Sunday, April 29, 2012

Fernando B. Rodriguez

Name: Fernando B. Rodriguez

What do you do?
I do all of the writing and self-publish the 32 page black and white comic book, Aztec of the City.

Where can we find your work?
They can be purchased by mail and are available at most comic book stores in San Jose, CA. We're awaiting nation-wide distribution sometime this summer. Hopefully, June. There's an Aztec of the City Comic Books page on Facebook 2 view updates and appearances, and we're in the process of changing hosts 2 the website. Once we obtain the barcode scan, the book will be 4sale through amazon.com as well.

What inspires you to create and how do you keep motivated when things get tough?
Stan Lee and the Marvel Universe is what inspired me to be so passionate about comic books and storytelling and things have been very rough the past 5 years doing the book from Mexico, but I stay motivated through just being thankful2 God N Christ Jesus 4their blessings, love and guidance. Everyday it seems, a new door opens. Plus it helps having an 18 year old son, I love and miss so very much 2keep things in perspective and continue motoring forward with this comic book dream.

What do you think is more important content/finished product or technique/process?
Definitely the finished product. This volume 3 version looks spectacular and I couldn't be happier about it. So far, everyone loves the story and cover and that's always exciting2hear. The very first Aztec of the City looked terrible, like a rough draft and not a clean, crisp, clear finished product.

Who are some people who influence and/or inspire you?
Stan Lee was my hero as a kid. I was in awe at his brilliant imagination, creativity and storytelling prowess. Bruce Lee inspired me too. A minority, who struggled for recognition and opportunity in film when Hollywood refused2 open their doors2 his culture, his vision, his dreams.

If you could be any fictional character who would you be?
The Silver Surfer has been a longtime favorite. Traveling through the spaceways and galaxies of worlds unseen with unlimited cosmic power. But being Namor, the Sub Mariner, Prince of Atlantis would be kinda cool too.
When do you get your best ideas?
I get them all the time. They come randomly. When I'm on a 6-7 mile run, kickin' it at home on the couch chillin'2 a movie, walking down the street, while reading, trying2get some sleep. Mostly I guess, when there’s a little tranquility, quiet. Sometimes, whenever I'm in a reflective mood. Trying2 sort things out about life, love, loss, happiness, pain. 

What materials/tools do you use most to create your work?
The old blank 8-1/2 X 11'' papers with pencil. I prefer 2 erase, rather than scribble over with ink. From there, it gets transferred on-line2 share and direct the artist doing the actual job of turning my sketches, my roughs, into a good work of art. I used2 draw and I can draw, but nowhere near as good as the few others who have worked with me like Kasey Quevedo who did volume 2 and Ernie Polo, the Mtn View-based talent behind this new volume 3.

Are you self taught or formally educated? How do you think that has influenced or affected your work?
I created, penciled, and colored my very first comic book hero in the 6th grade. The Super-Sonic. Some things I would write in class ended up in the principal's office wall in junior high and after making my own sports pages, distributed2 all my classmates at Washington Elementary and Peter Burnett Jr High, I became San Jose High School's first ever Editor-In-Chief my junior year of an 8-10 page bi-weekly newspaper, the Herald. A title which had always been reserved for a Senior. As a little boy at home, my mom shared my uncle Agustin Rodriguez' book of 120-something poems in Spanish that he had self-published in Morelia, Michoacan. I think more than anything, that little book on her dresser of my tio's poems, planted the seed that self-publishing was what people did that wanted2 share their art. I was 1988 NorCal 10K champion in track at San Jose City College and didn't take advantage of the scholarships offers2 continue at either Chico St, Cal-Poly, Southern Oregon, Northern Arizona and a few other small division 2 and 3 schools. Choosing instead 2coach at San Jose Academy, where we qualified for state as local bay area CCS Divison 4 Cross Country Champions in 1990-91. I think life's journey of a wonderful childhood, street smarts, good friends, family and decent grades all have affected my spin on the universe I have created in an Aztec hero reborn in modern day 2019 San Jose, CA.

What would your creative work taste like?
Delicious and satisfying, leaving you wanting for more, month after month.

When you are not creating what do you like to do?
I'm training2qualify for the World Masters Track&Field Championships held every 2 years for athletes 40 years and older. The next finals are in Porto Alegre, Brazil, July 2013. At the moment, in my age group, I'm ranked #25 in the world but am working hard 2 move up into the top 10. I like playing hoops and when my son Luis, is here every summer, we throw the football around daily at Medano Beach. I'm really good at chess and unbeatable in scrabble. I love to read and read everything. Garbriel Garcia Marquez, ''100 years of Solitude'' was magical. Words in that story were like candy to me and I couldn't put the book down to save my life. When I got hit and run over by a small car in 2008, I spent a month in the hospital recovering with Leo Tolstoy's, "Anna Karenina'' at my bedside.

How did you learn to access your creative talents and gain the confidence to put it out there for everyone to experience?
I truly believe and remember with great fondness, all of the tackle football games we played at Washington Elementary with me at quarterback, calling plays and mixing things up so we all would score touchdowns. You know, in football as quarterback, you throw interceptions and are forced to get past those costly mistakes and keep throwing spirals that find their mark and you win and lose either way. But yeah, I think sports is a great teacher of struggle, unity, challenges, sportsmanship and in many ways the best confidence building game there can be. And well, my mom Lilia Sanchez Rodriguez, passed away at a very young age, and my father too, but I never knew the man. They divorced when my younger brother and I were 4 and 2 years old. She worked very hard, made friends easy, was giving, caring, loving and used to beat our ass too. Whoever I am, is cause of her. She was very stubborn and didn't allow anything2 get in her way. The creativity has been there since kindergarten and I would freely, happily, put things out there. Drawing the bat signal, Speed Racer's Mach-5, Spider-Man or just making things up in a story.

What advice would you give others just beginning their creative adventures?
I tell people about one of my  favorite movies, ''La Bamba'', when Bob Morales shows his brother the freehand drawings and mentions the art contest and Ritchie Valens, says, ''Yeah, do it man, go for broke!!'. And to remember that at some point, the art becomes the business and therein lie many more hurdles.





Sunday, April 22, 2012

Jane Peterman


Name: Jane Peterman

What do you do?
I paint large nonobjective abstract paintings.  My favorite format is 52 x 54 inches which is how wide my hands can reach.

Where can we find your work?
At the moment in the Statewide Exhibition of Painting at the Triton Museum, online on my website, www.janepeterman.com, and by visiting my studio, 4030 Transport, Palo Alto, CA 94303.  I'm also represented by BayVAN Artist Registry for 2012, www.bayvan.com

What inspires you to create and how do you keep motivated when things get tough?
One of the things I did to combat a severe depression was a nurturing arts class one weekend a month for two years.  We did simple exercises that emphasized the process of making art such as drawing a piece of fruit after touching but not seeing it or drawing the creation story on 6x6 inch pieces of paper after hearing Genesis verses read one at a time.  We always sang.  These experiences were deeply fulfilling and I try in my art practice to recreate that glorious soul nurturing feeling.
      
What do you think is more important content/finished product or technique/process?
I'm a process painter.  It's all about the touching of the pigment to the surface and what happens after.  Bringing a painting to a finish is actually pretty difficult after the fun of exploring at the beginning.  The last 5 percent takes great discipline for me.

Who are some people who influence and/or inspire you? 
Being self taught I have had the freedom to explore art history in a rather random and disorganized way.  I have a long list of artists I've admired and studied but I think the ones that are most important are those working from a spiritual place.  The book, The Spiritual in Art: Abstract Painting 1890-1985 Maurice Tuchman (Editor)   affected me strongly.  A few names of artists important to me are Rothko, Kandinsky, Gabrielle Munter, Alice Neel, Agnes Martin and Richard Diebenkorn.  Local  rtists I admire include Squeak Canrwath, Ines Storer,  Ruth Asawa, Tim Craighead and Patrick Dougherty.  I could go on and on...

If you could be any fictional character who would you be?
Jack of all Trades but master of at least a few?

When do you get your best ideas?
Sometimes ideas come to me outside the studio, but mostly they from  standing there in my studio, looking and trying to figure out what's next.   Last spring I was painting a canvas while the earth was bursting forth with rich growth. After I finished the painting (my studio has no windows)  I realized that the painting reflected what was happening in nature.  I named it “Spring Refreshment”. 

What materials/tools do you use most to create your work?
I love to use plastic sheets as printmaking plates, slathering on paint and making marks in the wet paint, then applying the plate to a canvas in process.  I use a lot of palette knives, scrapers and pointy tools.  Everything is an art material in some way.

Are you self taught or formally educated? How do you think that has influenced or affected your work?
I am self-taught in art.  I did a lot of painting in the beginning supplemented by reading books about composition and design and then plowing through a bibliography of about 30 books recommended to me by workshop teachers and trying to apply what I learned to my painting.  There is a freedom in pursuing a course of interest outside a university class but you can fail to learn things you should know.  I'm weak on art history before 1880.

What would your creative work taste like?
Beef Bourguignon.  Meaty, rich flavorful, hearty.  At least I hope so.

When you are not creating what do you like to do?
I like to cook and ride dirt bikes.  I get to cook more than I get to ride dirt bikes.

How did you learn to access your creative talents and gain the confidence to put it out there for everyone to experience?
I think artistic talent is within everyone and we who get to tap into art making daily are very lucky.   Because I came to art making by experiencing the process when the product was not important I didn't judge my early results and just kept making more stuff.  The reward was in the doing.  I think that a good way to work.  I'm quite distressed that schools sacrifice art first in their attempt balance budgets.  Art feeds the soul and every child needs it.

What advice would you give others just beginning their creative adventures?  
Just do the next thing, whatever it is.  Make another piece of art, get a business card, make another piece of art, take pictures of your art, make another piece of art, do the next thing.  Just keep going.






Sunday, April 15, 2012

Coyote Slim


Name:  Coyote Slim
Website: http://www.coyoteslim.com/
What do you do? 
I play old-timey blues – what some folks call Delta blues although a lot of what I play originated in Texas and I sing about California.   I call it “old-timey stomp-down farmer music.”  I’m also an arborist, a supporter of local sustainable agriculture, and an advocate for the rights of Native Peoples.

Where can we find your work? 
On my website, on youtube, CD baby, and itunes.  As far as live performances, I often perform at local farmer’s markets.

What inspires you to create and how do you keep motivated when things get tough? 
I am inspired by life.  A lot of people think the blues is sad music, and it can be, but blues songs are actually about getting over problems and celebrating life.  When things get tough, you have to remember that it’s all part of a cycle – good and bad, night and day, drought and flood. And beer. . . The thought of a cold beer at the end of a long day at work can be an inspiration to just get through and keep working.  And of course, you have to work to have beer money.  Like I said, it’s a cycle.
      
What do you think is more important content/finished product or technique/process? 
Neither.  What’s important is the authenticity and soul of art.  If you can’t relate to the song you are singing or story you are telling, regardless of whether you have actually experienced every little thing in that song or story, you’ll come off as a fake.  As I’ve gotten older and experience more of life, the old blues songs make a lot more sense to me.
   
Who are some people who influence and/or inspire you? 
An artist named CeDell Davis is the most inspiring man I’ve ever heard.  I’ve never met him, but seen interviews on video of him.  A man from an impoverished Southern background, he was crippled by polio and trampled in a bar stampede.  The bad luck this man has experienced is horribly depressing, but he didn’t let it stop him from playing music.  He can’t walk, and he can’t lift his arms higher than his shoulders, and he can’t fret a guitar.  He relearned how to play guitar using a butter-knife as a slide and kept playing music.
  
If you could be any fictional character who would you be? 
I’m not altogether certain that I’m not one right now.

When do you get your best ideas?
My creativity has never been limited to a time of day.

What materials/tools do you use most to create your work? 
Voice and guitar.

Are you self taught or formally educated? How do you think that has influenced or affected your work?  
I am self-taught.  I guess that’s no surprise to people that bitch about my timing.  I don’t play music by counting, and I don’t understand how one can count and create music at the same time.  I learned and continue to learn by hearing patterns of sound, not by counting.  Like birds sing in patterns, I play patterns of sound.
What would your creative work taste like?
Smoked salmon.
When you are not creating what do you like to do?
Be outside – pruning trees, hiking or spending time with friends, going to pow wows.

How did you learn to access your creative talents and gain the confidence to put it out there for everyone to experience?  By just having the balls to perform publicly in the first place and building confidence over time.

What advice would you give others just beginning their creative adventures?   Take positive criticism, and never stop learning, but don’t let negative people get you down.  Learn your limits but never be afraid to expand your potential and do new things.  Don’t let people tell you that you should do something else because you don’t fit their preconception of whatever it is you’re doing.

Sunday, April 8, 2012

Yao-pi Hsu


Name: Yao-pi Hsu

What do you do?
After 34 years in bioscience research, I retired and now pursue photography.

Where can we find your work?
- A member of Los Gatos Museum Gallery: 24 N Santa Cruz Ave, Los
Gatos CA.
- Main Gallery of Pacific Art League, Palo Alto, CA.
- Annual group shows of Santa Clara Art Association, Fine At League of Cupertino, Allied Artists West,
  Pacific Art League.
- Summer Fair at Triton Museum, Santa Clara.
- Many community exhibition sites.

What inspires you to create and how do you keep motivated when things
get tough?
The joy and reward of being in the right place, at the right time to freeze the moment and to capture the beauty of our surroundings are invigorating. I delight in capturing the extraordinary beauty of an ordinary subject and in creating something new that is already there. After more than ten years of photography, I have no problem lacking motivation or inspiration, the only frustration I have is the lake of time.

What do you think is more important content/finished product or
technique/process?
I think the content/finished product is more important than the technique/process. I view photography more as a form of art. By all means technique is important in the beginning to build skills for higher quality work.

Who are some people who influence and/or inspire you?
Ansel Adams, Art Wolfe and many world famous photographers just to name a few, their work inspires me. The instructor who influenced me the most is the late Tom Sparaocino, a tenured professor of San Jose City College. He also taught art classes at adult education for Santa Clara Unified School District for 25 years. I studied with Tom for fifteen years until his death last year. I learned basic painting techniques of various mediums and he shared his knowledge of photography with me. I valued his guidance, encouragement and feedback .

If you could be any fictional character who would you be?
I don’t know.

When do you get your best ideas?
The best ideas come at different times and occasions: observing nature, talking to artists, and viewing many different artists’ work, driving in the car...etc.

What materials/tools do you use most to create your work?
Cameras, computer and Photoshop.

Are you self taught or formally educated? How do you think that has
influenced or affected your work?
I got my MS degree from UC Davis and worked 34 years in the bioscience research field. When I was young I liked drawing and art, but career and family took my time. After my two daughters left home and I retired I began exploring visual media. My two award winning photos from a trip back to China inspired me to pursue photography. Although not formally educated in photography, I’m self-taught and have attended a six month correspondence class from New York Institute of Photography. Art and science each take a turn in how I understand the world around me. As a fine art photographer, I apply the same principles I used in scientific research: search and research, examine and reexamine, and explore concepts from different perspectives. I explore the world around me, as I look for a reflection, angle or perspective that represents how diverse and abundant the world expresses form and beauty.

What would your creative work taste like?
Lots of my fans told mythat my photos look like painting. I want my photos to evoke viewers the feeling and emotion that I experienced.

When you are not creating what do you like to do?
Knitting, crochet, crafts, visiting daughters, grandkids and travel.

How did you learn to access your creative talents and gain the confidence
to put it out there for everyone to experience?
First and most important is to have passion in what you are doing. In the first few years of photography, I concentrated on learning and sharpening my skill. Once I got comfortable with my skill, creative ideas emerged. In my first creative work, “Profound Memory,” I combined seven layers of photos. This piece got the Award of Excellence in photography from AVArt Fest at the Triton Museum.

What advice would you give others just beginning their creative adventures?
Follow your instinct and intuition, if you like the process and you like the product, go for it.



Sunday, April 1, 2012

Andre Hart


Name: Andre Hart
Website:  Facebook.com/TheAndreHart

What do you do?
I write songs, I sing the songs, I play harmonica, I play the auto harp, I paint, I draw, I’m and Artist.

Where can we find your work?
Facebook and Kalied Gallery for now.

What inspires you to create and how do you keep motivated when things get tough?
I don’t know what inspires me and things don’t really get tough they get more or less the same, so I tend to change and adapt quickly to new forms.

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

Who are some people who influence and/or inspire you?
Bob Dylan, Al Preciado and Dave Thomas

If you could be any fictional character who would you be?
The President of The United States.

When do you get your best ideas?
Idk  they come and go as they please, sometimes it comes from reading a newspaper.

What materials/tools do you use most to create your work?
Oils for painting, I use brushes knifes, the usual stuff. For music it’s not all too complicated.

Are you self taught or formally educated? How do you think that has influenced or affected your work?
Self taught in painting though I was classically trained in figurative and portrait drawing when I was 11. Not very much, I tend to leave the past where it is and think about now. That’s what’s really important to me.

What would your creative work taste like?
Sound.

When you are not creating what do you like to do?
Read the news paper, listen to music, see the girl, go to shows, a lot of things.

How did you learn to access your creative talents and gain the confidence to put it out there for everyone to experience?
I really have no idea. I’ve been an artist since I can recall at age 3. It didn’t take much to get it out there I just showed up. If people like it or not idk, it really doesn’t matter as long as they can see it really.

What advice would you give others just beginning their creative adventures? 
Honestly I have no clue because I don’t know where my creativity comes from I just do as the day comes.