everyday life and human behavior is a big deal to me. I like to analyze and I try to understand the dark side of the human psyche. I am also inspired by the wonders of ancient civilizations and their ways of understanding and exploring enlightenment. Sacred geometry, religious beliefs, religions, alchemy, and the search for progress through an understanding of our universe and its powerful laws of attraction.

What do you think is more important content/finished product or technique/process?
I don’t think you can have one thing without the other. Cause and effect equals material. By that, I mean the content is important because you want to deliver a good concept. Something that will make others think or challenge them to acknowledge or try to understand the finished product. Technique is also important, no matter what your techniques are, it’s engaging in a way, to execute your vision flawlessly, either by classical training or self-taught by life experiences. Finished product is a difficult one because some works of art could take years, months, days, and some - just a few hours. If you ever finish a work of art, then you are done. If you don't, it becomes a progress piece where you constantly learn new ways to execute. As you go along, the piece will show you where to go next.

Who are some people who influence and/or inspire you?
Picasso for me, was a great teacher because he showed me how to follow my intuition, my heart, my rebel mentality but at the same time to be daring and provocative. Frida Kahlo challenged me to express how I feel, to be confident in expressing my most darkest and painful emotions. She taught me to be fearless while searching for new ways to express with images from scars left or made by my life's journey. Pain, darkness, sorrow and suffrage can be beautiful once you lay it down in visual form. I can always see beauty in the ugliest things. Personal experiences I go through everyday are also influential points in my life. Hardship, struggle, resilience, and the deep emotional and conscious thought of my connection to all living things.

What is the most incredible art moment for you so far?
It’s difficult to limit myself to one moment, because every moment has brought a unique experience into my life and career as an artist. One of my proudest moments is when I was able to communicate with a student, whom is diagnosed with autism, with visual images and interaction through art projects. I helped him release tension and use fine motor skills by using his obsession to scribble on paper. I presented him with different colors and taught him how to move/rotate his drawing paper while he scribbled on it. At the end, he developed/improved great fine motor skills, how to request for certain types of materials, and how to challenge himself by thinking of what he needed to begin and finish his ideas.

When do you get your best ideas?
I get my best ideas at night. As I go through my day, I observe life as it comes and goes. When the sun sets and the moon shows itself, my body and mind begin turning all the gears to the point where I feel like an owl hunting in the night. My mind is a conjunction of ideas, poems and thoughts, and quotes which stay collected in the memory frames of my mind.

What materials/tools do you use?
When I paint, I don’t always use my brushes. I know in some cases, it’s important, but what I mean is, I like to use anything I can. Most of the time, I use whatever I can/want, to execute my ideas exactly how I see them in my head. If it is a commissioned piece, then I use the specific tools that are needed to deliver what they want. If it’s a piece of my own, then it’s no holds bar. 

Are you self-taught or formally educated? How do you think that has influenced or affected your work?
I am a self-taught artist that is formally educated by life itself. Techniques that I have learned have developed as I go along. Also, interactions with friends, teachers and other artists have also improved my skills by sharing ideas and different ways to execute projects.

Who would you most like to meet living or dead and why? 
Charlie Chaplin. For his wisdom and creativeness in making people laugh without saying one word. I'm a big fan of silent films. Michael Angelo and Leonardo Da Vinci. For their love, obsessive passion, sometimes crazy ways, and without their knowing- helping advance the human race to the next level of artistic progress. Frida Kahlo, for her ways of showing her pain through art and her resilient soul to fight for what she believed in. Lastly, Picasso, for his cause and the way he would think outside the box. He would never settle for one option, he would explore countless possibilities to push the envelope with his wisdom.

When you are not creating what do you like to do? 
When I'm not creating, I like to have fun with friends, attend musical events, dancing, and be with my girlfriend.

How did you learn to access your creative talents and gain the confidence to put it out there for everyone to experience? 
I was always a creative person since I can remember. I learned to access my creative talents by just having the excitement of showing people my art. People always knew I was an artist. The passion to challenge myself to shock or set an impression on the public. What taught me to not be embarrassed, afraid and sometimes nervous was to paint live. Painting live forced and helped me to liberate myself from these emotional elements that could sometimes limit my creative process. Painting live also taught me to interact, answer questions and learn how to network at the same time I was engaged on a piece of art. It helped me be spontaneous, to not be afraid of making mistakes and to challenge myself to finish a piece in certain amount of time. It’s definitely liberating. 

What advice would you give others just beginning their creative adventures? Have fun. That's it. Expectations sometimes limit your mind. Be free to express whatever you want in order to develop your ideas first, and as time passes, technique will develop. Be free to make mistakes. Be free to create.




Thursday, June 18, 2015

Freya Seeburger


Website: www.cellista.net


What do you do?
I am a cellist,and I am devoted to interdisciplinary, collaborative art projects that connect people in meaningful, life-changing ways. I also have a strong penchant for performing in unusual places, and spaces. I recently started my own business, called CELLISTA, and through it, I am pursuing my love of artistic direction. My curated performing arts series, “Juxtapositions,” just found a regular venue in SF I am hoping to grow it, and bring it to San Jose very soon.

Where can we find your work?
Rarely in a concert hall. But if you do find me in the concert hall by chance, I will probably be wearing a “Joy Division” t-shirt, and Doc’s.
You can also check my website to find some of my session work with SF Bay area bands. I also tend to play out as much as I can in downtown San Jose. I’ve been busking outside Anno Domini on First Fridays since I moved here in 2010. Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/xcellistax

What inspires you to create and how do you keep motivated when things get tough?
Honestly, sometimes I feel like I haven’t worked hard enough to create my own material. I have done so much session work that I recently realized that I’ve never taken the time to create my own music.I feel incredibly fortunate to make music for a living, but at the same time, it means that personal projects tend to come last. I guess the process of creation is ongoing, though, whether I am “actively” creating or not.

What do you think is more important content/finished product or
technique/process?

I find a lot of joy in the process that leads to the finished product. One can’t exist without the other.

Who are some people who influence and/or inspire you?
I am so in love with the arts scene in San Jose. When I first moved here, I found so much love, and support from both the visual arts scene, and the music scene. I am inspired by San Jose. I love it.

What is the most incredible art moment for you so far?
My collaborative art project with Tulio Flores for SubZERO last year. I have never had a more meaningful moment in my life.Tulio was the first artist to approach me about doing installations involving performing artists. I think he literally changed my life with his artistic vision. We met when I was busking outside Anno Domini in 2011, and he contacted me to ask if I would collaborate with him. This lead to a couple projects, and a deep friendship. I was asked to participate in subZERO,and realized that I wanted to include Tulio in it. During our collaborative process, Tulio brought in Linnae Asiel of Asiel Designs to help him curate the project. The final product, the result of an intense artistic process, was truly transformative. A true merging of music, and art, and the voices of San Jose residents.I’ve been hooked on these interdisciplinary projects ever since.

When do you get your best ideas?
Usually while I’m journaling at Roy’s Coffee, listening to my weird, eclectic music mix on headphones.

What materials/tools do you use most to create your work?
My cello bow has sculpted my entire world.

Are you self-taught or formally educated? How do you think that has influenced or affected your work?
I am classically trained, but since 2011 I’ve been branching out considerably. Most of my work involves me coming on to various projects as a session player.I think being classically trained has some benefits. Overall, I’m not sure that it has helped me much in terms of creating. I really think that it has somewhat limited me in terms of confidence. I think a lot of classical players have pretty severe self-esteem issues that stem from the culture of classical music. We are really taught to doubt ourselves. It’s important in classical music to constantly assess what could better in performance, and in practice, but often classical musicians end up in a cloud of self-doubt that severely limits them. Maybe the culture is shifting though. More and more, I see classical musicians playing out the way any band would. I am running into more classical cats with rock bands, or busking, or just being on the scene.

Who would you most like to meet living or dead and why?
I really want to play cello for Snoop. I can’t lie. It’s my ultimate goal. I would die happy.I know it’s weird, and maybe a strange goal for a classical cellist, but I have a huge crush on him.I guess while I’m getting confessional here, I also have a thing for Brahms. The young Johannes. He was such a knock-out, and those bedroom eyes. Ah! I think we might have loved each other. I wish I could time travel back to 1853, right when he was just meeting the Schumann’s. A young thing in his twenties, just coming off a mega-tour as an accompanist (the classical version of session work), and wowing everyone with his talent, virtuosity, and gaining recognition as a composer, and soloist.

When you are not creating what do you like to do?
I feel like I am always actively creating. I guess I am the artistic director of my own life.

How did you learn to access your creative talents and gain the confidence to put it out there for everyone to experience?
I think I realized that I had no interest in being in a concert hall. Or at least my ultimate goal is not the concert hall. I had realize my own limitations as a cellist, and also realize what I bring to the table. I may not be a virtuoso, I may not sight read as well as I’d like, but I love music. My love of playing, and of listening is valuable. I have always been creating, and I think everyone is an active creator. Everyone shapes their own life, makes decisions everyday that have an impact. I’ve made the choice to stop limiting myself because I worry about what other people think. More especially, I am in the process of trying to ignore my own self-doubt. If there are any barriers to my creative output, the barriers are coming from within.

What advice would you give others just beginning their creative adventures? 
Enjoy the process.

Monday, March 30, 2015

Dug Stanat

website: www.dugosaurus.com


What do you do?Firstly, thank you San Jose Creatives for the interview!
I am a figurative sculptor. Most of my work is mixed media or ceramic.

Where can we find your work?Home website: www.dugosaurus.com
Social media: http://dugstanat.deviantart.com/
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Dug-Stanat-Art/467424890043805
http://instagram.com/dugstanat
Online sales: https://www.etsy.com/shop/DugStanatArt
Brick and mortar gallery:
FM Gallery in Oakland (solo show July and August, 2015)

What inspires you to create and how do you keep motivated when things get tough?I am inspired to create by the prospect of making something that no one has seen before. The possibility that I might stand back from a finished piece and think, “That is a fun, memorable, unique character”, drives me forward.

When I am having trouble I allow myself a break from artwork. If I am having difficulty exiting vacation mode, I like to imagine someone I respect is watching everything I'm doing...that generally gets me back on track pretty quickly.

What do you think is more important content/finished product or technique/process?
My previous response exposes my answer to this question. While I enjoy the process of creating, and the product cannot exist in its final form without the technique, ultimately my eye is on the finished product.

Who are some people who influence and/or inspire you?
With the web, influences are drops in a rainstorm, and I am soaked. However there are those that hit me like golf ball sized hail: John Kenn Mortensen's post-it notes, the artisans of Oaxaca and Bali, Bosch, and Bruegel the Elder come to mind.

What is the most incredible art moment for you so far?
I think it must be the long moment after college when I had no direction and started spending all my free time sculpting. I simply stumbled onto the path of the artist and just kept walking.

When do you get your best ideas?
I often get ideas from a couple words in a book or song, or while walking the dog and daydreaming. But I am at my most creative when I am creating: embracing mistakes and watching for forks in the trail...these lead to a more interesting final product than what my brain can achieve on its own.

What materials/tools do you use most to create your work?
For my ceramic work, there are no surprises: stoneware clay, sculpting tools, brushes, electric kiln, oxide washes, and underglazes.

For my mixed media work, I use whatever gets the job done and leads to a sturdy piece that the vermin won't want to eat. Materials include: wood, rocks, sand, wire, metal foil, sheet metal, fabric saturated with glue, epoxy sculpting putty, acrylic paints and mediums, and varnish. Tools include: saber saw, sander, drill, router, rotary tool, heat gun, glue gun, sculpting tools, brushes, and airbrush.

Are you self-taught or formally educated? How do you think that has influenced or affected your work?
I've taken a few art classes, and have found them useful, but mostly I am self-taught from books, experimentation, and time. I expect it has led to slower development and gaping holes of ignorance that I am not even aware of. Perhaps it leads to art that is more innocent in self expression.

Who would you most like to meet living or dead and why?Without a doubt I would most like to meet someone who is dead, as I have several questions no living person can answer with authority.

When you are not creating what do you like to do?
My most cherished time is that spent with family and nature.

How did you learn to access your creative talents and gain the confidence to put it out there for everyone to experience?I don't feel as though I ever learned to access hidden creative talents. Instead I feel as though I have spent time creating skills that are now at my disposal. How I use those skills may be unique to me, due to personal aesthetics, sensibilities, and experiences, but the skills themselves are generic.

Regarding gaining confidence to show my work, again I think that just comes with time. I like strange characters. If you like strange characters, you might like my work. If you don't like strange characters, there is very little chance that you will like my work, and I'm O.K. with that.

What advice would you give others just beginning their creative adventures?
My previous response tips my hand here. Growing is, for the most part, about time well spent. A lot of time well spent. So time is your most valuable asset. For most of us, making time requires sacrificing sleep and/or standard of living. This can be difficult and painful, but the rewards can be great.