San Jose's downtown art walk promises to be another inspired excursion into the arts and culture treasure trove of the region.

All venues are open 8pm 'til late and is free and open to the public.

A small sampling of tonight's exhibitions include:

Mariana Barnes

John Paulson

Featured exhibitions by painter Mariana Barnes and master photographer John Paulson at KALEID Gallery

Jennifer Norton's Food, Flowers and Fun at Caffe Trieste

International post-graffiti artist MOMO at Anno Domini.

I Want To Go There! by Kristin Abbott at Good Karma Cafe

The Ahn Sisters' Snaps at METRO Photo Exhibition

For full listings of all participating art venues, please visit http://www.SouthFIRSTFRIDAYS.com

Arts Council Silicon Valley 2011 Artist Fellowships
APPLICATION DEADLINE: November 15, 2010


AWARDS AND CATEGORIES
Single fellowships of $4,000 are awarded annually in each of six artistic categories. (Awards may be split in cases of a tie.) No specific project needs to be carried out with the funds awarded. In 2011, Artist Fellowships will be awarded in the following categories:

Visual Arts /2-dimensional: Photography, Video, Animation
Visual Arts /3-dimensional: Sculpture (all media)
Literary Arts /Memoir, Spoken Word
Performing Arts /Music: Vocal Performance, Instrumental Performance
Performing Arts /Dance: Choreography
Performing Arts /Theatre: Stage Direction, Stage Design (set, lighting, costume)

For more information, go to
http://www.artscouncil.org/grants/grants/forindividual/artist.asp

For this Open Studios Benefit, nearly 40 artists specializing in oil, water color, acrylic, mixed medium, and pastel paintings, as well as jewelry, textiles, woodwork, photography and music, will open their working studios to the public. The Alameda Art Works now boasts one of the largest, most diverse and lively artists’ communities in the Bay Area.

You may visit the Alameda Artworks Open Studios from 11 - 5 on Saturday, November 6, and from 11 – 5 on Sunday, November 7. There will be a special reception with food and entertainment on Saturday between 2 and 5 p.m.

The Alameda Art Works building, where the event will be held, is a historic feature of the Saint Leo’s Neighborhood and the Rose Garden area. Built in 1927, it operated until 1974 as the Auditorium Roller Rink, also known as Roll-Ameda. Purchased by Falko Forbrich in 1991 it was reconstructed to house multiple art studios. Visitors will be able to see the fascinating atrium building of the Alameda Art Works as well as view and purchase original art where it is created.

The Alameda Art Works
1068 The Alameda
San Jose, CA 95126-3183

Empire 7 Studios presents drawings, paintings, prints and handmade goods by BEANS on October 8 from 8pm til Midnight.

While you're in the neighborhood, check out the group show MOMENTUM 2010 at Art Object Gallery, Cukui Clothing, Street Bot and Treat Bot.

Empire Seven 525 N. 7th St (8pm - midnight)
Art Object 599 N. 5th St. (6pm-9pm)
Cukui Clothing 229 Jackson St. (6pm-10pm)

art work by Eddie Flores

Gallery Ten 10 returns from its summer hiatus with a special "collector's" show featuring the work of South Bay Artists.??

The genesis of the show is rooted in Curator/Director Al Preciado's passion for the arts.  During the quiet of the Gallery's? Summer hiatus, Preciado looked around his gallery-home and realized he had amassed a representative collection of who's who of South Bay Artists.  ??

What better way to kick-off the Gallery's 2010-2011 Season than to showcase the art of artists that Preciado has collected over the years. To round out the exhibition, Preciado decided to mix the best of his collection with the work of a few invited artists  who represent the works that "got away" or whose work  he's still hopeful of acquiring one day.??              

Opening Reception: Saturday, October 9, 2010? 
12 Noon to Midnight? 
Music at 8 P.M. by Bob and Yumi Show??
The show runs October 9th - November 24th?
Gallery Hours are Saturdays 12 noon to 6PM??

GALLERY  TEN 10?
1010 E. Taylor Street, San Jose, CA?
408-476-1968

Meet the Grantmakers: Funding Opportunities for South Bay Artists and Arts
Organizations

Wednesday, October 20, 11:00 am - 12:30 pm

Co-sponsored with Arts Council Silicon Valley and Compasspoint

Panelists will describe their organizations' arts funding priorities and
guidelines as they pertain to the South Bay, offer practical tips on proposal
development, and provide insights into regional art funding trends.

Panelists:

* An Lu, grants program manager, Arts Council Silicon Valley
* Jessamine Chin, philanthropy program manager, Adobe Systems
* Arlene Biala, program manager, City of San Jose Office of Cultural Affairs
* Jennifer Kane, donor engagement officer, Silicon Valley Community Foundation

Where: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library
150 E. San Fernando St., Room 225/229
San Jose, CA 95112

This program is offered free of charge. Space is limited. To register online
please go to http://foundationcenter.org/sanfrancisco/training/mtgsf10_20.html

Camera 3 has long been at the forefront of bringing independent and foreign films to the South Bay. Films that are on the fringe of mainstream (and mainstream $$), films that we'd usually have to trek up to San Francisco to see. Where else in the San Jose area can you see the recent film release of HOWL (based on the Allen Ginsberg poem) or Spike & Mike's Twisted Festival of Animation? NOWHERE!

They currently need some help, please continue reading and see if you can lend a hand-

Camera 3 Theater in downtown San Jose is one of the last truly independent theaters specializing exclusively in presenting independent cinema in the South Bay. Every week Camera 3 premieres the kind of art and foreign films that would not make it to the South Bay otherwise. They also bring in much of the talent behind those films for Q&As.

The Camera folks need some help keeping it going. They are looking for 10 volunteers who can work one 3 hour shift a week tearing tickets and greeting folks. Camera Cinemas will happily compensate volunteers with movie passes and concession vouchers good at any Camera Cinemas location, worth approximately $36 per shift.

If you are interested in saving independent film in the South Bay, please email Camera Cinemas at camera3cinemas@gmail.com and let them know if you can help.

Dear Artists,

A new ceramics studio is open in downtown San Jose – Higher Fire Clayspace & Gallery. We welcome clay enthusiasts to our newly renovated 4500 sq ft space in the SoFA District.

Higher Fire is both a teaching studio and contemporary ceramics gallery. We feature work made by our instructors, members, local clay artists, and nationally recognized potters and sculptors. Visit on First Fridays so we can show you what we’ve been up to the rest of the month!

We offer classes for adults in wheel throwing and hand building in many packages to suit a variety of schedules; view attached FAQ or visit HigherFireStudios.com for more information.

HigherFire FAQ

Hope to see you soon-
Dan

Dan Dermer
Higher Fire Clayspace & Gallery
499 S Market Street
San Jose, CA 95113
408.295.5765
info [at] higherfirestudios.com

We're thrilled that Tech Shop has chosen downtown San Jose as a new location for their awesome creative community workshop space.

If all goes well, they'll soon be at the corner of South Second Street and San Carlos utilizing a building in the vicinity of SJSU, the Camera Cinemas, and the art galleries of South First Strett.

from their website...
TechShop San Jose, will be a 17,000 square-foot membership-based workshop that provides members with access to tools and equipment, instruction, and a community of creative and supportive people so they can build the things they have always wanted to make.

You can think of TechShop like a fitness club, but with tools and equipment instead of exercise equipment. It is sort of like a Kinko's for makers, or a Xerox PARC for the rest of us.

TechShop is designed for everyone, regardless of their skill level.

TechShop is perfect for inventors, makers, hackers, tinkerers, artists, roboteers, families, entrepreneurs, youth groups, FIRST robotic teams, arts and crafts enthusiasts, and anyone else who wants to be able to make things that they dream up but don't have the tools, space or skills.

TechShop provides you with access to a wide variety of machinery and tools including milling machines and lathes, welding stations and a CNC plasma cutter, sheet metal working equipment, drill presses and band saws, industrial sewing machines, hand tools, plastic and wood working equipment including a 4' x 8' ShopBot CNC router, electronics design and fabrication facilities, Epilog laser cutters, tubing and metal bending machines, a Dimension SST 3-D printer, electrical supplies and tools, and pretty much everything you'd ever need to make just about anything.

TechShop is for EVERYONE! If you already know how to use all the stuff at TechShop, that's great. But most people only know how to use a few of the tools, machines and equipment at TechShop. If you want to learn about the equipment and tools you have never used before, you can take an "SBU" (Safety and Basic Use) class and get up to speed on that tool or machine in just a few hours. Don't be afraid to try new things, whether it is welding, using a milling machine, working with fabrics and leather or plastics, or cutting keyways in a gear. The whole point of TechShop is to empower you with a wide variety of new capabilities so you can start to see the pathway that lets you make new and exciting things.

TechShop is ready to help you Build Your Dreams Here!

Visit http://www.techshop.ws/ts_sanjose.html for more information.

KALEID Gallery artist Michelle Waters is in a myriad of shows around the bay area this month: Day of the Dead show at Canvas Ghost, My Favorite Nightmares show at WORKS Gallery, and a show at the NDNU (Notre Dame de Namur University) in Belmont.

For some insight into her surreal environmental work, read the interview Eclectix, etc. did with Michelle on their site here.

Congratulations to KALEID Gallery artist Shannon Amidon for her acceptance to the Julia and David White Artist Colony in Costa Rica for a month long artist residency in December!

"This is a wonderful opportunity for me to explore and create in the lush landscape and cultural traditions of Costa Rica. They provide me with a private apartment and art studio and this opportunity will give me the gift of time to create in peace and tranquility amongst other artist and creative people. I am so excited and nervous about this trip and I can’t wait to create in another country. This will be longest I have ever been away from home."

To help offset the costs of this venture Shannon has created a very engaging page on kickstarter.com. Anyone can contribute and help support her and get artwork in return.

If you can help a fellow artist obtain this wonderful opportunity, please visit her kickstarter page here.

Beautiful one of a kind creations by over 40 local artisans.

Saturday, October 23, 2010 - 10am to 5pm
Quadrus Conference Center
2400 Sand Hill Road,
Menlo Park, CA
Free admission, free parking
www.fabmo.org

Steven Sczepanik work in progress

In between a busy schedule doing murals in the bay area, Brothers Steven and Sean Sczepanik are working on a new exhibit for Phantom Galleries, ready for view First Friday November 5th at 386 South First Street (part of the South FIRST FRIDAYS art walk.)

In the meantime, check out their website at http://www.shoeboxproduction.net

It's getting to be closer to the holiday season. Time to get together with friends, take a little time off from your busy schedule and plan what to do with the family during the winter break.

How about coming down to the Art Glass Center and be a Glass Artist for the Day! (for 50% off!)

We've got an exciting opportunity for you to purchase the Glass Artist for the Day experience for half price! The class is regularly $140, but the special Groupon pricing is $70 for this unique experience doing torch working, fused glass and copper foil techniques. You can use the coupon yourself or give it as a gift to someone who might like working with glass.

The class introduces students to fusing, stained glass and torch working allowing them to take home a project from each area. This class is ideal for anyone 12 to adult who is fascinated by glass.

We've partnered up with Groupon to give you the opportunity to purchase this at an incredible 50% off this weekend only! The Groupon vouchers are valid for 1 year. Check out their listing for all the details here www.groupon.com/san-jose/

Hope to see you soon!
Janett

Janett Peace
President
San Jose Glass Artist Alliance (SJGAA)
jpeace@sjgaa.org

Ero Machina, video still

Congratulations to San Jose's Adam Cooper-Terán (SOIL Creative Studio) for being selected to the shortlist of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum's YouTube Play!

YouTube Play is a collaboration between YouTube and the Guggenheim Museum, presented by HP and Intel, to unearth and showcase the very best creative video from around the world.

YouTube Play received more than 23,000 submissions from 91 countries, the 125 shortlisted videos can now be seen on the YouTube Play channel here: http://www.youtube.com/playbiennial

The jury will now select their top choices to be revealed and presented at a special YouTube Play celebration event at the Guggenheim Museum on October 21 and on youtube.com/play. The final videos selected by the jury will be on view to the public at the Guggenheim Museum from October 22 through 24, and available to a worldwide audience on the You Tube Play channel.

Jury: Laurie Anderson, Animal Collective, Darren Aronofsky, Douglas Gordon, Ryan McGinley, Marilyn Minter, Takashi Murakami, Shirin Neshat, Stefan Sagmeister, Apichatpong Weerasethakul and Chief Curator Nancy Spector.

Check out Adam's entry here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8gcRGGdQAA

The awesome $2 art sale and quirky speaker series is this Tuesday, October 19th, curated by artist Keith Bunnell!

Jodi Mascarenas will be doing a sugar skull workshop. There will be small medium and large blank sugar skulls. She will provide colored icing to decorate your skull as well as diamonds and other decorations to personalize it. Join in, get creative and make something beautiful!

Clayton Lawrence
Scenic and Theme Designer - California's Great America Halloween Haunt

From decorating his front yard starting at age 5, to designing multiple Haunted Attractions at California's Great America Halloween Haunt at age 22, Clayton has been able to take a passion and hobby and turn it into a career.

Clayton has learned a lot over the years and has consulted with many industry leaders including Knott's Scary Farm, to learn techniques and philosophies that go into pulling off a successful Haunted House. Come join him as he shares many tips and insight to scaring unsuspecting victims!

Artist Mariya Milovidova will be doing face painting and temporary tattoos as well as painting live on canvas.

Kyle Ames is a professional caricature artist at Great America and will be on hand to draw a fun caricature of YOU for only $5/ea.!

Catering provided by Theresa Dunnavant!

TWO BUCK Tuesday October 19th, 7-10pm FREE and open to the public.

KALEID Gallery
88 South 4th Street
San Jose, CA 95112
http://www.KALEIDgallery.com
(408) 947-1785

She came to us several nights ago from one of those facilities that rehabilitate menaces to society, ill-will shining in her pretty blue eyes. At first, we here at Dr. Sketchy’s Anti-Art School were not well at ease with housing a violent felon, but the time we have thus spent with her has soothed our initial wariness. Her infectious charm makes her passion for nihilistic philosophy and aggravated assault more of a personality quirk than a deeply sociopathic personality disorder. Add to this the fact that she is as beautiful as she is bright and how could one not come to the conclusion that we would want to share her with the entirety of our enlightened student body?

Bring your sketching supplies to our October convocation and prepare for a night of rendering the figure of a girl who delights in the depths of human depravity. Perhaps, one of you will manage to capture not only the lines of our model’s form, but also a little of what she calls her “ultra violence.”

Bring your sketch supplies! All experience levels welcome!
General admission: $8. / door
Students: $6. / door

October 21st, 2010, 7:00-9:30pm

Anno Domini Gallery
366 South First Street
San Jose, CA
http://www.drsketchy.com/branch/blog/SanJose

Model: Wenchi
MCs: Drew Clark, Trina Merry
Photography: http://www.KevinPowers.org

This month's featured artists at KALEID Gallery is painter Mariana Barnes and master photographer John Paulson and are on view through Wednesday October 27th. Both exhibitions are examples of vision coupled with high skill and technical ability within their chosen mediums.

Ancient Art, Modern Twist is a series of paintings in which Mariana Barnes painstakingly paints thousands of small tiles on canvas to create the illusion of mosaic tile work.

When asked about her preliminary process, Mariana surprising said: "I try to sketch as little as possible. Many of my pieces are done free hand and I just go with the flow, letting it take me where it will. But for more complex images like my stained glass looking paintings which are more structured and geometric in nature or my somewhat realistic paintings such as Radiant Paris I do have to create a quick sketch before I start painting."

'Radiant Paris (pictured above) is a fine example of the process- it shimmers and refracts light as you move around the piece. Mariana says about the piece: "Radiant Paris is my internal recollection of the city of love. I had dreamt all my life of seeing Paris. I imagined it full of life and light and vibrant colors. When I finally got there on a three day romantic excursion with my husband, it was grey, overcast and gloomy. We did get one beautiful sunset of magnanimous orange. We were sitting in a park by a pond, and the sun shimmered over the water."

"Now over ten years later, I still have a warm feeling when I think of Paris. I made a wintery leafless tree come alive in my mind and poured it over the canvas. I used the orange color of that sunset to infuse my painting with the feeling I had on the inside while I was there. In the end it turned out how I pictured Paris to be."

Italy Today is a series of photographs by master photographer John Paulson. The images seem to hover in limbo...when asked about it, John responded, "I think at least part of the reason my photographs "hover in limbo" is because they are timeless. I have been an admirer of Marcel Duchamp and his concept of 'found art.' My photographs are taken in places that were just waiting for me to find them. It excites me with a sense of wonder about what I will find next, what other places are yet to capture. Also contributing to their timelessness is an absence of people, in most cases."

Visit these two exhibitions through Weds., October 27th.
Gallery hours: Tuesday - Friday Noon - 7pm, Saturday Noon - 5pm.

KALEID Gallery
88 South Fourth Street
San Jose, CA
www.kaleidgallery.com

Thanks to all the artists that came out to the Dr. Sketchy's ULTRA VIOLENCE session last week. Model Wenchi, and MCs Drew Clark and Trina Merry delivered a great Clockwork Orange inspired life drawing event.

SAVE THE DATE for the next Dr. Sketchy event on Thursday, December 17th.

More photos from the session here.

Randy Wong answered the call for art at the San Jose Repertory Theater through a forwarded email from KALEID artist John Paulson. The Rep needed pharmaceutical themed art to accompany their current play Secret Order, we thought it'd be a challenge, but Randy frequently documents this particular industry and happened to have a great series to offer the Rep's needs.

For more information on Secret Order, visit their site here.

KALEID Gallery artist René Lorraine has begun an exciting new endeavor called Celebrate Paint.

Celebrate Paint offers professional private and group lessons for both children and adults. Lessons are given for Oil, Watercolor, and Recycled Materials/Found Object Art. René offers both in studio and at home lessons.

René Lorraine holds multiple art degrees including a Bachelors of Fine Art in Pictorial Arts from San Jose State University. René takes pride helping her students enjoy creating art while learning fundamentals, technique, and theory.

Visit the Celebrate Paint website here and feel free to forward this opportunity onto any interested parties you might know.

"Lost & Found: the Art of Luis Gutierrez" opening Nov. 13th (thru Jan. 15, 2011) at the Axis Art Gallery. A master working at the peak of his powers, Gutierrez will be showing recent assemblage works contrasted with pieces from the last decade.

Reception with the Artist, Sat. Nov. 13, 2010 from 4–8 pm

Gutierrez, is an unsung fixture in the South Bay art scene – the long time Los Gatos resident has had a major impact on myriad artists as an art instructor at San Jose's City College. The "Lost & Found" works are a fascinating exercise in taking a lifetime collection of found objects, ephemera, old advertising imagery, antique toys, and even distressed bits of wood and translating them into a statement about our society and consumerism.

A subset of this body of work deals with a lost vision of the America we were promised as children. The human form is stripped down to it essence and juxtaposed with iconic patriotic imagery, leading the viewer to reflect on the state of our country and who have we become. Without telling you what to think, the body of work as a whole inspires one to ask questions that are as important, urgent, and valid as any overt political discussion of our era.

Axis Art Gallery
(inside Axis luxury high-rise condos)
38 N. Almaden Blvd., Suite 101
San Jose, CA 95110
408.623.9888
www.AxisArtGallery.com

The City of San Jose’s Public Art Program & Department of Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services are pleased to announce the Guadalupe River Trail Mammoth Public Art Project

SUBMITTAL DEADLINE- November 17, 2010, Midnight, Mountain Time
This is an online application process only and the deadline cannot be extended

To view the complete RFQ http://www.sanjoseculture.org/?pid=4500.

The City of San Jose Office of Cultural Affairs and the Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services Department are seeking an artist to create an artwork for the Lower Guadalupe River Trail where it intersects with Trimble Road. This site is adjacent to the location of where the skeleton of “Lupe”, a Columbian mammoth was discovered in July 2005, and the focus for the art project.

PROJECT BUDGET: $150,000

ARTIST ELIGIBILITY
This opportunity is open to individual artists or artist-led teams working or living in the United States. If submitting as a team, a professional artist with public art experience must be the lead team member. All applicants must have all necessary documentation and permits to work in the United States at the time of submittal of qualifications.

APPLICATION PROCESS
All materials will be submitted online, via CaFÉ™ website. There is no application fee to apply or to use the CaFÉ™ online application system. To view the application, go to www.callforentry.org), register a username and password, navigate to “Apply to Calls”, and search the list for “City of San Jose – Guadalupe River Trail”.

Corpse by Pinelopi Vassilaki

My Favorite Nightmares opens Halloween, October 31st, 7-11pm

As creepy or repulsive as they may be, nightmares fascinate us. They linger in our minds long after we've woken, leaving us distracted by thoughts of otherworldly fears. Fifty artists explore the strange things that play in all our heads at night, and that have inspired them to create upon waking. Real and imagined nightmares, monsters, things that go bump in the night or cause us to gasp awake—all are brought to life with an almost a manic need to recreate the scenes, juxtaposed to the admission that we sometimes like to be scared. Curated by Lacey Bryant, this exhibition continues through November 25.

WORKS San Jose
451 South First Street, San Jose, CA 95113
Gallery: 408-286-6800
Voicemail:408-300-6405
gallery@workssanjose.org

Universal Flight by Mary Medrano

Mary Medrano has long been an important artist and advocate for the local artists' community so we are sad to see her moving from the area but wish her and her husband all the best in their new adventures in Oregon.

In preparation for the move, Mary has decided to sell her lovely works at a generous discount of 50%. It's a good opportunity to purchase a beautiful work by this talented artist - view available work here: http://www.marymedranogallery.com/Pages/movingsale.html

Artist Karen Gutfreund sent this call out for your EYES:

I'm working on a new conceptual piece and I NEED YOUR HELP!

I need your eyes!

Take a picture of your eyeball, up close as possible and email it to me. Just shoot it with your camera phone, grainy pictures and/or blurry are just fine. Just send them! Get other people to do it too.

Then in your email -- I want to you write a sentence about what is your refuge... Where do you go to escape? What gets you to a happy place? What gets you through the day?

Here's a few of mine in no particular order: The smiles on Ben & Sams (nephews) face when I pull in their driveway; the sound of ice-cubes clinking into a glass when I pour a vodka cocktail; sinking into bed loosing myself in chick-lit books; the smell of Scotts neck. Simple things, but make the fabric of my life that is so busy and complicated right now. The tiny things I hold onto.

I'm counting on all of you -- I need these for a piece I'm creating for the next WCA show titled "Hidden Cities".

And don't worry -- you will be completely anonymous, so be real, be honest! Shoot the picture and email me right now with the first thing that comes to your mind!!

Email your eyes and responses to: karengutfreund [at] yahoo.com

This month's art walk has a plethora of new exhibitions for the brisk autumn evening of eclectic arts and culture!

If you're downtown early - from 3-5pm - stop by 28 North First for Al Preciado's closing reception of Penetencia Creek State Park Series a homage to family and dear friends of Al's that have passed away over the last two years. The lobby will be open for light refreshments.

Joe Barajas

Josh Marcotte

Joe Barajas and Josh Marcotte both open solo exhibitions at KALEID Gallery. Joe's new paintings explore the artists' creative process while Josh's photographs of Lost San Jose is the result of it.

Michael Foley

Pop your head into our newest participating venue Psycho Donuts and catch Creatures, Donuts and Such!- a fun group show by local artists. Located within the Camera 3 Cinemas at So. 2nd & San Carlos streets.

Jeanette Turkus

James Dewrance

Shoebox Productions

New Phantom Galleries coordinated exhibitions at Caffee Trieste by Jeanette Turkus, Driveby Photography by James Dewrance at Good Karma Cafe and new installations by Shoebox Productions brothers Sean and Steven Sczepanik at 386 So. 1st Street. Steven will be out there painting live throughout the night.

Visit http://www.SouthFirstFridays.com for full event listings including new exhibitions opening at Anno Domini, MACLA, SLG Art Boutiki, Higher Fire Clay Studios, Downtown Yoga Shala, METRO, Art Ark and more!