Vanessa Sanchez de Tagle

Name: Vanessa Sanchez de Tagle
Website: https://www.facebook.com/VanessaSanchezDeTagleFotography/

What do you do?       

I’m a photographer. I mainly like to shoot candid photos, but I also do events and themed photo shoots.

Where can we find your work?
You can find my work on my Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/VanessaSanchezDeTagleFotography/

What inspires you to create and how do you keep motivated when things get tough?
Life is what inspires me. Everything from meeting new people to scattered rose pedals on the ground. I believe there is beauty in everything if you look close enough. I like to surround myself with positive people and travel as much as possible whether I’m going to the beach or visiting nearby cities. I need to constantly be active otherwise I’d get bored and lose motivation to do anything.  

What do you think is more important content/finished product or technique/process?
I believe both are very important, but I also believe that investing some time with the piece shows how much effort that was put into it and is more effective to its audience.  

Who are some people who influence and/or inspire you?
My family, close friends and anyone who is passionate about what they do.

If you could be any fictional character who would you be?
I would be Ofelia from Pan’s Labyrinth because I like to get lost and explore unusual places. Except my Spanish is terrible haha!

When do you get your best ideas?
My best ideas come to me when I am up late at night and when I’m running.  

What materials/tools do you use most to create your work?
I mainly use my Canon 60D, but occasionally I like to use my Holga or Polaroid camera when I’m feeling adventurous.

Are you self-taught or formally educated? How do you think that has influenced or affected your work?

I started photography at a young age. I got a camera and began taking photos of everything in sight. I carried a camera with me everywhere I went and over the years taught myself that certain angles and colors can make an image unique. It wasn’t until college when I took a film photography class and learned the importance of lighting among other things.

What would your creative work taste like?
Sweet like key lime pie with glass of moscato on the side.

When you are not creating what do you like to do?
I love to dance hip hop, hiking, running, thrifting, going to shows, and spending time with loved ones.

How did you learn to access your creative talents and gain the confidence to put it out there for everyone to experience?
As I mentioned earlier, I would always carry a camera everywhere I went and try to capture special moments or things that caught my attention. It was my way to make a memory last. I didn’t realize that I had talent until people complimented me on my photos. My grandma was the one who encouraged me to take my photography seriously. Over the years I would always post my work online, but it wasn’t until last year that I had my first solo show at Silicon Valley De-Bug in San Jose where they were kind enough to let me display my photos for the world to see.  

Here’s the link to see my window gallery:

http://www.siliconvalleydebug.org/articles/2012/09/13/de-bug-gallery-presents-mi-vida-sj-photographer-vanessa-sanchez-de-tagle

What advice would you give others just beginning their creative adventures?
Do what makes you happy and don't let anyone or anything hold you back from what you want. Never settle for anything less than what you deserve. Most importantly, always remind yourself why you love what you do.

David Canavese

Name: David Canavese

Website: www.otherlifeart.com

What do you do?
A bit of everything, including painting and drawing, but I’m primarily a sculptor of welded steel, paper, and mixed media. My steel sculptures could be seen as abstract, but are definitely inspired by coral, other undersea creatures, and the possibilities of extraterrestrial life. My hyper-detailed paper sculptures depict gigantic technology (architecture and spacecraft) in a tiny scale.

Where can we find your work?
My website (www.otherlifeart.com), my Etsy store (www.etsy.com/shop/OtherlifeArt), and my DeviantArt (satchelmarr.deviantart.com).

What inspires you to create and how do you keep motivated when things get tough?
The desire to be a creator just wells up from inside of me.  I’m not truly happy unless I’m making something. Most of all I enjoy building worlds, and imagery allows me to share my imaginings with other people far better than words alone could.

What do you think is more important content/finished product or technique/process?
It’s difficult  to pick just one, but my works in particular are very process-driven. Often I create straight out of my head without sketching or planning, so it often feels like “the process” is another artist I’m collaborating with. Welded steel and paper behave in certain ways, but I also enjoy trying to stretch the limits of that I can do with them.

Who are some people who influence and/or inspire you?
I really enjoy the work of concept artists like H.R. Giger and Ralph McQuarrie. For conceptual architecture I’d pick Dan Slavinsky. Escher was clearly a bit of an obsessive artist and I can really identify with that. When it comes to sculpture, I like Greg Brotherton. Lee Bontecou is also amazing and might be my favorite artist.

If you could be any fictional character who would you be?
It’s hard not to want to be Han Solo, sightseeing the width and breadth of the galaxy while trying to make a quick buck!

When do you get your best ideas?
Usually while I’m working on a project. My metal and paper sculptures are very time-intensive, so I have a lot of time to think as I work.

What materials/tools do you use most to create your work?
A MIG welder for my steel pieces, and paper products (copy paper, index card, mat board) and white glue for my miniature papercraft works. I don’t use a tweezers or any magnification (at least, not yet!).

Are you self taught or formally educated? How do you think that has influenced or affected your work?
Both. I trained myself in papercraft (starting at age 8) and have experimented and refined my craft continuously since then. I studied studio art (fine art) at Santa Clara University (with an sculpture emphasis). My instructors taught me that art is problem-solving. Long before I ever heard Tim Gunn say, “make it work!” I was hearing the same thing from my teachers.

What would your creative work taste like?
One artwork would be metallic and a bit rusty, but another would be quite pulpy.

When you are not creating what do you like to do?
My other career is teaching ballroom, latin, swing and salsa dancing, so I enjoy getting out and cutting a rug.

How did you learn to access your creative talents and gain the confidence to put it out there for everyone to experience?
Creativity has always been a part of my life, but as an introverted person, maintaining a public presence and promoting my artwork has been a real challenge. I still struggle with trying to sell my artwork. But I do enjoy getting direct feedback from people. That’s the rewarding part.

What advice would you give others just beginning their creative adventures? 
I know my art won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, and I’m absolutely fine with that, because there’s lots of artwork that I appreciate, but there are only a handful of artists whose work grabs a hold of me and won’t let go! At the end of the day, I’m trying to make art that fills a void in my head when I’m looking around at the world. If there was a lot of stuff out there like mine I’d feel redundant and probably wouldn’t feel the same drive to create. Find what’s missing from the world (from your perspective) and find a way to bring it here!

Erica Atreya

Name: Erica Atreya
Website: http://Atreyart.see.me
You can purchase my work at http://www.saatchionline.com/atreyart
You can keep in contact and up to date with current work and shows at www.facebook.com/atreyart

What do you do?
Mostly I work with art pens and acrylic paint on art and canvas paper also starting to delve into digital art. I most of all love working with metallic pens and paint.

Where can we find your work?
Every second Saturday in downtown Campbell. On the corner music. Two upcoming shows in June at Kaleid gallery and DDEF gallery.

What inspires you to create and how do you keep motivated when things get to tough?
Mother Nature and beautiful woman inspire me. Ahh how do I keep on through tough times? Hmm….Zoloft!! And knowing “The sun will come up tomorrow”

What do you think is more important content/finished product or technique/process?
All of these are of importance. But when I’m looking to buy art I look for the spirit/soul to the piece I’m buying.
  

Who are some people who influence and/or inspire you?
Frida Kahlo, Gustav Klimt.

If you could be any fictional character who would you be?
Betty Boop. Why? Cause she’s just so darn HAPPY and CUTE! Things that I still strive to be B-)

When do you get your best ideas?
Late at night and other inopportune times.

What materials/tools do you use most to create your work?
Art pad, metallic art pens and paint on canvas. Also just started using Samsung note for digital work.

Are you self taught or formally educated? How do you think that has influenced or affected your work?
Self taught. Lack of formal art education has made me doubt myself at times, but then I see so many talented and well recognized artist without formal art education and I realize there are so many types of art rather educated or not.

What would your creative work taste like?
Coffee, cigarettes and sweet honey.

When you are not creating what do you like to do?
I’m a big time movie buff! Horror movies are my favorite! Also love music big time. I have a rose-note tattoo on my left arm. People always think I’m a musician, I say nope I just really appreciate music ;-) I don’t think I could create my art without music.

How did you learn to access your creative talents and gain the confidence to put it out there for everyone to experience?

Firstly my mother always encouraged me. But now it would be my husband. I can not work because of my disability (Fibromyalgia) my husband gives me the support and courage to pursue my art.

What advice would you give others just beginning their creative adventures?
 Just got to try!  If you don’t Succeed, try again. Make art for your own enjoyment and in turn hope that others will find enjoyment in it as well.

Adam Valentino

Name: Adam Valentino
Website:
 www.AdamValentino.com
facebook.com/AdamValentinoArt

What do you do?
I create paintings with acrylics and spray paint. I draw with charcoal and pastels and also cut custom stencils.

Where can we find your work?My work can be found on my website, FB art page, and on Etsy.  I paint live at times so follow me to find out where I'll be in 2013!

What inspires you to create and how do you keep motivated when things get tough?I get inspired from everyday life and other artists.  I use my art as therapy so when I'm having a bad day it helps me get through it.  I also tell myself my art is all I have so I keep pushing myself to be a
well known artist.

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

I feel they go hand in hand but I'd say technique/process, your finished product wouldn't be what it is if it wasn't for the technique/process used.

Who are some people who influence and/or inspire you?
My kids, my family, my supporters and fans, too many to mention but I LOVE YOU ALL!

If you could be any fictional character who would you be?
Waldo from Where's Waldo books... He's everywhere!

When do you get your best ideas?
My best ideas come in the early mornings and when I shower.

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

I use a basic razor to cut my stencils.  I also paint on MDF wood a lot.  I paint with acrylics and spray paint.  I enjoy drawing with charcoal pencils and incorporate some soft pastels in some work.

Are you self taught or formally educated? How do you think that has influenced or affected your work?
I'm self taught and learning everyday.  I'm more of a visual learner. I feel the formally educated once had an artistic advantage over other artists but with the rise in popularity of street art and graffiti influenced art, it's easier for one to be a known artist without a formal education. The internet helps a lot too.  The street art and graffiti art scene have always been an influence in my life and can be seen in my work.

What would your creative work taste like?
Something fresh you've never had

When you are not creating what do you like to do?
Spend time with my kids.

How did you learn to access your creative talents and gain the confidence to put it out there for everyone to experience?
I got into charcoal drawing in H.S. and around that time I was painting graffiti. I sold my first drawing around that time but didn't continue to sell work, I enjoyed painting more. For a while I wasn't
painting anything then I watched a street art documentary that opened my eyes.  I noticed people would buy this art I was already into and able to do.  I always had people tell me my work was good but I never thought of it as a business until last year.  The response has been great and I appreciate the support!

What advice would you give others just beginning their creative adventures?Never stop learning and never stop creating,  Make the most of your time here!

Chris Reed

Name: Chris Reed

Website: http://www.ChrisReedMusic.com

What do you do?      
I am a recording artist and songwriter. I play guitar, ukulele, saxophone, mandolin, piano and I sing. I am currently recording my debut; solo album entitled “Sweet Destiny”.

I am also the co-owner of a company called “Arts Initiative”.  Arts Initiative provides personalized performing arts programs for local elementary and middle schools.  We specialize in performance-based classes & workshops for band, choir, theatre, guitar and general music enrichment.  I have also been working at Willow Glen Elementary school teaching music, directing plays,  and operas for the last 2 years.  I recently directed a production of Aladdin and Charles Dickens’s “A Christmas Carol,” which I adapted special for the students.

Where can we find your work?

http://www.youtube.com/cristoreed

https://www.facebook.com/chrisreedmusic

http://www.ChrisReedMusic.com

What inspires you to create and how do you keep motivated when things get tough?
My wife is my greatest muse and inspiration.  We have been together for 11 years now, and she has inspired most, (if not all) of the love songs I have ever written.  In fact, she is a brilliant singer who is featured on my album in a duet we sing together called “Fire & Ice”, and is my main back up vocalist.  Her love and belief in me is what motivates me to keep following my dreams.   

The countless people that are in, and have been apart of my life, continuously inspire me to create new music.  It is [their] life, personality, and struggles that have inspired me to create my most honest work.  My favorite part about being a musician is that I have the capability to tell stories.  Not just my own, but the stories of other people who do not have a voice.  There is so much that can be changed through music and I will never forget the power that it holds.  Music has the power to connect us in so many ways and helps us to gain perspective when times are tough.  

What do you think is more important content/finished product or technique/process?
At first, when I write a song, the content and message is the most important part.  Then when I begin recording, the process and journey of the song becomes the most important part.

It is easy to get caught in the trap of just wanting a “finished product” but after treating half of my album with that approach and then taking a step back for a couple months. I realized that it is more important for me as an artist to discover who I am through this process. I want each song to live up to it’s true potential and not be held down by anything.

I let the songs be the guide and do my best to listen to where they need to go. This approach has led me to enjoy and learn from the journey more than ever before, and I cannot wait to see where it takes me next. 

Who are some people who influence and/or inspire you?
Since I started educating & directing I have found inspiration through my students. Their sincere passion & love of music and the arts has helped me to embrace who I am as an artist. Working with them has pushed me to hone and understand my craft to the best of my ability in order to provide them with the best education I can offer. 

Some of my greatest musical influences are Ben Harper, Manu Chao, Gypsy Kings, the late Ali Farke Toure, Mat Mchugh and Josh Garrels just to name a few. I also have a profound connection to music from across the world.  It may sound funny, but I love music in languages I cannot understand. I really get to enjoy the vibe and emotion of the song.   Some artists I would recommend are: TRYO(folk), Saian Supa Crew(hip hop/beat box) and Raggasonic (Ragga-hip hop & reggae).

If you could be any fictional character who would you be?
Superman.

When do you get your best ideas?

I get my best ideas when I am traveling.

What materials/tools do you use most to create your work?
A pencil, paper, ukulele, guitar, and piano.

Are you self taught or formally educated? How do you think that has influenced or affected your work?

I was educated and trained formally on the alto saxophone from the age of  8 until I was 13 years old. All the while improvisation on sax & writing songs were my favorite part of music. Which (at that age) didn’t fit into the curriculum. After that, my education came from playing at blues jams, open mics and in bands (hip hop, funk, pop, reggae).  My father also contributed to my musical education, as he is a trained musician himself. 

As each year comes and goes, I strive to better myself and learn new instruments and become a more knowledgeable musician.  I don’t get wrapped up in the technical aspects of unusual time signatures or clever chord changes, I just try to keep things simple and true.  Whether my approach is good or bad, there is no reason to regret what I am or am not.  I enjoy what I know and learn from what I do not.  

What would your creative work taste like?
Like an always aging Primitivo.

When you are not creating what do you like to do?
I love to hike, run, go on long walks with my wife & 2 dogs. Travel, garden, cook. Solve all the world’s problems with my friends and family.

How did you learn to access your creative talents and gain the confidence to put it out there for everyone to experience?
When I began this journey back in 2001, I dove in head first.  I didn’t worry where I was headed or how I would get there. I just had faith.

Early on, when I began writing lyrics and melodies, I could not play any instruments other than the sax & harmonica.  This made it impossible for me to write or perform my songs without the help others.  Frustrated by this, I eventually taught myself guitar in order to fully complete my own music.    

       

I will admit that up until now I have always released and presented my work with a band.  This is the first time in my life that I am pursuing music in a solo capacity and it certainly is much different and does require more confidence. In a band situation you have the natural strength in numbers.  As I release my music as a “solo artist” I am trying not to think about what others might think or how they may judge me or my music.  I am simply trying to give it my best shot & present myself in the most honest way I know how.  That gives me confidence knowing that I am just being me, and if anyone has a problem with me, then that is quite ok.  We can’t please everyone.  But to be honest…  I really just try not to think about all that too much.

What advice would you give others just beginning their creative adventures?Trust your instincts, have fun and explore. 

Joseph Arruda (Zeruch)

Name: Joseph Arruda (Zeruch)
Website: http://zeruch.deviantart.com/gallery or http://zeruch.net

What do you do?
By day, I am a “Senior Product Manager” at a software company; I’ve worked largely in technology for the last dozen years, and its something that surprisingly has lead to discoveries about concepts I can apply to creative work.  I’m educated as a political wonk, and even though I’ve rarely used the knowledge professionally, I still am an active consumer of political research materials.  One day I hope to move to something like the Congressional Research Service or the State Department, assuming I can ever get past the idea of DC winters.
Otherwise, I have moonlighted as an illustrator and fine artist.  My sole departure from this was 18 months as a principle conceptual artist for a now defunct video game startup in the early 2000s...and experience that nearly killed my creative spark.

Where can we find your work?
It’s predominantly online, with a few private owners (mostly in the Bay Area, but a few in far afield spots like Washington DC, Portugal, Australia, Netherlands, Scotland and probably a few other spots; people buy my prints, but I know not always where they end up).

What inspires you to create and how do you keep motivated when things get tough?
It’s axiomatically a compulsion, so I just do it.  Motivation rarely factors in since I usually have more ideas than I can ever execute on. If I don’t feel like creating, that’s ok (although that’s an unusual state, I’ve had spells where I’ve walked away for a few months at a time, only to come back and produce at a ridiculous clip) and if I am, I just do.  Different projects have different secondary motivators; some commissions are very pecuniary, others are only labors of love that happen to be paid for.  I generally work the same way regardless in terms of execution -- the only difference is the cathartic effect I get from the activity.
When the muse is there (and she is there often, in a lot of forms, because I am just as apt to get an idea from following the curve of a womans figure as I am from the curve of a teapot design, or the curve of a beach or...yeah, it just works).
Maybe that’s why it works: since I never force it, ideas/motivation mostly self-regulates to the “on” position.  I keep sketchbooks in every room of the house, including the bathrooms. I jot stuff down all the time.

What do you think is more important content/finished product or technique/process?  
I don’t have that type of separation.  The process is the compulsion, so it MUST get done.  But I view works as things that can have many lives; you can “finish” something, and then as your technique or approach changes, you can revisit that as many times as you wish afterward.  The objects one create have lives that can extend well past the initial potential.

Who are some people who influence and/or inspire you?
I’m a fan of the arbitrary top 10 lists, so here is my (un-sorted) top 10 list:

Bill Sienkiewicz

Pablo Picasso

Antonio Lobo Antunes

Kent Williams

Miles Davis

Vernon Reid

Alvaro Siza

Jasper Johns

Akira Kurosawa

Mark Romanek

If you could be any fictional character who would you be?
George Smiley.

When do you get your best ideas?
Because I'm responsive to contexts more than specific triggers, it really could be anywhere and at any time (its why I keep small sketchbooks in every room of the house). That said, there are some times when the good ideas seem to materialize more concretely, and thats usually deep in the night or otherwise very early in themornings when I'm waking up (I sleep minimally and at 6-6:30 when I wake up it strangely can often be a time when at least a lot of big project ideas seem to just "show up" in myhead).

What materials/tools do you use most to create your work?
I use a pretty broad array of items, depending on the size and type (representational or abstract), and I made a small blog post that takes a swipe at laying it out visually:
http://zeruch.net/wordpress/?p=3144

Are you self taught or formally educated? How do you think that has influenced or affected your work?
I have taken some formal courses in college, and was an AP art student in high school, but most of my studies were self directed.  Lots of library visits for books on art history and techniques, and heaps of trial and error in the studio.  I got more out of trying to learn formal rules and ignoring them as I needed than just being indoctrinated from the get go.

What would your creative work taste like?
A multi-course Chef’s tasting menu, with wine pairings.  It would be pretty savory, and hopefully leave you very sated.

When you are not creating what do you like to do?
I play with technology, mostly in the Open Source space.  I probably qualify as having a half-assed “active” lifestyle (I like things like trail running, doing “Tough Mudder” type events, and otherwise fooling around outdoors).  I read lots of really wonkish stuff in terms of international politics, and otherwise am never “bored”...I keep busy every moment I can.  Life simply is too short to sit on your ass.

How did you learn to access your creative talents and gain the confidence to put it out there for everyone to experience?
I didn’t.  It was my negation of confidence that helped me along.  I always am both my own worst critic and biggest egomaniacal advocate.  My work is almost exclusively for my own edification only.  When you feel confident you’ve addressed your own needs, putting it out there regardless of what reaction may come (or the absence thereof) seems pretty easy to handle.
Frankly, I am still amazed when anyone notices my stuff, positive or negative.  It means I in fact have inspired some kind of reaction, which I assume is something that only works on me.  Often the reaction interprets what I’ve done differently than how I experienced it.  But its not my place to correct someone on how they experience/perceive what I’ve done.  Their experience is just as valid.  Its theirs, and based on whatever context they happen to be in.  

What advice would you give others just beginning their creative adventures?
This is one of those questions thats just hard to even wrap ones head around.  You have to be open enough with yourself to look for the path you need to take to get where you want to go.  Maybe thats bunkering in a basement for weeks at a time, maybe thats putting yourself out there in the public eye every moment you can. Maybe you work with a mentor. You have to be honest enough with yourself to define what that is...then take steps to do just that.
There are no cookie-cutter steps.  You make your own adventure.  You can be scared or unsure of yourself, but you just keep at it.  To grossly mis-paraphrase my favorite Henry Rollins-ism, “Get Up, Go Again”.

Nicolas Caesar

Name: Nicolas Caesar

Website: www.scary-art.com

What do you do? I’m primarily a painter and cartoonist.

Where can we find your work? Primarily at my web site www.scary-art.com, locally at Psycho-Donuts in Campbell, CA, On the Corner Music also in Campbell and I’m a regular at Kaleid Gallery in downtown San Jose. You can also find my work at Hyaena Gallery in Burbank, CA, Sideshow Studios in Sacramento, CA, Gallery Sev Ven in Huntington Beach, CA, and The Funhouse Gallery in Michigan,. Outside of the regular spots – I’m kind of the girl who can’t say no when it comes to shows and you can find my work from Norway to Afghanistan.

What inspires you to create and how do you keep motivated when things get tough?

I have this rabid need to create. It’s obsessive. To date I’ve sold over 3,000 pieces and still hammer out volumes. It’s kind of like straining a nuclear bomb through your mind. Just this pushing, drumming thing that even when all I had was Ramen and chocolate syrup in my refrigerator I was still creating.

I think it’s important that ever artist know that some months you’re rich and others you’re poor. This is not the vocation to get into for the money. You get into it because it’s everything you are and there’s little choice in that. There’s no happy ending but a journey and your art is the journal. You really have to be a fighter, a mad ship captain, and trudge through it. It’s hard, it’s unforgiving, but beyond your successes and failures – you just have to look forward.

Be you first and foremost. Too often people measure themselves against Warhol, Giger, Ernst, Picasso, and that’s a horrible life plan. You will always lose. You will be crippled with depression. In the low times remind yourself that this is your path and it’s uncharted and if you have a solid foundation nothing will draw you down.

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

Definitely it’s the process. It’s my therapy. It’s thinking in the shower. It’s the trance I go to to makes sense of life, death, existence, and this orchestra of brain chemicals in overdrive. When it’s finished it’s no longer mine, it’s someone else’s journey. No matter what was in my head as I was creating it someone else will buy it because it has a cat in it, because it’s blue, or because they have an overpowering emotional response to it. My job is done.

Who are some people who influence and/or inspire you?

When I was growing up I loved Edward Gorey, Parsonovich, Ralph Steadman, Gerald Scarfe, Charles Addams, Johnny Rotten and Screamin’ Mad George. As I got older it was Alex Toth, John K and Jim Smith of Ren and Stimpy and Bob Clampet. Throw them all in a cocktail and you have the best friend I could ever have growing up.

If you could be any fictional character who would you be?

I think I’d be Beetlejuice, I always seem to be taking the piss out of the people around me. I have this cartoonish look on the world. If I was ever able to manipulate reality it’d be full of my monsters.

When do you get your best ideas?

I go on eBay an do random searches for ‘rubber jiggler’ or ‘unknown monster’. I look at a lot of old toys and I’m big into cryptozoology. I like folklore, urban legends and anything that can conjure up something otherworldly in my mind. I even look at Dungeons and Dragon’s Monster Manual every now and then.

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

I use a sponge brush, acrylic pain and Sharpie paint pens.

Are you self taught or formally educated? How do you think that has influenced or affected your work?

I’m self taught. I think it allows me to put in more chaos. I think when you’re trained it gets really hard to color outside the lines. As Self taught you run with the challenge and you’re always learning, there’s more development and evolution. I appreciate both but I think there’s something about holding your breath and taking the plunge that’s too exciting to give up.

What would your creative work taste like?

I think Fruit Stripe gum lol

When you are not creating what do you like to do?

I watch a lot of movies! I’m a crazy cinephile! I have hundreds on top of hundreds of dvds from video mix tapes to the Pokemon episode that caused seizures. I’m always digging in mom and pop video stores for forgotten treasure.

I also play a lot of Left 4 Dead 2. As an artist I think it’s important to build a tolerance to hecklers and at the same time have an arsenal of retorts. Batman practiced on criminals, I practice on the angry gaming community. If you’re too raw as an artist people will say “My kid could do that” and if your technique is too good people will say “Well, why not just take a picture?”, and of course “Well, what do you do for money?”. Having pre-set retorts can save you a lot of time on the soapbox justifying yourself to people who talk out of their asses.

I also chase my wife around the house like Pepe Le Pew

How did you learn to access your creative talents and gain the confidence to put it out there for everyone to experience?

It was really the school of hard knocks. I had always been an artist, doodling this or that, and when I was in grade school I really started to feel the difference. I had asthma so I had to stay indoors most of the time so I could, well, breath. I think having all that time to myself and this runaway imagination really sculpted me. In High School I was the weird one which was great because I was mostly ignored as other kids got beat up. When you’re on your own Gilligan’s Island and you have no limits to how you express yourself you find great power in that. I just pushed more and more out of the rabbit hole. The stranger the better.

Putting it out there was the first challenge. I didn’t know what to do. I was one of those artists that didn’t show outside of their room. That was until I started going to The Cactus Club in Downtown San Jose. I saw a connection to my art and the visual backdrops of bands like Diatribe and My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult. I got my first band, they were a Christian industrial band called God Dog. They weren’t Skinny Puppy but seeing how people reacted to my sculptures – I think the world made sense. After that I showed my art in a lot of Goth / Industrial / Bondage Clubs in the San Francisco. I didn’t get my 1^st real Gallery show ‘til years later but while others were going the gallery route I was showing art at everywhere from Adult Boutiques to Halloween parks. Later the internet leveled the playing field, you didn’t have to go to a gallery to find art, you had a search engine. It was empowering because showing outside the galleries I was getting more traffic and at the same time it was less intimidating for collectors. When at first – people would leave the space because I didn’t paint landscapes – then people started coming in and were happy because I wasn’t painting landscapes. My stuff was quirky and weird but most of all affordable.  

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

Don’t watch Basquiat, Pollock or and of the heavy handed movies about dead artists. They’re commercials. Just like He-Man was made so you’d buy the toys. Most were poor and are no different than you or me. You’re just seeing their A Roll.

Kill your inner critics. All critics are useless.

If all else fails paint cats.

Network. Be genuine and nice to people.

Think outside the gallery box. Restaurants, hotels and bars need art too.

Dismiss ideas about being a success or failure and just be you.

Don’t give up.

Sean Boyles

Name: Sean Boyles
Website: seanboyles.com thearsenalsj.com

What do you do?
I paint, draw, make prints, teach others how to do the same, own an art store, drink out of a ninja cup, BBQ, play soccer, play video games, publish books, feed cats, paint murals for tons of cash, paint murals for free, paint custom jobs, paint commissions, paint what I want, illustrate, design, stay up late, wake up early, fall asleep at work, print tshirts, make stickers, make panels...handle business

Where can we find your work?
All over, but mostly around the US. Right now in San Jose, over at Current Tattooing, and on the walls in The Arsenal

What inspires you to create and how do you keep motivated when things get tough?
I take on as much work as possible, so if one project starts to become more work than fun, I can just work on something else for a little. 

What do you think is more important content/finished product or technique/process?
Neither, or both. Each piece has two lives. The creation, or process is probably more important to me, than a viewer, but once it leaves my hands it's more important what it means to the viewer, than how I feel about it. Usually by the time the work is out there in the world I'm over it, but for others it's brand new, and hopefully there's something in the piece that the viewer can connect with. 

Who are some people who influence and/or inspire you?
Close friends who also make art, old timers who are still at it perfecting their craft, generally anyone passionate about their work. 

If you could be any fictional character who would you be?
Bigfoot, unless he's real, then I would be the next closest thing-Chewbacca, or maybe The Incredible Hulk. 

When do you get your best ideas?
While doing things I hate, or working a shit job. 

What materials/tools do you use most to create your work?
Mostly two dimensional tools: paints, inks, pens, drawing tools

Are you self taught or formally educated? How do you think that has influenced or affected your work?
Some of both. In school I got to be around some amazingly talented professors and peers, but I also put in a ton of work by myself figuring things out, and discovering techniques. 

What would your creative work taste like?
Probably something horrible. 

When you are not creating what do you like to do?
Destroy

How did you learn to access your creative talents and gain the confidence to put it out there for everyone to experience?
Just making the type of work I enjoy, and I think when it comes to showing it's a combination of working hard, being persistent, and getting lucky. 

What advice would you give others just beginning their creative adventures?
Make stuff you like, and become the best at doing it

Craig Schilling

Name: Craig Schilling
Website: Beardedwood.com

What do you do?
 I grab pallets from dumpsters and turn them into centerpieces for your living room

Where can we find your work?
Your neighbors living room or at Beardedwood.com

What inspires you to create and how do you keep motivated when things get tough?
I love the two part question- crappy mass produced ikea coffee tables inspire me/ thinking that I have an opportunity to make people smile each time they walk into their house keeps me MOTIVATED.

What do you think is more important content/finished product or technique/process?
Finished product holds my attention / process stirs my mind.

Who are some people who influence and/or inspire you?
Roy Johnson at johnsonartstudio.com for his leadership, dedication, & his strength to never give up when the chips are down.

If you could be any fictional character who would you be?
George  Costanza

When do you get your best ideas?
Driving home Friday night with a hatchback full of skids.

What materials/tools do you use most to create your work?
 Wooden pallets that you've thrown away.

Are you self taught or formally educated? How do you think that has influenced or affected your work?
100% self taught = no boundaries

What would your creative work taste like?
Pulpy.

When you are not creating what do you like to do?
Walk down to the bridge with my 2 year old son.

How did you learn to access your creative talents and gain the confidence to put it out there for everyone to experience?
 I'm still not sure.

What advice would you give others just beginning their creative adventures?
 "The path to success is to take massive determined action" Tony Robbins

Kath Piros

Name: Kath Piros
Website: www.artfulcrab.com

What do you do?
I am artist who is concentrating on fused glass jewelry, housewares and sculptures, but I also love to paint, doodle, and I’m a passionate crafter.

Where can we find your work? 
A lot of my work is on my website, www.artfulcrab.com, though I find Facebook easiest to post my latest work hot out of the kiln.  I am also honored to have my work in the Triton Museum of Art’s store and on a new trunk show website, www.joydejewels.com.   During the summer and Christmas, you’ll find me doing various craft fairs.

What inspires you to create and how do you keep motivated when things get tough?
New ideas and experiences inspire me to create.  Having coffee with my artist friends inspires me, the way we kick around techniques and talk about what we’re working on. 

When things get tough or busy, it’s hard to stay motivated. 
I think every artist has had a creative block.  Often, I find learning something new keeps the creative fires burning.

What do you think is more important content/finished product or technique/process? 
When I create a piece of art to sell, then finished product is most important, though great work is best with good technique. When I teach, however, I stress technique & process over finished product for students.  When you are simply creating for pure pleasure, the process is what it’s all about.

Who are some people who influence and/or inspire you?
I am influenced by a variety of people and things.  I love fashion, and will often read a magazine and respond to a piece of designer clothing with a bold necklace or earrings.  I am influenced by my painting muses, Mondrian, and his primary color blocking, as well as Georgia O’Keefe and her up close-up views of things.  I am from Vancouver, and every time I visit my family on the west coast, I am influenced by the towering, scented cedars, dense forest, cold water and sea life.

If you could be any fictional character who would you be?
I would be Princess Elizabeth from Robert Munsch’s “Paperbag Princess.”  I used to read this to my daughter when she was young, and I can identify with her can-do attitude and strong-willed manner.

 When do you get your best ideas?
Hands-down, 3 a.m.   I often wake up in the middle of the night with these great ideas and can barely get the kids off to school before running into my studio and bringing my ideas to life.

What materials/tools do you use most to create your work?
At the moment, I am concentrating on fused glass artwork, so I am cutting big sheets of glass and fusing it in my kiln every other day.  I also love to bead and paint, so it is not unusual to find me with a pair of pliers or a paintbrush or three!

Are you self taught or formally educated? How do you think that has influenced or affected your work?
I am self taught.  I’ve been taking after-school and night classes in art since I was in elementary school, and I’ve never stopped. I went to university with a goal to become a news anchorwoman but soon found that I was more interested in covering stories about artists and art galleries than politics.  It was this epiphany that led me to where I am now, an artist who continues to learn, and give back by teaching others.

What would your creative work taste like?
My work is like a good piece of blue cheese on a warm slice of French bread.  Bold. Strong. Interesting to look at.  Not like the other cheeses on the plate.

When you are not creating what do you like to do?
I love to teach children.  They give me energy and inspiration. I also love to shop….particularly for shoes!

How did you learn to access your creative talents and gain the confidence to put it out there for everyone to experience?
I am part of a family of artists – both my dad’s and my mom’s side of the family are very artistic, so accessing my creative talents was never an issue.  It was normal in my family to design our own prom dresses or create a painting or photograph to adorn the walls.  Gaining confidence to put it out there is another thing.  My whole family knows what I can do, but when I made my own company and website last year and put my art out for everyone to see, I was really scared.  I still have self-doubts, but it’s been a long-time dream of mine to have people either wear my artwork or have it in their homes. The only way to make this happen is to put yourself out there!

What advice would you give others just beginning their creative adventures?
For those just beginning their creative adventures, I would encourage them to find their own voice.  Keep experimenting, keep learning to grow as an artist.  I also find that scheduling time to be creative gives you permission to try new things, work on your craft and get better over time.

James Ong

Name: James Ong
Website: ongdesignsart.com

What do you do?
I am a product designer creating art that moves (mobiles, marble rolls/runs) and moves people to play using their senses (OBO, now - sculptural blocks). I also move paint around on canvas.

Where can we find your work?
ongdesignsart.com 

What inspires you to create and how do you keep motivated when things get tough?
I have things to say that cannot be said in words. Only through shapes, color, texture, and movement can I express my inner thoughts and feelings. Sometimes when things get tough I cannot create art. If I try the art is dark, reflecting my inner state. By taking a break from creating art and looking at the work of others I get inspired to start creating art.

What do you think is more important content/finished product or technique/process? 
Process is more important. Focusing on the process requires our undivided attention and presence. The end product will be revealed in time. This does not mean that I don’t care about the final result. Only by living in the present and paying attention to what we are doing can our intention, imagination flow onto the canvas without the anxiety of how things will turn out.

Who are some people who influence and/or inspire you?
Isamu Noguchi, Maya Lin, Alexander Calder, Bruno Munari, Paul Klee

If you could be any fictional character who would you be?
Doc Savage because he is everything I am not.

When do you get your best ideas?
When I’m alone with my imagination. Also, when I’m walking around and before waking up in the morning when I’m still drowsy.

What materials/tools do you use most to create your work?
Preliminary work: Sketchbook, pen, pencil - I do a lot of sketches 

Tools: X-acto knife, scissors, cutting mat, ruler, compass, screw-punch, pen, pencil brushes

Materials: Wood, paper, canvas, tape, thread, reed, paint

Are you self taught or formally educated? How do you think that has influenced or affected your work?
Both. I was an ex-engineer who went back to art school (Academy of Art University) to get a MFA in Product Design focusing on Toy Design. I have also taken a number of art workshop/classes like weaving on a loom, printmaking and abstract painting, 

Art school really helped me to open up, to see the world in a new way. It gave me the freedom and the desire to want to create things from my imagination. I am open to new ideas and ways of doing in creating my designs and artwork. I approach art making like a child at play, open to experimenting with the materials and letting my curiosity take over.

Being self-taught (books, magazines, videos, experimentation) and formally educated has increase the scope of my art/design work. I can choose among a number of art/design mediums and methods to create my works.

What would your creative work taste like?
Subtle, sweet, memorable with a wonderful lingering aftertaste.

When you are not creating what do you like to do?
Read action/mystery books, watch movies, browse in bookstores, visit art/design museums and galleries, dream about playing table tennis again.

How did you learn to access your creative talents and gain the confidence to put it out there for everyone to experience?
I was an unhappy engineer. I didn’t know what I wanted to do in life. Everything changed when I entered art school and found my calling. I learned to see and feel in colors, shapes, forms, and texture.

In art school there was so much creative vibe and energy that I was motivated to create stuff no one else had done before. I learned by observing, questioning (What if?), experimenting, failing, and just trying different things. 

After art school I showed my work and portfolio to other artists, designers, and educators and received very favorable feedback on my creativity, imagination, and work. This really gave me the confidence to put my work out there. It is still a struggle for me to show my work since I’m an introverted introvert. I would rather create art/design than talk about it.

What advice would you give others just beginning their creative adventures?
Read, ask questions, stay curious. Be present and maintain a beginner’s mind in whatever you do. Be open to new ideas. Experiment. Believe in what you are doing. If you don’t have the skills either take workshop/classes or learn from a book or from other artists/designers. Join an art/design group. Don’t try to do it by yourself. Support from others is really important. Don’t overthink. Just start doing. Dream Big, Take Action.

Ken Matsumoto

Name: Ken Matsumoto

Website: www.artobjectgallery.com/kenspage.html

What do you do?
I do several things. As an artist/sculptor I make objects that reference nature and man or that reference nothing at all except things that appeal to me visually. These objects generally have no specific message.

I also operate an art gallery. This involves curating/installing exhibits and promoting the shows, maintaining the space, talking with artists and looking at their work, and talking with visitors about the work.

Where can we find your work?
Locally, you will find work at the ArtObjectGallery, Iwasawa Gallery, Los Gatos. Robert Allen Fine Arts, San Francisco. I also have public work placed at various locations in Santa Clara Valley (CPA @ Park and Almaden Aves, Japantown on Fifth street and numerous other site), Sacramento, CA (two locations), ASU Tempe, Arizona, UNC Pembroke, NC.

What inspires you to create and how do you keep motivated when things get tough?
Making things is what I do whether it be an object, a space, or an exhibit. In each case I am driven by my curiosity and vision. There are a couple of reasons I have chosen to do these things. 1. I have always been able to draw attention to myself and gain some amount of respect for what I do. 2. In the case of the gallery operation there is a sense of giving of oneself, of doing good for others that I find is good for the spirit. 

What do you think is more important content/finished product or technique/process? 
I have for some time considered the phrase “what you do and how you do it” as describing my philosophy on what makes a work “work.”  

Who are some people who influence and/or inspire you?
Jimi Yamaichi has been involved in laying the groundwork for the continuation of Japantown San Jose’s cultural and historical education for the next generation. He has fought discrimination and racism both as an individual and as a member of the Japanese American community.

If you could be any fictional character who would you be?
The main character in the movie “Brazil” but I’m afraid that I am more like Don Quixote.

When do you get your best ideas?
Usually when I’m awake but I have found ideas in my dreams.

What materials/tools do you use most to create your work?
Mostly stone and tools associated with cutting stone. I have devised machinery dedicated to the purpose of making/cutting stone in a particular fashion. I am also interested in flat glass, bronze, concrete,

Are you self taught or formally educated? How do you think that has influenced or affected your work?
I have a mfa in sculpture from sjsu (1983). It took years for me to leave school. It was there that I learned the importance of showing one’s work. Not for the need of selling or self-aggrandizement (altho that’s important as well) but for the information and response that may be available from the audience. This will either encourage or discourage; give courage for you to continue or not. At school there is an audience built in and people see your work and you feel like an artist but that's not really true because you are instead a student of the arts. Being an artist carries with it responsibilities that a student should be free of.

What would your creative work taste like?
Beets

When you are not creating what do you like to do?
Movies, hiking, bird watching, petting dogs, reading.

How did you learn to access your creative talents and gain the confidence to put it out there for everyone to experience?

The nuns in the catholic schools I attended took the work I did seriously. I gained confidence.

What advice would you give others just beginning their creative adventures?
Look at stuff, build a stable base of classic technique in drawing, focus, be fearless.