Leah Jay

Website: leahjayart.com

What do you do?
I make little pieces of fun for people. I consider myself to be analogous to a cupcake baker....except instead of cake and frosting, you get colorful illustrations that cheer you up! I like art though because it's a fat-free, carb-free, calorie-free, inexhaustible supply of happiness, always ready when you are.

Where can we find your work?I have my own website at leahjayart.com. I use Etsy as my storefront, linked direct from my website.....my shop is called https://www.etsy.com/shop/leahjayart. However, as I am a big fan of experiencing real art in person, I just celebrated my one year anniversary at Kaleid Gallery (hurray!) and will also continue to have a table in downtown Campbell as part of their "Second Saturdays" street fairs.

What inspires you to create and how do you keep motivated when things get tough?
I produce work best when I have a lot of downtime to daydream, and I'm feeling confident. I rely a lot on family and friends to keep my spirits up when I'm feeling insecure. Frankly, I'm moody and bounce back and forth. I think I'm getting better at positioning myself in the best way possible to take advantage of the good, creative moods when those come.

What do you think is more important, the content/finished product, or the process?I am definitely a process person. Sometimes I'll get almost all the way finished with a thing and then stop. Sometimes I'll finish it and then not like it very much afterwards. But I never regret having done it. I find that when I'm "in the zone" of artmaking, that is my best time to be alive.

Who are some people who influence and/or inspire you?
Jove Tansson. She was a Finnish children's book author and illustrator who is famed for her "Moomintroll" characters and stories. Her pen and ink illustrations are so pure and childlike, and her stories are humble and direct. The world she created is touchingly human and shows a deep connection to nature. I also am a big fan of Jim Henson and the worlds he created, for a lot of the same reasons. Sometimes the simplest, most heartfelt story, told in earnest, is the one that moves mountains within you and changes your life. The worlds of Moominvalley and Sesame Street are places my heart has never really left behind.

If you could be any fictional character, who would you be?
Miss Piggy. When she walks into a room, she cannot and will not be ignored. If I could be that confident in my own skin all the time, it would be wonderful.

When do you get your best ideas?
Halfway between a dreaming and waking state just before I get up in the morning. Or when I'm driving, or in the shower. Any time it's really inconvenient to have a sketchbook in front of me, really.

What materials/tools do you use most to create your work?I am an absolute art media polyglot. I literally have done everything. I hoard art supplies and own more types of things than I know how to use. This doesn't help me stay consistent as an art maker, but it does help me teach. In the past few years I've tried to stick to "various things on watercolor paper" and I do have a favorite watercolor paper, 300lb Arches Hot Press. You can do practically anything with Arches Hot Press, including set it on fire and glue broken glass to it (actual things I have done.) I've tried to keep myself on track with watercolors though - you can also get that paper very wet and just let the pigments do their thing.

Are you self taught or formally educated? How do you think that has influenced or affected your work?
Well, in terms of Art, I suppose I'm informally educated. I've had plenty of university-level and professional-level instruction, and most of it in person (not online), but from a bunch of different people and institutions.....not coherent enough to cobble together to form a single degree. I'm kind of glad I haven't spent too much time with one teacher because I've been forced to come up with my own style rather than parrot someone else. I also have a degree in Film from U.C. Santa Barbara, which has come in handy.

What would your creative work taste like?
Hot cocoa with marshmallows.

When you are not creating what do you like to do?
I like to be around kids and watch kid's shows. I teach a few kids from my home studio and I really look forward to spending time with them, because they are so funny! I'm a big fan of the Aquabats Super Show, and Yo Gabba Gabba, and Spongebob Squarepants.

How did you learn to access your creative talents and gain the confidence to put it out there for everyone to experience?
Time. I always wonder which might have happened, how far I would have gotten by now, had I been able to do all this earlier in my life. The simple answer is -- I wouldn't have been able to. I guess I'm a late bloomer, but really before age 30 or so I was so insecure and introverted that nothing could have really happened. Now it's taken me 15 years to gather enough courage and discipline to do the work and show it to people. One event that changed things for me was a solo high-speed car accident. It's been ten years now but I think that little reminder of my own mortality was good for me. When you can see your time is limited, there is no greater motivation than that.

What advice would you give others just beginning their creative adventures?
I think a lot of people are in the same position at the beginning -- too guarded and too afraid to take risks. We're born that way and are brought up that way, so forgive yourself for this tendency, but know that no good art is created without some risk involved. Trust yourself. Listen to your own voice and go with it. Keep moving forward, even if you aren't moving much, and even if you have no idea where you're going. The journey, in itself, is everything.

Jason A. McHenry

Name: Jason A. McHenry
Website: www.anti-product.com

What do you do?
I’ve been an artist for all of my adult life and one of the projects that I’ve been working on for years is called One Thousand Thousand. The idea behind the project is to create an edition of one million original pieces of art. So for the last 20 years or so I’ve been plugging away at this goal and I’m just recently nearing the first third of the way to a million. [As of right now the final count is just shy of 325k paintings.]

Where can we find your work?
I’m pretty good at keeping the project website updated with images of the latest pieces and you can always see the work online at anti-product.com.

A number of new and recent pieces from the project are currently showing at KALEID Gallery and I try and replenish the sold pieces and rotate the pieces with new work as often as possible. I would like to stay on there as long as I’m able. In addition to KALEID Gallery I try to make the work available at various art events like SubZERO Festival and at South First Fridays. I’ll be showing at South First Fridays in August and September for sure. There are usually pieces available for sale as well.

What inspires you to create and how do you keep motivated when things get tough?
I’ve been really thinking about this question a lot after recently spending some time visiting with other artists at SubZERO Festival. The whole One Thousand Thousand project was borne of the idea of doing something that would serve as a motivator to continue making art. It was initially just a little creative exercise that served as a way to experiment with ideas and colors and composition and all of that and over time the little pieces ended up looking better than the other work that I was trying for at that time.

In terms of this specific project I am motivated to work almost every day now. Some by the excitement of it and some out of necessity since I announced to the world so long ago that I planned on making a million paintings and want to put my money where my mouth is , so to speak.

But ultimately, when I look back on this project and the body of work that I’ve done so far I feel tremendously inspired. It’s remarkable to look back and see how my own styles and approaches have evolved over time and that’s the part that inspires me the most. It’s cyclical in a real way. Motivation to create will invariably produce inspiration. Honestly, you just have to keep at it. If you’re an artist then make art. For good or for bad you need to just keep going at it. Trying new things. Figuring stuff out. Something will come of it.

What do you think is more important content/finished product or technique/process?  
In some ways I am inclined to say both are equally important. It’s obvious that what we see first with a piece of art is the content/finished product. The visual aspect is all that a lot of people ever see. “It looks nice. It’s not done well. I don’t get it.” Looking a bit more closely at who created the thing and how they did it and can be the part that makes a piece of art so much better than just the sum of the visual elements themselves.

But there is also this aspect of art that is not so easily defined. I call it ‘soul’. Sure, a work might look amazing. Or some technique the artist used was head-shakingly incredible. But if it lacks soul the art just doesn’t do it for me in the long run.

[This is a tough question. I could go on about this topic forever. No kidding.]

Who are some people who influence and/or inspire you?
I may be confusing the artist or where I saw it but I think it was at an early Henry Darger show in Chicago that I saw this piece of wood that just had layers of paint on it. It was cut in half so you could see all of the different layers of paint that had been applied over the years. The thing was a couple of feet tall with paint layers and colors and it looked like the ring section of a tree in a way. Marking time with paint. Darger also cut out the Nancy and Sluggo comic strip from the newspaper every day and would paste them into pages of a phone book. Like, four strips per page and the book was just unmanageably big when it was full. He did this more than once.

That sort of dedication to a goal or project has always been impressive to me and was a very early source of inspiration for the One Thousand Thousand project.

If you could be any fictional character who would you be?
Seymour Glass. With very little hesitation.

When do you get your best ideas?
Looking at art. In galleries and shows and museums and books and magazines. I love seeing what other people have created and that generates ideas for my own work.

What materials/tools do you use most to create your work?
Mixed-media in the strictest sense of the word. I don’t play favorites when it comes to art supplies and truly do work with just about everything. I’m a fan of making great art with little.

Are you self-taught or formally educated? How do you think that has influenced or affected your work?
Both.I went to a Visual and Performing Arts high school and later studied Fine Art in college. Still, in the long run I’d call myself self-taught. I learned just about everything that I find to be valuable to me as an artist are things that I learned on my own or from other artists. For years I said that I was doomed to spend the rest of my life trying to unlearn the things they tried to instill in me in school. I feel like I’m better for being my own judge of things. Art is pretty personal that way.

What would your creative work taste like?
Horchata. Or maybe Guinness Extra Stout. It’s probably a liquid of some sort. And it’s got to be simple and comforting. Something proletariat. So, yeah. Either of those would do.

When you are not creating what do you like to do?
It doesn’t get much better than being on some road trip or long car ride listening to music that you love.

How did you learn to access your creative talents and gain the confidence to put it out there for everyone to experience?
It was a necessity for me. My childhood was kind of crummy and I knew I needed something to support me emotionally and spiritually and intellectually. Art provided that and I believed that since I was a kid. So I pushed towards that with all I had and I’m better for it.

What advice would you give others just beginning their creative adventures? 
I’d say that creating art will invariably make you feel big and strong. It’s some kind life in and of itself. You’ll see and learn new styles and techniques and mediums and you’ll hate some and fall in love with others. You’ll find success by accident and you’ll fail miserably when you try hard to succeed. But the opposite will be true too. Just like life.

Like Hunter S. Thompson said, “Buy the ticket, take the ride.”

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.

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.

Mark Damrel

Name:  Mark Damrel
Website:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/mark_damrel/

What do you do?
During the day I work in architecture.  I basically draw lines and solve complex problems with various computer programs.  At night I make a mess of my garage with paint, ink and wood dust.  I basically try to create art that I enjoy.

Where can we find your work?
Most of my artwork can be found in my garage, at Kaleid gallery, or on my flickr site.  My architectural work for various firms can be seen sprinkled around the bay area. 

What inspires you to create and how do you keep motivated when things get tough?
Everyday things inspire my work.  Traffic, road rage, bad food at lunch, work issues, home issues, having kids, and living in San Jose could be inspirations.  Drawing , or building stuff helps when things get tough.  Like, if I have a crappy day at work, art is an escape.  Although creativity is somewhat required in architecture the truth is about 15% of architecture work is creativity, and the other 85% is tedium and problem solving.  Art is like anti-work for me.

What do you think is more important content/finished product or technique/process?
For me the process is the most fun and therefore the most important.  The actual making of whatever is where the time flies and you learn and explore.  Finishing it means I’m done.  Content sometimes transforms based on the process.  I am loose with content.  Sometimes I have a solid idea that I want to see through a small series or something, but usually the meaning takes shape through time and layers.

Who are some people who influence and/or inspire you?
I’m inspired by my wife and kids, my extended family and friends.  In both fields I’m inspired by so much work that is happening right now around the world that it’s a hard question to simplify.

If you could be any fictional character who would you be?
Phileas Fogg, because I don’t travel nearly as much as I’d like to.

When do you get your best ideas?
Usually at night when unwinding.

What materials/tools do you use most to create your work?
Wood, glue, acrylic paint, ink, pencils, paper, matte medium, spray paint, watercolor, gouache, it’s all fair game.  I dabble in all but master in none.

Are you self taught or formally educated? How do you think that has influenced or affected your work?
I have a BFA in interior design from San Jose State.  In order to get that I took a few art classes like color theory and 2d design which I really enjoyed.  I’ve taken a couple semesters in architectural rendering, which was cool as well.  I learned some technique in those classes.  Most of the ways I use my supplies these days would probably make my past instructors cringe.  One of the biggest things I took away from school was to draw all the time, fill up sketch books.  I also sketch a lot at work to discuss ideas with coworkers. 

What would your creative work taste like?
Salty and crispy.

When you are not creating what do you like to do?
I like to relax with family, hang out at the park, read books to my little girls and eat way too much.

How did you learn to access your creative talents and gain the confidence to put it out there for everyone to experience?
I was working for a firm in San Francisco and at lunch I would walk around SOMA looking at buildings feeling inspired by a lot of the graffiti. I remember being at my desk after lunch one day sketching something for work and thinking – I’m going to start painting tonight. So I went home and pulled together my dusty art supplies to see what I had that wasn’t all dried out and made a list of what I needed.  Then I went to the art store to buy some new brushes and paint, and came home and started painting at night.  That was 2006, and I’ve been doing it semi-regularly ever since.  I don’t do graffiti by the way, but I love it and am inspired by it. I don’t do it because I’m scared of heights and have crappy can skills for now.

What advice would you give others just beginning their creative adventures?
Be yourself and make what you enjoy.

                                     

Murphy Adams

Name:  Murphy Adams
Website:   www.murphyadams.net 

What do you do? 
Primarily I make small, quirky paintings, but I also work in clay, mosaic and make art dolls.

Where can we find your work? 

Kaleid Gallery in San Jose, Studio Gallery in San Francisco, and a number of smaller shops, as well as my Etsy store Murphy Adams Studio http://www.etsy.com/shop/MurphyAdamsStudio .

I've also done several murals and public art projects throughout the South Bay and am currently starting a slab clay and mosaic project at Ace Charter School in East San Jose.

What inspires you to create and how do you keep motivated when things get tough?
I tend to be a bit of a hermit, hiding out in my studio at home, so when I hit a creative slump I just need to get out.  My work is about relationships, emotion, the stuff that makes us human, all squishy and pathetic and ding dang lovely at the same time, but if I don't get out and live it I've got nothing to paint.

I also get inspired when people tell me how they connect with my work, or how a specific piece seemed to be painted just for them. Again, it's tapping into emotion, and you can't do that alone, it would be boring.

What do you think is more important content/finished product or technique/process?  
Well I can't believe I'm saying  this, but the finished product. As someone who sells art, the end product is ultimately more important. Of course  experimentation and process has played a big part in developing who I am and who I continue to be as an artist. I still spend hours testing new techniques and combinations of materials.

Who are some people who influence and/or inspire you?
I love that SJ has this cool little, tight knit art community, it's very inspiring. So many artists here work really hard at surviving making art, and consistently create...friends like Christine Benjamin, Lacey Bryant and Katy Kindig  to name a few.

I'm also really into reading the Etsy Blog "Quit Your Day Job," where artists and craftspeople tell their own personal stories about how they've grown their art businesses and been able to stop working a day job...someday.

As far as influential art figures currently and through history, people like Alison Saar, Squeak Carnwath, Linda Barry, Maira Kalman, Reverend Howard Finster, Margaret Kilgallen, Joe Sorren, Jean Michel Basquiat, Mark Rothko, Frida Kahlo, Henry Darger, Jacob Lawrence... their creative expression always blows me over, makes me cry or just hits me hard across the face, in a good way.

If you could be any fictional character who would you be? Ha! Somebody kickass like Game of Thrones Khaleesi, the one with the dragon babies, Zena Warrior Princess or a Bond Girl.  If you watch Adventure Time, I'd like to be Marceline, but I'm the Lumpy Space Princess.  In other words, somebody completely opposite of my marshmallowy, goofy self.

When do you get your best ideas? Laying in bed in the morning , kind of lucid dreaming, I think about things that I've witnessed the day before, what's been said to me and what was meant by it, sometimes about the underlying meanings of things.

I  also keep a sketchbook in my bag at all times and I'll often sketch a situation that I've seen, or write down a phrase or title that gets stuck in my head. I like to listen to people, things they say when emotions run high are most interesting. I'm especially drawn to awkward and embarrassing situations, the immense power of love and hope and the sad but sometimes funny side of misfortune. Laughing inappropriately has gotten me in trouble more times than not, but it's those situations that provide substance for my paintings.

What materials/tools do you use most to create your work?
I like to start with good thick cold press watercolor paper, then I use a combination of acrylic and colored ink, sometimes some colored pencil and I love Tombow art pens.  I layer multiple jewel tone colors over colors with matte medium. I know, it looks deceivingly simple.

Are you self taught or formally educated? How do you think that has influenced or affected your work?
I started out as a fine arts major in college, but it was the 80's (I'm aging myself here) and abstract, minimal & light and space paintings were what was popular, so I wasn't taken seriously. My art wasn't art with a capitol A; I suppose it still isn't. In any case I got a degree in art history and worked as a gallery director and curator for much of my adult life. I took a few studio classes but I consider myself largely self taught. Overall I think it's influenced me in a positive way. No one got to tell me what to do or how to do it. Of course I missed out on the how to do things part and I admit that would have been helpful. However, I was able to draw my inspiration from the art that was important to me, form my own opinions and discover things outside mainstream trends. Outsider, visionary, and folk art is a big wow for me as is the bravery that children's work possesses, I would have never found that during a  traditional arts education. 

What would your creative work taste like?
Pigs in a blanket and a beer, and maybe some Hot Tamales candy for dessert. Something so bad, but really so good.

When you are not creating what do you like to do?
I sew, I'm a compulsive baker, my extraordinary husband Patrick & I raise chickens and keep bees. I like homestead-ish type stuff, we've been looking for a little farm down in the Santa Cruz/Monterey area where we can do more of that kind of stuff, and my man has promised me goats! I like taking my dogs to the beach, I love music and going to shows, I'm a word game junkie and I like TV, way more than I should. I also love hanging out with my kids Ivy & Kasten who are now 20 and 17; they're amazing, hilarious and creative beyond belief. Ivy is starting her 3rd year of a BFA program in illustration at PNCA in Portland, and I'm sure my son will follow his creative vision. Seriously, they're my greatest creation. Everything considered, I'm living the good life.

How did you learn to access your creative talents and gain the confidence to put it out there for everyone to experience?
Putting your art out there at first is tough. I had tons of support and encouragement from friends and family. The first time I showed my work I made 40 small paintings and nearly all of them sold. It suddenly hit me, after years of working in galleries, teaching art to kids and a multitude of odd jobs in between, I can do what I love doing most of all. It took me a really long time to come to that realization and to feel comfortable enough to call myself an artist. I wish that I made it happen sooner, but I had to get to the "why the heck not," phase of my life where I stopped worrying about failure. I also just think creative people are naturally more fearful & sensitive, and I needed time to get over that.

What advice would you give others just beginning their creative adventures?
It's not easy, but if you're the kind of person who puts creating above all else for all means go for it. Eat it, sleep it roll around in it. Your work should be completely your own, don't  try and be somebody else. Think about content, not just style. Most of all treat it like a business, put some serious hours into it, market yourself,  get yourself out there. Oh and don't be a flake, don't perpetuate the artist stereotype, it makes us all look bad.

Al Preciado

Name: Al Preciado

Website: http://alpreciado.net/

What do you do? 
Artist and teacher

Where can we find your work?
Kalied

What inspires you to create and how do you keep motivated when things get tough?
I am inspired by beauty and women. I am inspired by heroic actions and sacrifice

What do you think is more important content/finished product or technique/process?  
Technique and finish. Content is important on particular projects

Who are some people who influence and/or inspire you?
Goya, Kiki Smith and Michael Buscemi. I  like his take no  prisoners attitude

If you could be any fictional character who would you be?
Jerry Maguire. I like his sense of compassion for the athletes

When do you get your best ideas?
Flying in planes, different countries, the beauty of women and nature

What materials/tools do you use most to create your work?
Paints, watercolors and clay

Are you self taught or formally educated? How do you think that has influenced or affected your work?
Formally taught. I think the University prepares for a formal critique of your work

What would your creative work taste like?
Tacos and menudo

When you are not creating what do you like to do?
Travel. Movies, magazines, family and friends

How did you learn to access your creative talents and gain the confidence to put it out there for everyone to experience?
I had the talent early, but was not confident. Teaching others gave me confidence and helped me develop my work

What advice would you give others just beginning their creative adventures?  Don’t be afraid to look stupid and fail. Ask others. Get involved in peer critiques. Draw til you bleed. Help the community and not just artists. If you are convinced you are an artist, you are an artist. You determine if you matter or not. 

Our 1 Year Anniversary

Its hard to believe that its already been a year since this humble little blog was started. In that year we have interviewed 44 talented San Jose creatives: artists, musicians, writers, filmmakers, Dj’s, interior designers, creative entrepreneurs and more. What is even better is that we already have interviews scheduled out until Jan 2013. There is no shortage of creative talent in the South Bay and we are proud to share it with everyone.

In honor of our 1 year anniversary, instead of posting new interviews this month we will be posting the best of answers to some of our most popular questions. We also asked our featured creatives to answer one additional question: “If you had absolutely no restrictions, not money, time, resources, etc. What would you want to create?” We had some great answers and will be posting them throughout the month as well.

We are also hosting a very special 1 year anniversary exhibit at KALEID gallery this month. We will have 30 artists and 5 bands that have been featured this past year. We really hope you can make it out to see, enjoy and support all of this local talent. 

Jenifer J Renzel

Name: Jenifer J Renzel
Website: http://bugatha1.deviantart.com/

What do you do?

Full time technical writer, part time artist.

Where can we find your work?
 Kaleid Gallery (downtown SJ) and https://www.facebook.com/pages/Assemblage-Art-by-Jenifer-J-Renzel/213055888709223

What inspires you to create and how do you keep motivated when things get tough?
Sometimes ideas or images just pop into my head and I’m ready to go. Other times an old object will be the catalyst. I go to a lot of estate sales and flea markets, and I get inspired by old toys, broken hardware, rusty garden tools, and so forth. Sometimes an object is just crying out to become part of an art piece.

What do you think is more important content/finished product or technique/process?
That is a tough question. I think they have to go together.

Who are some people who influence and/or inspire you?
Joseph Cornell, Jean Michael Basquiat,
Alexander Caulder (his ‘circus‘ puppetry: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wIQbjbbNq0Q),
Hieronymous Bosch, and Wladyslaw Starewicz (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ed8Hbh5XK0).

If you could be any fictional character who would you be?
Maybe James West from the original Wild West TV series.

When do you get your best ideas?
I get good ideas when I’m working out, or right before I fall asleep. Traveling and seeing new places also fires up my creative juices. I keep a little notebook where I accumulate these ideas for when I hit a creative dry spell.

What materials/tools do you use most to create your work?
All sorts of found objects plus lots of wire, two-part epoxy, and crackle paint.

Are you self taught or formally educated? How do you think that has influenced or affected your work?
I don’t have any formal education in art, but I’ve taken various miscellaneous classes and workshops over the years. I’ve also been lucky to have artistic friends who have shared their techniques with me. I sometimes wish I had some formal training in art because I think it would improve aspects of my work. Maybe someday I’ll go back to school ....

When you are not creating what do you like to do?
Watch scary movies, scrounge for art materials and found objects, read mysteries and thrillers, play with our kitties, and go on weekend trips with my partner.

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

The Kaleid Gallery was really important for me -- it gave me an outlet for my art, and got me connected with the local art community. Cherri Lakey and Lacey Bryant get a big thank you from me for all the work they do to keep this gallery vibrant.

What advice would you give others just beginning their creative adventures?
I think it’s important to make the art that you love and try not to worry about what others think. If you lose yourself in it, it’s probably good. Some people will like it, some will be neutral, and some will dislike it. That’s OK. I once had someone tell me that one of my pieces caused her to have a visceral reaction and made her slightly nauseous. That’s not necessarily the reaction an artist seeks, but I think it just shows one range of impact. 

Kori Thompson

Name: Kori Thompson
Website: www.korithompson.net

What do you do?
Paint on things mostly on wood and canvas.

Where can we find your work?
You can find my work at Psycho Donuts and always at Kaleid Gallery, where I am currently in a group show called "Exquisite Corpse" and just wrapped up my solo show there last month. I also have group shows at The Usuals in San Jose on July 27th, The Uptown in Oakland on August 3rd and Modern Eden Gallery in San Francisco on August 11th. For more details and to see more of my work you can check out  www.korithompson.net

What inspires you to create and how do you keep motivated when things get tough?
I try to do something everyday. If I'm not painting, I'm doing some kind of research, sketch, or outline. I'm always thinking about the next thing or project. I feel like I can punch, or work my way out of any situation with my art. Hopefully that work ethic resonates and comes through in my paintings. 

What do you think is more important content/finished product or technique/process?  
I feel they go hand in hand. The process is all mine. It's why I do what I do. I feel like I'm almost addicted to it. The finished product is exactly that, what everyone see. 

Who are some people who influence and/or inspire you?
I'm inspired by my kids Francesca and Logan. My Grandfather, Grandmother, myMom, my Great Grandparents, and my wife Andrea who is always pushing me to get out in the garage and finish painting while she is wrangling the kids up. 

I'm influenced or really enjoy the work of Hunter S. Thompson, Carmine Infantino, Stan Lee, Steve Ditko, Jim and Jimbo Phillips, Akira Kurosawa, George Lucas, Quentin Tarantino, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Vincent vanGogh, Lucian Freud, Erik Larsen and James Robinson.

If you could be any fictional character who would you be?
I love this question! Such a hard decision. I could go with Indiana Jones, Snake Plissken, Green Lantern, Han Solo or Spider-Man. Maybe a mix of them all! Ha! I think I'd lean more towards Spidey because of my love comicbooks and the character.

When do you get your best ideas?
When I least suspect it. So I always sketch or write them down. 

What materials/tools do you use most to create your work?
Ticonderoga #2's, canvas or wood, acrylic paint and brushes. 

Are you self taught or formally educated? How do you think that has influenced or affected your work?
I took some classes from Henry Asencio and Sagi Erez which really helped me out and showed me a lot and set me in the right direction.

What would your creative work taste like?
Sushi washed down with the best beer you've ever had.

When you are not creating what do you like to do?
Spend time with my family, read comicbooks, watch movies and listen to music. Maybe a round of golf if I can fit it in!? 

How did you learn to access your creative talents and gain the confidence to put it out there for everyone to experience?
Always doing something drawing, painting. Staying productive and positive.

What advice would you give others just beginning their creative adventures? 
Don't stop! Don't make excuses that you're too tired or don't have the time. If you want to truly do something, you will no matter what. 

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.

Deborah Anderson

Name: Deborah Anderson
Website: athousandcanes.wordpress.com

What do you do?
I would say I am a mixed media artisan but I specialize in polymer clay jewelry.

Where can we find your work?
Kaleid Gallery, Quilt Museum gift shop, Nikkei Traditions in San Jose and Triton Museum in Santa Clara.

What inspires you to create and how do you keep motivated when things get tough?
I have been working with polymer clay since 1993 and am a member of the Southbay polymer Clay Guild here in San Jose. I get inspired from books, seeing other people's work and nature.

What do you think is more important content/finished product or technique/process?
I think both are just as important. You keep learning as you go through a process or a technique. As I go through the steps to create a finished project, the next time I make it, I may try something different.

Who are some people who influence and/or inspire you?
Pier Voulkos, Steven Ford & David Forlano & Gwen Gibson are some of the people I have taken workshops from who have greatly inspired me.

If you could be any fictional character who would you be?
Anne of Green Gables

When do you get your best ideas?
I get ideas when I attend a show. Whether it be a quilt show, craft faire, trade show or when I am just working and have time to play around and experiment.

What materials/tools do you use most to create your work?
Polymer clay, pasta machine, clay blade real leaves, texture stamps

Are you self taught or formally educated? How do you think that has influenced or affected your work?
Polymer clay has so many techniques you can try and apply to your work. I have taken classes by some instructors to learn some of them and I have taught techniques I have come up with as well.

What would your creative work taste like?
It would have texture and taste a little salty with some sweet and sour

When you are not creating what do you like to do?
Travel and visit with friends, go to yard sales

How did you learn to access your creative talents and gain the confidence to put it out there for everyone to experience?
I get so much satisfaction in creating and it has always been rewarding to me. People have been very supportive and encouraging.

What advice would you give others just beginning their creative adventures?
Follow your heart & enjoy

Shoe Heaven