Dune Tran

Website: www.dunetran.com

What do you do?
I'm an acoustic indie pop singer songwriter. I play piano, guitar, sing and write songs.

Where can we find your work?
My website: www.dunetran.com, Bandcamp, or iTunes

What inspires you to create and how do you keep motivated when things get tough?Music inspires me. Emotions. Life experience. Hearing other life stories. Observations of human behavior. When things get tough and I need inspiration, I like to learn or relearn how to play favorite songs by other artists that I love. I enjoy playing classical music too. That usually gets me out of my element and in the zone. Discovering new music inspires me too, so listening to Pandora really helps with that. Going to open mics. Seeing and hearing other musicians and songwriters achieving goals and producing new work is also inspirational.

What do you think is more important content/finished product or technique/process?
Both! Technique and process bring your content to a finished product. ;)

Who are some people who influence and/or inspire you?I like to focus on other female singer songwriters and the list has definitely changed over the years, but off the top of my head: Regina Spektor, Lykke Li, Tori Amos, Aimee Mann, Karen O of Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Amy Winehouse, Santigold, Ingrid Michaelson, Sia. Lana Del Ray, Fiona Apple, Adele, Birdy, Holly Conlan, Joni Mitchell, Sarah Mclachlan

What is the most incredible art moment for you so far?
Having my songs being placed for use on TV

When do you get your best ideas?
When I'm alone playing my piano or guitar and singing. Sounds and melodies inspire a theme. In those melodies, there's an emotion and a story to uncover. It's kind of like a puzzle. A crafty poetic way of expressing thought and emotions in few words to connect and be relate-able to others. I like listening to songs that make me feel something or make me feel like "yeah I've been there too. I know how that feels."

What materials/tools do you use most to create your work?
Piano, guitar and voice

Are you self-taught or formally educated? How do you think that has influenced or affected your work?
Partly self taught and partly through education and teachers. Teachers helped provide foundation and technique. Education helped me learn about how to use software for recording. Self taught writing has given me the freedom to be creative.

I've also done a lot of research online and I've been to several workshops. This past year I went on a camping rafting songwriting retreat in British Columbia which was led by a couple amazing teachers (Jason Blume and Mary Gauthier). They were both so different but so influential, moving, reassuring and supportive. Hearing stories from them and others was so inspirational. I didn't feel so alone about being a songwriter. Not very many people I know personally are songwriters and it was comforting and energizing to be surrounded by a passionate group of songwriters.

Who would you most like to meet living or dead and why?
I would love to meet Amy Winehouse. I find her lyrics so raw and truthful. I also love her voice and songs. I love her ability to express herself. I find as an artist that it is important yet is hard to bare your soul completely. It's a challenge, but it's what I admire most about artistic expression. It's therapeutic and healing to write.

When you are not creating what do you like to do?
I love to hike, do yoga, listen to music, and play volleyball

How did you learn to access your creative talents and gain the confidence to put it out there for everyone to experience?
Writing and listening, rewriting and re-listening, taking time away from it and then repeat until I think it's good enough. I wouldn't have been able to do it without the support of my producer Joshua Rumer.

What advice would you give others just beginning their creative adventures?
Start small. Start simple. Don't be judgmental and hard on yourself.

Put together a concise, complete, coherent thought and purpose in your song.

Don't be so rigid in process. Some songs can start with just lyrics, just melody or just chord progression or just a drum beat. Try anything. Whatever brings out your inspiration to create. Whatever moves your soul and moves emotion.

Use the voice recorder on your phone. Save your work. Put it away and listen later. Make notes. Write down ideas for lyrics where ever and whenever inspiration hits you. Collaborate. Try playing a new instrument.

I've taken a whole bunch of classes around the Bay Area. The first songwriting class I took was through Carol McComb at Gryphon Guitars. Late on, I took a songwriting class at Foothill College because

I was stuck in a rut and it helped force me to write. I took a jazz piano class at De Anza. I also took plenty of music production classes at Foothill College. Try everything and anything. Craigslist is a great resource for meeting other musicians to play with, buy instruments, find teachers, etc.

Stephanie Metz

Website: www.stephaniemetz.com

What do you do?
I am a sculptor, a wife, and a mom to two young boys. For the past twelve years I have been experimenting with the medium of felted wool, creating forms that embody ideas about the physical body and push the limits previously assigned to wool and felting.I came to fiber from a background in sculpture, and I address wool in a way similar to the way I would build up mass in clay and remove it in stone. At the University of Oregon I focused on the human form and the traditional materials of sculpture; I only discovered wool felting several years after college and a production art job that left me frustrated. I became involved with running Works/San Jose, our local nonprofit art and performance space, and along the way learned the business of being a professional artist even as I was experimenting with the wool felting that would become my main focus. Over the years I’ve been invited to show my work across the United States and Europe, I’ve taught my technique, presented lectures, sold artwork, and received awards and grants. I have a very full life with kids and a sculpture career, and I owe a lot of my sanity to my very loving and supportive husband. My work and life continue to evolve; as my kids get older I have longer stretches of time to work while they are at school and increasingly interesting experiences with them that feed into my practice. In the studio I seem to always set new challenges and enjoy meeting them. Despite my relatively unique material I find I have a whole community network of artists from a variety of disciplines with whom I can trade ideas, techniques, and professional practices.

Where can we find your work?
I don’t currently have gallery representation; I show my work out of my San Jose studio at the School of Visual Philosophy during Open Studios and by appointment; my work can be seen online through my website www.stephaniemetz.com and some is offered for sale through my Square Market page at www.square.com/market/stephanie-metz. I currently have work in two shows touring the U.K., and I’m finishing work for the Rijswijk Textile Biennial in the Netherlands.

What inspires you to create and how do you keep motivated when things get tough?
I am a curious person; I stumbled across my strange medium of felted wool and wanted to learn about it and explore its possibilities. I find the experimental process itself engaging, and my material ends up influencing and steering my subject matter. I don’t have much trouble with staying motivated in the studio since I always have several different projects going at once and extremely limited time available to work on them (I have two young sons). I do struggle with a lack of motivation to do some of the other tasks associated with the business side of being an artist. I make to-do lists and love being able to check things off, and I’ll reward myself with studio-work-only time when I get administrative tasks done.

What do you think is more important content/finished product or technique/process?
Both are important to me-- the finished product is somewhat of a map of the creator’s journey up to that point. I know that when I look at art I often try to put myself in the artist’s shoes and consider what went into the making even as I consider the finished art in front of me. Every piece is also part of the larger arc of an artist’s creative output, and can give perspective on the past as well as potential future work.

Who are some people who influence and/or inspire you?
Artists Lana Wilson, George Rivera and Alan May have been some of my instructors and mentors; they are models of a healthy, productive, and sustaining blend of personal and creative lives.

What is the most incredible art moment for you so far?
That’s a tough question-- I feel like I get a lot of incredible moments when I’m working alone in the studio and in that state described as ‘flow’: wrestling with a challenge but feeling mostly confident that I can resolve it in a pleasing way. I think that is what keeps me going; I may later re-assess my success with a particular piece, but the highs I experience fairly regularly in the process of creating are extremely rewarding to me.

When do you get your best ideas?
There’s no specific best time or place-- being an artist is woven throughout my life, so I sketch or jot things down when they occur. Sometimes it’s when I’m specifically working on ideas, sometimes it happens organically. I tend to have a sketchbook and pens with me much of the time.

What materials/tools do you use most to create your work?
Wool, and sharp, notched felting needles in a variety of multi-needle holders.

Are you self-taught or formally educated? How do you think that has influenced or affected your work?
Both. I am formally educated to the tune of a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Sculpture from the University of Oregon, where I focused on the classical figure and worked in nearly every area offered (bronze, clay, stone, metalsmithing, ceramics, printmaking) except fiber. I am largely self-taught in the use of fiber as a sculpting medium. I was introduced to needle felting through the book ‘The Felting Needle: From Factory to Fantasy’ by Ayala Talpai. From that starting point I have been teaching myself through trial and error, and my exploration continues.

Who would you most like to meet living or dead and why?
I’m tickled by the comedian Betty White-- she seems to have a great outlook on life, which she approaches with grace and sharp wit. I think I could learn a few things by spending a day with her.

When you are not creating what do you like to do?
I like to goof off with my kids, play roller hockey, read, and eat food other people cook for me.

How did you learn to access your creative talents and gain the confidence to put it out there for everyone to experience?
I knew I was an artist even as a child simply because drawing and paying attention to how things looked was hardwired into me. I knew going into college that I wanted a career related to my ability to make things, but I was not interested in being a fine artist who would sell work through galleries because I didn’t think I had anything to say to the world-- I wanted to do production work, or applied art, albeit at a very high professional level. A frustrating year of production artmaking changed my mind. I started teaching myself the business of being an artist and discovered needle felting at about the same time, even though I didn’t consider needle felted wool sculpture to be my ‘real’ artwork for quite a long time. My confidence in my technical abilities thanks to my classical art education combined with my enthusiasm for my material lets me put my work out there and not feel overly swayed by responses, good or bad. I’m ultimately doing this for my own pleasure. Okay, I’ll admit I do like it that others generally reply pretty positively, but it’s an uphill battle to convince some that what I do actually is sculpture, despite it not being made of metal, stone, or wood.

What advice would you give others just beginning their creative adventures?
I think some education in art techniques and art history can help, provided that it doesn’t replace your own voice-- you have to learn and process things and then you can set aside some and focus on others. I think a lot of art-making (and life) is about making decisions on how to use the time, materials, and energy you have currently available. Have faith in your own quirky vision-- your unique outlook on the world is the filter that creates your artwork. Don’t try to be or make art like somebody else. There’s a great quote by Georgia O’Keeffe: “I have things in my head that are not like what anyone has taught me - shapes and ideas so near to me - so natural to my way of being and thinking that it hasn’t occurred to me to put them down.” Put them down, own them, do the work. Art doesn’t get made unless you make it.

Joyce McEwen Crawford

Website: www.joycemcewencrawfordartist.com

What do you do?
I’m a visual Artist. I create figurative drawings and paintings. My style is either representational or expressive and sometimes a little of both that I call narrative. I also do mono and linoleum relief prints. I’m also a contract Teacher with the Art of Yoga, a nonprofit that provides art and yoga to girls in juvenile detention. I’m a retired social worker and an advocate for the use of art for healing.

Where can we find your work?
I have an exhibit, Metamorphosis, opening at the Triton Museum of Art, Santa Clara, 1505 Warburton Ave, Santa Clara, Ca. The reception is February 20th and the exhibit will continue until March 29th. Also on my website, www.joycemcewencrawfordartist.com and on Zazzle at www.zazzle.com/mcewencj

What inspires you to create and how do you keep motivated when things get tough?I view art as a form of communication that allows us to express thoughts and feelings that are buried in our subconscious, therefore my inspiration comes from within. When things get tough I motivate myself by reading, writing, dancing, visiting with friends, having a good conversation and scribbling. Yep, I said scribbling. lol

What do you think is more important content/finished product or technique/process?Of all those listed, I think process is most important. The creative process is the part that makes the art unique and becomes a signature for an artist. Technique will change according to the media the artist decides to use and content will change according to what we choose to express, but the process, how we express ourselves through the media, will only change as we grow and mature in our craft. In fact we grow and mature through the process of creating. Of course the finished product is important, it’s the culmination of all the effort. If I were to put it in an equation it would be, process + technique+ content = finished product.

Who are some people who influence and/or inspire you?
When I arrived in San Jose in 1984, I was one of three African Americans in the graduate program at San Jose State University. At that time the director of the San Jose Museum of Art School was Ruth Tunstall Grant. Ruth became a mentor, advocate and friend, as she remains to this day. Another influence is my spiritual teacher, Luisah Teish, writer, artist, social advocate, educator and Ifa priestess. My early inspiration is my mom, who bought me my first set of drawing supplies when I was 8 years old, supported and encouraged me during times I didn’t believe in myself. My children were/are a huge influence and inspiration, I have a lot of drawings and prints of them. I have a lot of drawings and prints of my children. I’m also influenced by many female artists, Bettye Saar, Elizabeth Catlett, Faith Ringgold to name some, who paved the way for artists as myself.

What is the most incredible art moment for you so far?Each first is incredible, getting into art school, getting into graduate school, getting accepted into art shows and competitions. Learning that the piece I submitted won a prize or took a place in a competition is always incredible. The most current moment, being offered the opportunity to have a solo exhibit at the Triton and doing it after taking so many years off, is beyond incredible. I’m extremely excited, and nervous, about it.

When do you get your best ideas?
During the night, usually from 12am to 3am. Other times are during meditation and sleep. When my mind is at rest.

What materials/tools do you use most to create your work?
For drawing I use a variety of graphite pencils, and color pencils, on Stonehenge paper. Painting, I prefer oils on pre stretched canvas. Printmaking, Mono prints on plexi glass with oil based printers ink. Relief Printing I prefer unblocked linoleum, some good sharp tools and oil based ink. I have a small block printing roll press and I also use banana hand rolls. I enjoy working on rice paper.

Are you self-taught or formally educated? How do you think that has influenced or affected your work?
Since I began drawing so young, I began as a self-taught. My art education began when in elementary school through high school on to commercial art school, followed by earning my BA in studio art at Indiana University, Northwest and two out of three years of the MFA program at San Jose State. I also have a Masters in Social Work from San Jose State. How did all this education influence my work? I developed fantastic skills, worked under great teachers and was able to use some of the best printing equipment. I also learned that I wanted to be an instructor and that art was going to be my second language. Through my social work education and practice as a social worker I learned the importance of being observant and learning from the process which I incorporated into my art making.

Who would you most like to meet living or dead and why?
When I was 18 years old, I was diagnosed with clinical depression. As a result there were a few times when I decided that I was no longer able to live in this world. Art continued to save me. Out of that pain I was attracted to artists who lived and created through their pain. Therefore I would like to meet and talk to Frida Kahlo and Vincent Van Gogh, we could paint together and share war stories. And Carl Jung, I’d like to do some therapy sessions with him.

When you are not creating what do you like to do?
When I’m not making art, I like to spend time talking and sharing time with family and friends. Dancing to Reggae or African beats. I started practicing Yoga after breast cancer and continue to practice yoga. I have a consistent spiritual practice, study, meditation and contemplation. I also enjoy writing and journaling.

How did you learn to access your creative talents and gain the confidence to put it out there for everyone to experience?
I struggle with self-confidence, but I do have confidence in what I do, so I have no problem getting my art out to be seen. I learned to access my creative talents by finding out who I really am, finding my own voice, being able to discard the techniques and skills, all that I learned and allow the process to possess me and just create.

What advice would you give others just beginning their creative adventures?
I would tell beginning artists to take the time to learn their craft and work it. Not be concerned about the outcome, the good or the bad of it but enjoy and take note of your process and learn from it. Also have someone you talk to, share your ideas and art with, and get feedback. Entering art competitions are great for getting feedback from judges rather you get in or not, keep putting your art out there. Something I did that helped me a lot was to take a Business of Art course. We have a lot of resources for social marketing available to us in the Silicon Valley as well as galleries that offer critiques and support artists with studio and gallery spaces, seek out and utilize the resources around that are available to you.

Avery Palmer

Website: www.averypalmerart.com

What do you do?
Painting, drawing, ceramic sculpture

Where can we find your work?John Natsoulas Gallery (Davis, CA), Kaleid Gallery (San Jose, CA)

What inspires you to create and how do you keep motivated when things get tough?
I'm inspired mostly by looking at other peoples' art that I like and by being around friends with
creative drive. Working in different media and in different sizes helps to keep me from losing motivation too much. For example: if working on a painting is feeling like a daunting task I can always just do some sketching or do a quick, small painting where I can be more playful because it's not as big of an investment. This can help to get me more excited about creating when my level of inspiration is low.

What do you think is more important content/finished product or technique/process?
I lean toward technique and process as being more important. My philosophy is that if you learn the
techniques that allow you to successfully make things work visually without a lot of struggling, concepts will automatically materialize—provided that you can find things that inspire you. For me, art is essentially about the process of growth. The continuous improvement of my ability to explore and express my imagination is infinitely more valuable to me than any finished product, no matter how well it turns out.

Who are some people who influence and/or inspire you?
Remedios Varo, Salvador Dali, Odd Nerdrum, Mark Ryden, Dr. Suess, Heather Nevay, and many more.

When do you get your best ideas?
My ideas come to me most strongly when I am looking at art that inspires me. When I see a painting that really has an impact on me I try to bring myself into the world of that painting and let my imagination play.

What materials/tools do you use most to create your work?
Lately oil paints.

Are you self-taught or formally educated? How do you think that has influenced or affected your work?
I have a BA and MFA. My school experiences have been very valuable in exposing me to certain ideas and providing a stimulating and supportive environment, but I think that most of my development as an artist has come from my independent efforts to teach myself the skills I knew I wanted to have.

When you are not creating what do you like to do?
When not making art I enjoy dabbling in music-making and BMX bicycling.

How did you learn to access your creative talents and gain the confidence to put it out there for everyone to experience?
I've always had a strong creative drive since as long as I can remember. I would draw a lot of cars and airplanes and things as a young boy and liked to try to make toys for myself. Getting older and having to think about having a career, I knew that it was important for me to do something where I would be able to keep that creative part of myself happy, so I started working hard to develop my drawing skills. Also I have had very supportive parents and teachers.

What advice would you give others just beginning their creative adventures?
Make your creativity a high priority—if not your highest priority. Discipline yourself to learn skills that will help you (drawing is a good one if you are in the visual arts). Look for art that inspires you and think about the choices the artist has made that gives the work the power that it has. Use your imagination. Be persistent.

Derek Rungsea

Website: www.itsarakoncepts.com

What do you do?
Product design

Where can we find your work?
At my website, http://www.itsarakoncepts.com
as well as other sites such as http://www.tweli.com
and http://www.thegrommet.com/citizens-gallery.

What inspires you to create and how do you keep motivated when things get tough?
I find inspiration from everyday objects that I see in the home, outside, or when I browse through nice product and graphic websites. To stay motivated, I read a famous quote each day and remember my goals and the vision that I am trying to achieve.

What do you think is more important content/finished product or technique/process?
I believe content and the finished product are more important. The design process is the foundation for every project I start, but the beauty of it is even though the process is the same, the final results are different every time.

Who are some people who influence and/or inspire you?
I get inspired by all entrepreneurs. To be able to commit to something new, go through unknown challenges, learn a wealth of knowledge and experience, and take a chance, all because they believe in an idea, and themselves.

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

When do you get your best ideas?
Great ideas can come to me at any moment. They usually occur because I see or hear something, which stimulates my mind in a new way. And without trying too hard, I think of something within a few minutes.

What materials/tools do you use most to create your work?
I sketch ideas out on paper initially, then create them digitally with 2D design software and sometimes in 3D with modeling software.

Are you self taught or formally educated? How do you think that has influenced or affected your work?
I have a Bachelor of Architecture, and through design school I have created a great design foundation and work ethic. This enables me to be self taught and continue to be in almost everything. Being trained has affected my work in great ways, as it brought me a level of professionalism and expertise for my career.

What would your creative work taste like?
My work would taste like a dessert: all individual ingredients come together as necessary components to create something delicate. Desserts don't have to come from an executive chef, but still has to be executed well. Before it tastes good, it has to look good too!

When you are not creating what do you like to do?
I like to find balance through outdoor activities and sports such as hiking, and tennis. My favorite activity is snowboarding because I find serenity from gliding on snow through tree-lined trails.

How did you learn to access your creative talents and gain the confidence to put it out there for everyone to experience?
My creativity did not show itself until I decided to start my own business endeavors. Through new projects and clients, I have exposed myself to all design industries. Once I began expressing my own designs for others, my skills improved, and I sought out design more often. Once more and more people saw my work, I continued receiving positive feedback.

What advice would you give others just beginning their creative adventures?
Creativity is subjective. There is always a person or a place that will find your work as beautiful as you do. Find passion in your work and keep doing it. Show as many people as you can and don't give up. You never know what can happen.

Brande Barrett

Name: Brande Barrett

Website: www. Onesurreal.com

What do you do?
I work primarily in Photography; alternative process and mixed media. I have recently begun to integrate encaustics and poetry into my pieces. I also create abstract chalk and oil pastel drawings.

Where can we find your work?
Fine Art America has a few of my images available for sale http://fineartamerica.com/art/all/brande+barrett/all. I am currently looking to expand my web presence and find other outlets for my work.

What inspires you to create and how do you keep motivated when things get tough?
To me the creative process is what motivates me. I love to play and experiment. Discoveries made serendipitously are exciting. I think because I play so much I don’t get frustrated…

What do you think is more important content/finished product or technique/process?
I used to be anxious about the finished product. I am a bit of a perfectionist and this often put me at odds with making art. As a child I loved making art but since I couldn’t draw well I didn’t pursue art until I got beyond the narrow definition of what an artist is. Art is not about whether or not you can draw or what medium you use but rather art is a way of thinking.

Who are some people who influence and/or inspire you?
I don’t really have influences in art. I am usually drawn to work I could never create like paintings by Camille Rose Garcia, Broken Toyland, and Herakut. I once stood in front of a Kandinsky painting and wept…I am truly inspired by strong women like artist activist Favianna Rodrigues, writer Maya Angelou, Amanda Palmer, activist Malala Yousafzai to name a few.

What is the most incredible art moment for you so far?
Recently during a gallery opening I overheard a young woman reading my poem to her friend and when she finished they were expressing their feelings about the despondency of the narrative in the poem. I realized I had made a connection that transcended generations and the integration of poetry resulted in the viewer connecting to the photography in a deeper more profound and meaningful way.

When do you get your best ideas?
My best ideas come in the shower! I also tend to think freely as I fall asleep so many ideas come from those quiet moments before a night of dreams. I sometimes dream ideas too!

What materials/tools do you use most to create your work?
I miss the darkroom terribly but these days I am almost exclusively digital. Although there are many processes that are easier to do in Photoshop some things just lack the richness produced in a darkroom especially black and white solarizations.

Are you self-taught or formally educated? How do you think that has influenced or affected your work?
I went to San Jose State University and earned my Bachelor’s in Fine Art Photography. I cannot imagine my life without the experience and exposure to not only the instructors like Brian Taylor, Robert Dawson and Keay Edwards and but my colleagues as well.

Who would you most like to meet living or dead and why?
This is hard to choose only one so ultimately I think I would have to say Adelaide Crapsey. She is the poet who invented the American Cinquain, a class of poetic forms that employs a 5 line pattern. Crapsey was an unfortunate soul who was a sickly woman who died without ever knowing her impact in poetry. I would like to be able to share with her the legacy of her poetry and her innovation’s success inspiring modern poets to create variations.   

When you are not creating what do you like to do?
I can’t think of anything I like to do that is not creating. I love to write; poetry and prose mostly but I do have a screenplay I am currently working on. I love movies, music and I never miss the most trusted sources for news the Daily Show and Colbert Report!

How did you learn to access your creative talents and gain the confidence to put it out there for everyone to experience?
It is still very difficult to “put it out there” I feel like an awkward adolescent girl going to her first dance every time I show my work. Over the years I have developed confidence in my photography however, every time I challenge myself to work in a new medium it is nerve wracking but also exhilarating. It is the push that makes you develop as an artist.

What advice would you give others just beginning their creative adventures?
Find what you love and find a way to do it every day!

Hanh Nguyen

Name: Hanh Nguyen
Website: www.hanhny.com

What do you do?
Fashion Design

Where can we find your work?
On my website at www.hanhny.com or in person at DSF Shop in San Francisco, the SJMade Holiday pop up in Valley Fair Mall (open until the end of December), and The Upperside pop up shop in The Netherlands as well!

What inspires you to create and how do you keep motivated when things get tough?
Life inspires me to create. My childhood, my family’s history, family and friends motivate me when things get tough.

Who are some people who influence and/or inspire you?
Musicians, other artists, my family and friends

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

When do you get your best ideas?
On a long road trip, at a concert and in my sleep.

What materials/tools do you use most to create your work?
Pencil and/or acrylic on paper, adobe illustrator and photoshop.

Are you self taught or formally educated? How do you think that has influenced or affected your work?
I graduated with a Bachelor degree in Apparel Design at San Francisco State University and a Master degree of graphic design in Italy. Getting professionally trained helps a lot because it got me started and the rest are all from experience.

What would your creative work taste like?
Eclectic and contradicting– a mix of contemporary and vintage, tomboy and girly, Eastern meets Western, muted and bold. I can’t sit in one spot for a lot time…that should explain why I am a bit all over the place ;)

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

How did you learn to access your creative talents and gain the confidence to put it out there for everyone to experience?
I never thought about how to gain confidence to put my work out there. I only share what I love and am happy with. So when you tell yourself, ‘Yes, I love it! There must be someone out there that shares the same taste and aesthetics!’ then you don’t question it.

What advice would you give others just beginning their creative adventures?
I have only been in the fashion industry for a little over 5 years now and just landed my own clothing line, Hanhny last month…I’m still learning everyday. This, I know I’ll never stop doing. It’s hard to live a life of an artist and do what you love as a profession, but if you love it enough, your mind and body will automatically make you do what it takes to keep going at it. Even if you have to do some tedious work on the side before you get there. If anything comes easy, would you appreciate it as much? At least you’ll have a more interesting story to tell!

And of course, surround yourself with people who are supportive and share the same dream, so you can help each other out.

Luis A. Lopez

Name: Luis A. Lopez
Website: http://luislopez.com       http://www.imdb.com/name/nm5913491/

What do you do?
I write and make film.

Where can we find your work?
Online, Amazon.com

What inspires you to create and how do you keep motivated when things get tough?
Art is the most important thing in the world. It’s more than a communication of emotion and experience, it’s a conduit between people which is vital to human culture. It’s extremely powerful and necessary. And to me, this is where the inspiration lies.

I want to learn and share. I want to participate in the dialog between the artist and audience. The dialog between humans. It’s the only fulfilling human experience I know. It stands above emotion, and says, here, look at this, touch this, feel this, experience this with me, this is my story, it proves my existence and yours.

Humanity is a strange and special thing. It’s an experience no one has yet to figure out. It’s the greatest puzzle there is. Look at the world; violence and atrocity rule the news, everyone’s killing, weekend wars, drones, famine, religious wars, power grabs for oil, banks collapsing the economy, PRISM, etc… it’s horrid. This also has to serve to inspire and motivate.

It’s up to artists all over the world to capture and share these stories - capture the reality of their lives and speak for themselves and the voiceless. We can’t count on traditional journalism anymore, it’s all bought and paid for by the handful of large media companies. One spray painted wall can tell a better story of what’s happening in that area at that time then all the newscasts in the world. True art tells the truth.

And there’s the other side as well, the small beauties of life that get us through, the special moments, love and tenderness, wishing, wondering, dreaming: these are all important things to share as well.

Without art, without shared stories, we can’t grow as people.

What do you think is more important content/finished product or technique/process?  
It’s all important. For the artist it’s a bit like a birth. After careful nurturing once it’s out and on its legs there’s nothing left to do, it becomes a different animal for different people as they experience it. However, it’s not always intent. A poem that I write for me explaining one experience, can mean something completely different to someone else. But still relevant to both.

Who are some people who influence and/or inspire you?
I could list a slew of artists that have stayed with me over the years, or specific poems or films. But I’m more inclined to get inspiration from regular day to day activities, the things I see on my own path: Broken things. Useful things.

I get inspired by artists that show me things I’ve never seen. Or reveal to me an emotion in a way I wasn’t expecting. I saw a silent short film the other day, it was 1 minute long, and it was one of the most powerful things I’ve seen. Completely unexpected. And it’s going to stay with me for a while.

I also get inspired by perseverance. People that don’t give up what they know to be true. People that don’t throw in the towel at the slightest scare. People that stand up for themselves and for those they care about. There’s a certain protection in art, it shields and helps understanding.

If you could be any fictional character who would you be?
Taran, assistant pig-keeper

When do you get your best ideas?
The best ideas usually come while driving. I don’t know the process that others use to write, but for me what works best is having the story worked out in my mind already. I’m literally writing all the time in my head, putting the story together and playing with ideas. Then when it’s time, I put it to paper. I’m not the sort of person that sits every day at the keyboard at a scheduled time and forces the writing. For me, the keyboard is just the final execution component.

Whenever I’m stuck on a story or poem or whatever it is, I drive. Usually over Hwy. 17 to the ocean. Then I write while sitting on the rocks overlooking the water. There’s something about the sound of the ocean that helps free up thoughts and dream.

What materials/tools do you use most to create your work?
Laptops and Film equipment.

Books. Always books.

Are you self taught or formally educated? How do you think that has influenced or affected your work?
For the poetry, I am self-taught. For the film work, formally educated.

It’s interesting because I’ve been writing poetry and short stories since I can remember. I won my first short story writing award at 12 or 13. It’s always been a huge part of who I am. I believe that poets are born not made, so it’s not something that I ever thought twice about. Growing up, I read every poet I could get my hands on, and still do. I devour poetry. So to say that I’m self-taught on the poetry is a bit skewed; I’ve learned from the greatest poets.

In a blurb for my first book, Jimmy Santiago Baca said that I “cut through the lukewarm room-temperature poets of our times”, and it blew me away. I’ve never taken a poetry class. And because of that, I think it has allowed for me to try new things, to not be afraid to break rules, and allows the passion to fly true. I also think it made me study a bit harder. Following my own path allows me to see the poetry with my eyes, to touch the words with my soul and not through someone else’s. I am so close to the art form it feels like an extension of me, another limb. I don’t fear a grade on my poetry, it stands on its own and answers to no one but the reader, and that’s between them.

For the film work, I thought it would be presumptuous to think I could just become a Director overnight. Film is a craft that I knew I needed guidance and mentorship for. It is a huge undertaking, and you can’t ever lose respect for that. I took the time to go to film school because I felt it was important. I didn’t want to cheat myself or cheat the story simply because I wasn’t exposed to a certain film concept or method. I want to understand every tool.

I’m just embarking on the film career, so we’ll see how it fares. But it’s a craft that I’d like to master as I go forward. It’s one of the most important mediums known to man. It touches everyone.

What would your creative work taste like?
Tamales 

When you are not creating what do you like to do?
Reading and music are two of the most important things to me. They keep me whole.

How did you learn to access your creative talents and gain the confidence to put it out there for everyone to experience? 
There’s a poem by Bukowski called, “So you want to be a writer?” and another poem by Neruda called, “Poetry”. The poems are very similar to me and very profound in regards to this question. They explain it much better than I can:

http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/16549
http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/poetry-2/ 

What advice would you give others just beginning their creative adventures? 
At the end of the day, all art forms are really one and the same. It’s all poetic in some sense. Find the poetry in your art, and don’t be afraid to look for it. Life is dirty and tough and mean and beautiful and breathtaking and so many other things. Take them all in and be true to them all. Don’t be afraid of yourself. Your experiences and laughter and joy and pain are no different than anybody else’s. Don’t ever question your validity in this world.

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.

James Armstrong

Name:   James Armstrong

Website:  http://jamesarmstrongmusic.com/

What do you do?  
I’m a composer / pianist, and teacher in public schools.

Where can we find your work?  
On my website and in Bay Area venues.

What inspires you to create and how do you keep motivated when things get tough?
Extended periods of practice are energizing.   I’ve learned to focus despite irregular performance schedules.

What do you think is more important content/finished product or technique/process?  
I’m constantly working on rhythmic and harmonic processes.  However, I don’t separate form from content. 

Who are some people who influence and/or inspire you?
Andrew Hill was a dear friend; I continue practice his scores, and recorded his composition ‘New Monastery’ in July.  Thelonious Monk is a huge influence.  I also study orchestral music by Béla Bartók and Ferruccio Busoni.    

If you could be any fictional character who would you be?
The ronin Kuwabatake Sanjuro from ‘Yojimbo’, the Akira Kurosawa film.   He could handle any situation !

When do you get your best ideas?
It seems that the best ideas evolve out of extended periods of study.  

What materials/tools do you use most to create your work?
An old Kawai upright piano and a partial drum set for working out technical problems.

Are you self taught or formally educated? How do you think that has influenced or affected your work?
I’m largely self-taught as a musician; my identity as a performer evolved out of my own research.    However, I did have several fine piano coaches.  Work in ensembles was also instructive.  

What would your creative work taste like?
Sweet and sour; dissonant and percussive at times, with tonal references.

When you are not creating what do you like to do?
Tend to family. My daughter always keeps me busy.

How did you learn to access your creative talents and gain the confidence to put it out there for everyone to experience?
Consistent practice and study.   Learning never stops. 

What advice would you give others just beginning their creative adventures?  Stay with the Muse.   Learn the history, and then do something that’s meaningful to you. 

Lori Krein

Name: Lori Krein 

Website: http://LoriKreinStudios.com

What do you do?
I work with decorative art papers and found objects to make collage and mixed media art. I also teach collage and Expressive Art workshops to creative folks of all ages! AND I just published a book called Meditation in Manhattan: Finding Calm in a Chaotic World.

Where can we find your work?
In my studio, 2231 Campbell Ave. 95008, and on my website…

And for the month of Sept. at Studio Bongiorno, 500 Lincoln St. Santa Clara, 95050

Sometimes I set up a booth at the Campbell Farmers Market on Sundays.

What inspires you to create and how do you keep motivated when things get tough?
I am inspired by the materials themselves. If things get tough, I just go to my paper collection and pull out papers that grab my eye, and start tearing and gluing! It works every time.

What do you think is more important content/finished product or technique/process?  
Without question, to me, the process is what it's all about. The act of creating is magical.it's like giving birth to something new, every day. I always wonder where it comes from? And while I am creating, I am lost in the moment, and that's the ultimate goal, for me.

Who are some people who influence and/or inspire you?
I am inspired by other artists, poets, and creative souls who are not afraid to express themselves in the deepest and most profound ways, who take chances and share what is in their heart…not because they think people might buy what the create, but because it's an expression of who they are.

If you could be any fictional character who would you be?
I would be Rosalita, from the Springsteen song of the same name.

When do you get your best ideas?
In the middle of the night. I often grab my iphone and record ideas into the voice memo!

What materials/tools do you use most to create your work?
Hand-made paper and things I find at yard sales, estate sales, and thrift stores.

Are you self taught or formally educated? How do you think that has influenced or affected your work?
Aside from a few workshops here and there, I am almost 100% self-taught. I think this has influenced me a great deal, because I don't know the "rules" about being an artist…so I make them up as I go along!

What would your creative work taste like?
Rocky Road Ice cream. Lots of stuff, all mixed together…and it still tastes YUMMY!

When you are not creating what do you like to do?
Attend Springsteen concerts, scuba dive, attend events with other spiritual souls, sing at karoke night, read poetry at Open Mic Night, act, dance, and take long walks on the beach.

How did you learn to access your creative talents and gain the confidence to put it out there for everyone to experience?
It wasn't something I learned, it was something I just DID. I put one foot in front of the other..I kept making art, attending art group meetings, entering small shows, and before I knew it, I was FAMOUS! (well, not quite, but I'm nbig on manifesting your dreams, sooo…)

What advice would you give others just beginning their creative adventures? 
Keep moving! Keep learning! Get out there and tell everyone what you do. Oh, and get business cards!!! Hand them out everywhere. HAVE  NO FEAR!

Akoma Arts / Keith Hames

Name: Akoma Arts / Keith Hames

Website:www.akomaarts.org

What do you do?

I am the founder and Artistic Director of Akoma Arts and I feel my mission is to create and leave a legacy of African and African American culture in the South Bay. Our organization’s name "Akoma" comes from the Akan language, the principal language of Ghana in West Africa. It means patience, endurance, consistency, and faithfulness. To say that one has his heart in his stomach is to say that one is very tolerant. The Adinkra symbol for Akoma is the "Heart" I went a step farther by adding “Arts” to the name to signify that we are a group of artist.  “Art from the Heart”, I like to say.

Akoma Arts comprises musicians, singers, dancers, actors and visual artists whose mission it is to help bring together the various South Bay communities through music and art. During a performance we take our audiences through several levels of emotions and environments, from the African Village, through the Middle Passage to the African Diasporas’ of the North and South American and the Caribbean experience by utilizing drumming, dance, praise songs, acting, spoken word, folk songs and spirituals. Our message is positive, mindful, and intentionally promotes community healing and unity. As drum master Mamady Keita informs, “it is always about the intent of the drummer.” We include when time permits, student Dogon Mask making and drum building using household items, 

We were established in May of 2011 and is currently operating as 501c3 non-profit organization, with our fiscal sponsor being the San Jose Multicultural Artist Guild or SJMAG. We are structured as a service-oriented business and our approach and services are new and innovative. New and innovative describes the breadth of services, but also the core values of the organization.

Akoma Arts is deeply involved in the business of the drum; we teach drumming, educate, inform and perform using the drum. We also plan to be a resource for the therapeutic aspects of drumming. The present business outlook is dynamic and only gated by our imaginations and resources. The Drumming industry while fairly new is related to traditions that go back to the 11^th Century.

Our vision is large and comprises what we’ve identified as three primary customers, Drum and Performance, Therapy and Corporate, Drum and Performance, Therapy and Corporate.

Where can we find your work?
Afro-Fitness Classes Three Times per Week ALL With Live Drumming!

Tuesday Night

Edenvale Community Center Afro-Fitness

7pm -8pm Cost $10. Drop-In Registration

330 Branham Lane East, San Jose, CA. 95111

Thursday Night

Alma Community Center West African Drumming

6:45 - 7:45pm $10 Drop-In Registration

Afro-Fitness Dance 7:45 - 8:45pm $10 Drop-in Registration

136 West Alma Ave, San Jose, CA. 95110

Only $15. for both classes

Saturday Morning

Hoover Community Center Afro-Fitness Dance

10:00 - 11:00am $10 Drop-in Registration

1677 Park Ave. San Jose, CA. 95126

@ the Corner of Park Ave. and Naglee Ave.

What inspires you to create and how do you keep motivated when things get tough?
Inspiration comes from the need to help create, and leave a legacy of African and African American Culture with the people of San Jose. As of yet, and though there are many people and organizations in the South Bay pointed in the same direction, there is not a formal African or African American Cultural Center in San Jose where the Arts can be learned and utilized as shared inspiration. This my dream from 35,000 feet.

What do you think is more important content/finished product or technique/process?  
I feel like intention is most important. The artist intention is what you feel when you hear the music, when you see the art work, when you hear the spoken word. We must always check ourselves as artist and ask “what is on our hearts” Those emotions are intangible and is what everyone feels, but in most cases cannot or do not verbalize. To answer your question directly, there is much to be learned from going through the process, it has to be 1a in my opinion. We never seem to be finished with artwork, we simply stop at some point, but the process continues and refines itself through each artistic opportunity.

Who are some people who influence and/or inspire you?
I am still heavily influenced by Bob Marley’s lyrics and Babatunde Olatunji openness and vision of the drum, neither created the genre, but both took it to an international level. Both have carried forward the message of one love and unity and shared their message openly with the world. The world, my world is a better place because of them. I am also inspired by people that are totally committed to what they do. Most importantly and as I get older I am appreciating my parents more and more, I didn’t realize in my youth that I was forming this artistic insight, or that they were steering and supporting every step that I was taking, they have all my love! Lastly, there is absolute truth in the saying, “you are who your friends are” choose wisely and their positive influence can lift you and carry you through the low moments.

If you could be any fictional character who would you be?
I would truly love to be Superman! A Superman that really stands for the principals that he espoused for years, “truth, justice and the American Way.” I would surely be perceived as a villain in this society, because there is little, truth and justice in this world, from my viewpoint. And the American way is also filled with negatives that must be corrected.

When do you get your best ideas?
My best ideas come in two forms. 1. In the heated unconscious moment of the creative process and in the relaxation of a shower in the morning. If I go to bed with a creative dilemma, I will normally wake up with a new approach or idea to the solve the problem as I’m singing in the shower.

What materials/tools do you use most to create your work?
I use traditional music primarily, both African drum rhythms and African American Folksongs and Spirituals.

The creative process comes in combining this rhythms with nu school sensibilities. Most of the music is not written and we don’t use piano’s and guitars, so the ear becomes the most valued tool and the hardest to train.

Are you self-taught or formally educated? How do you think that has influenced or affected your work?
I have been formally trained in both voice and by Master drummers, but I also like to think of myself as being self-taught. I say that because African drumming is normally not written on lead sheets in the villages of Africa and I have yet to see anyone singing written notes in those same village settings, from Mali to Cuba, it’s simply learned through repetition and mentorship. So growing up in the US I got trained in School and in Church only to teach and play it all by ear at this point.

What would your creative work taste like?
Sweet Potato Pie! Soul Food with traditional African and African American ingredients and full of flavor. And also happens to be my favorite dessert.

When you are not creating what do you like to do?
When are we not creating? The closest I get is sleeping, ha! I a firm believer in the power nap. I have a 14 month old Granddaughter that nearly has me trained. My 18 year old daughter is turning into a trusted ally and most of been here two or three times before because here viewpoint and wisdom are exceptional, so extended talks with her are a blessing.

How did you learn to access your creative talents and gain the confidence to put it out there for everyone to experience?
I was encouraged early in my life by my parents to start a band and I’ve been bitten by the stage bug since I was 12, but a very strange thing happened when I moved to San Jose from Harrisburg PA at age 18. Instead of becoming a full time musician, I went to work in Silicon Valley to achieve the American dream. I now have a achieved the dream and the debt, lol, but finally woke up to my real passion. Serving the community and being part of the community. I have finally taken what has been practiced with what has come naturally, what has been developed from years on the stage, and my need to see the community grow its artistic roots in the South Bay and created Akoma Arts. The obligation I feel to uplift the community gives me confidence to face the day!

What advice would you give others just beginning their creative adventures? 
"Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out." Even when you think you’re not doing enough, if it’s all that you can do, keep moving forward!