Many of you will recognize the above image as one of the main art halls of ArtObjects Gallery in Japantown.

Ken informed us on Nov. 28th: the artobjectgallery suffered major damage to much of its space last night due to a fire which totally destroyed the structure next door which was being used as a boarding house to as many as twelve men. all made it safely out but for one 27 year old who lost his life.

worth noting.... prior to fighting the fire in the gallery the fire fighters moved all the artwork from walls and pedestals to safe places. only after this was accomplished did they begin ripping down sheet rock from the ceiling and walls to expose the wood framing. it is a minor miracle that no artwork was lost or damaged as far as I can see. (There is more information on this in the Mercury News article here.)

We are saddened to hear about this tragedy. Ken and Joy will be open on First Friday December 7th from 7-9pm as they felt friends may want to come together and reminisce.

"Ancient City": Visual, Sculptural, Digital, Sonic & Functional Art

Group show will run the month of February/2008 in prime gallery location in Hayes Valley (580 Hayes), San Francisco.

Submission Deadline: Dec. 25th, No submission fee.

Curator: Photographer, Daniel Newman (www.danielnewman.info)

The title/theme conveys the aesthetic umbrella: urban-centric art that evokes having seen (or foreseeing) the effects of time. Evoking the feeling of "artifact"; retro-futuristic; industrial texture imbibed visions. Artworks of any scale and pricing are eligible. The show will be highly immersive. Your work can have a tangential (but profound) connection to the theme (feel free to explain).

Seeking unique works in ALL types of media, including but not limited to:

• painting
• photography
• sculpture
• digital media
• functional
• lighting/lamps
• furniture
• digital and projected media
• books
• soundscape/soundsculpture
• sand castle

You name it. If it fits thematically, it will be considered.

Please email link to your website, or to images hosted online (no attachments) to dpnewman@gmail.com. You will be contacted with more info if chosen for participation.

PG's Kyle Perera (aka PELLET) has just finished a feature mural at Broken Door Espresso (formerly named emocha cafe) and they are celebrating the completed feat by having an artist reception and party with free drinks, music by Dear Rod Serling and additional exhibits by Francisco Cervantes III and Amanda Joy.

Friday Dec. 14th, 8pm 'til late
Broken Door Espresso
231 E. Santa Clara St. (directly across City Hall)
San Jose, CA

Sara Cole is holding an encaustic workshop at the BackWater Arts house on Saturday January 26th, 10am till 4pm.
Cost is $100 includes most materials fees.

The workshop will cover both an introduction to wax and color the first half of the day, and then an introduction to mixed media wax collage the second half of the day.

You should bring: rags, cheap brushes & "scrap" material (ie: old papers, wallpaper, handmade paper, photographs, newspaper, scrapbook materials, small wood or wire pieces, 3D clay pieces, stones, marbles, wire mesh, old drawings or watercolor on paper paintings.
Indoor/outdoor activity so wear layers.
Local food choices for lunch are SCARCE so a packed lunch/beverages is recommended.
Wear clothes that you don't mind getting permanent stains on.
Bring rubber gloves if you have sensitivities.

Please email to reserve your space, no deposit necessary.
Class size limited to 10 participants.

281 Quinn Ave, San Jose CA 95112
RSVP to: backwaterarts@gmail.com or call 408 401 8269

above image by Eric Taggart

Two new Phantom Galleries exhibits have been installed featuring the assemblage work of Eric Taggart and colorful (what I like to describe as) "pop abstracts" by Maryellen Mahar in downtown San Jose's SoFA District. Both exhibits will be on view through January, 2008.

Eric Taggart is on view at 455 South First Street
Maryellen Mahar is on view at 460 South Market Street
(Both art exhibits are located in the same building, just opposite ends. Next door to WORKS gallery.)

Call for Artists California Visual Artists exhibit
Entry Deadline is Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Eligibility:
All artists living in California.
All media except film and video.
All work submitted for consideration must be available for exhibition March 8 – April 10, 2008.

2nd City Council Art Gallery + Performance Space
435 Alamitos Avenue, Long Beach, CA 90802
(562) 901-0997
E-mail, 2ndcitycouncil@earthlink.net

The Juror: Jay Belloli (Armory’s Director of Gallery Programs since 1990. Prior to joining the Armory, he had nearly twenty years of experience as a curator and museum director across the United States at such institutions as The Detroit Institute of the Arts, the Fort Worth Museum of Modern Art, the San Diego Museum of Contemporary Art, the Contemporary Arts Museum in Houston, and the former Baxter Art Gallery at Caltech.)

Cash awards $500, $300, $200, $100 plus the infamous Eye Opener Statue.

Entries: Slides - standard 2"x 2" mounted, labeled slides.
Photographs/Digital Prints - at least 5"x7", no bigger than 8.5"x 11"
Emailed images - to 2ndcitycouncil@earthlink.net. JPEG or TIFF files only; cannot exceed 500 KB.

Entry Fees are $10 per entry for members and $20 per entry for nonmembers. Join now and get your first entry free.

Volunteer Hours (in the gallery or at home on your computer) are welcome in lieu of entry fees.

For a complete prospectus please visit http://www.2ndcitycouncil.org. (On the MENU page, please click on "Calendar" and scroll down to the "California Visual Artists" listing.) For questions, please email: 2ndcitycouncil@earthlink.net.