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Greetings! Welcome to another edition of Heart of Chaos News and Resources for Creatives. For those of you that are new to our e-bulletin we probably met at the First Annual Chalk Art Festival this June. We would like to welcome you into our world, it is a beautiful thing!
Since our last issue we successfully put on the first of three chalk events that comprise San Jose’s own Chalk Art Festival and it was a HUGE success. It was great to see community members from all over the bay area come out and enjoy creating art alongside our seasoned artists. There are many people we wish to thank including; the artists for their wonderful creations, the volunteers for their time and support and Carolyn Mosby, recreation supervisor for Willows Senior Center in Willow Glen, who helped select the site and provided the food. Thank yous are in order as well for our esteemed judges, Melanie Kay, Carol Perez and District 6 councilmember Pierlugi Oliverio and to 106 KMEL for providing the beats. Last but definitely not least kudos to our own Anabella Pinon, Program Director for Heart of Chaos, who coordinated the entire event. All your efforts are greatly appreciated. Finally, a big thank you to the artists and community members who came out to support the festival. We couldn’t have done it without you and hope to see you at the second event on August 25th at the Camden Community Center in San Jose. Personally, I am excited to see what new creations the second chalk art celebration will bring about. It should be lots of fun so bring the family and share this bulletin with your neighbors and friends.
In this month’s issue our featured artist, Jonathon McNair, a talented young man whose future is bright, shares his inspiring personal story. We also feature a couple of news stories about Heart of Chaos including an article in the Willow Glen Resident and an ABC news piece. And don’t forget to check out the volunteer opportunities and the call for artists for the next two chalk art events and the Animals & Artists art exhibit in August. We hope you will consider getting involved in the positive movement that is Heart of Chaos. The inspiring update on the Juvenile Hall art and garden program may even get you wondering how you can give a workshop to this at risk youth population we serve each week. We welcome guest artists and enthusiastic gardeners! So read on and enjoy.
Thank you all for your support.
Sincerely Your Editor,
Jenifer "Jen" Sluga
P.S.
Did you know you can easily tell your friends about Heart of Chaos by simply clicking on the forward to a friend link at the bottom of this email? Help us spread the word, try it out! |
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Riding the Wave of an Opportunity Disguised as Misfortune—Jonathon McNair is on Fire!
By: Joanne Hobbs
Jonathon McNair has been creating art in one form or another for over a decade. From playing with Lego’s to drawing home floor plans to creating digital art, McNair regards the smorgasbord of available mediums as his playground. In fact, he is as much at home with a paintbrush as he is exploring the features and filters of industry standard Adobe Photoshop.
His journey, however, hasn’t been without hardship and challenges. Recently McNair was incarcerated in Santa Clara County’s Juvenile Hall for a short time. It was long enough, however, to participate in Heart of Chaos’ weekly art program run by emerging artists Anabella Pinon and Miguel Machuca.
Joining the class was the silver lining in an otherwise dismal situation. Anabella and Miguel recognized McNair’s talent and his equally powerful singular focus. They were impressed with him and his work and told him so.
“Ever since Anabella and Miguel told me I had talent, I felt good. My confidence soared and gave me the impetus to promote my art to various music artists. And that is what I’ve been doing since I got out. It’s been really rewarding,” said McNair.
Although he feels that being incarcerated was a step back, he also acknowledges that meeting the Heart of Chaos artists propelled him 10 1/2 steps forward. He has been making art with renewed energy and passion and in order to share it with others, he has created a website, logo and slogan.
McNair’s main focus now is to continue delving into the depths of Photoshop and exploring its boundless possibilities for self-expression. McNair is even thinking that what started out as a hobby might well be the beginning of a lifelong rewarding career.
“What I hope to do in the near future is to get a great entry position, deal or contract that will let me do what I love and pay me in acknowledgment of its value. Call it my mini-American Dream; anytime I’m doing what I enjoy doing and being rewarded for it, I realize that I couldn’t ask for more. My ultimate goal is to work for Adobe, and when I do, my American Dream will be complete.”
McNair’s inspiration and artistic orientation revolves around two main ideas: Being able to come up with an idea on the spot (snap) and A.A.R.R.T.T. (All Articulate Reasoning Rationalizations Totally Terminated). When I asked him to explain further what AARRTT meant, he suggested that I visit his website for more insight into the concept. (see: www.jmb415.moonfruit.com)
Most of McNair’s creative endeavors have a special meaning which he wants to pass on to the observer.
“A piece of me to you,” he explains. “And my pieces mean to you whatever you can gleam from them. Remember, this is AARRTT—no boundaries!”
For more information on Jonathon McNair please visit his website.
You can also check out more of his work on the Heart of Chaos Virtual Exhibit.
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First Annual Chalk Art Festival in San Jose!
More Artists Needed for August and September Sessions
Sign Up to Participate in the First Chalk Art Festival in San Jose.
Heart of Chaos (HOC) put on the first installment of the First Annual San Jose Sidewalk Chalk
Art Festival at Lincoln Glen Park on June 30th and it was a huge success! The chalk art festival brought an explosion of color, vitality and a sense of community to the park as HOC artists demonstrated the many varieties of chalk art and invited the children and adults who stopped by to create their own art using chalk provided by Heart of Chaos. We still have two more installments in August and September and need artists for these events. To check out pictures from the first installment, please visit our virtual exhibit.
Visual artists will work individually on designated sections of the park's sidewalk. In between every artist will be several open sections of concrete with trays of colorful chalk intended for anyone who visits the park on that afternoon and wants to create their own fanciful chalk art painting. Picture adults, youth and children working side by side inspiring and encouraging each other. Picture families creating a collaborative art work. At 2:30 Cash Prizes will be awarded to first, second and third place commissioned chalk artists.
If you want to participate please send your contact details and examples of your work to Anabella Pinon at apinon@gmail.com.
We also need face paint artists, volunteers to man the refreshment table and Heart of Chaos table. Please see the volunteer section of this newsletter for more details.
Animals and Artists: A Exhibit Celebrating the Human Animal Bond
Exhibit opens August 11th from 11am-4pm
Guidelines are posted on our website. We would like to have 1 or 2 animal portrait artists and photographers who would be willing to paint or photograph attendees and their pets for a fee payable to the artist or photographer. All sales are between the artist and buyer.
Have you registered for the
Heart of Chaos :: Virtual Exhibit yet?
Our online artist community is growing every day. Have you checked it out yet? You can post images, documents, music and movie files for access from our website.
The Heart of Chaos Virtual Exhibit was created to showcase artists and provide a portal for artists to sell their work. Create a FREE profile by visiting http://www.heartofchaos.net/artup.
For details on creating a profile and posting your work, click here.
We will be choosing future featured artists from the Virtual Exhibit to spotlight in upcoming issues of this newsletter, We look forward to seeing your work!
Heart of Chaos Phantom Gallery?
We would like to find out how many artists would be interested in participating in a Phantom Gallery.
The Phantom Gallery is comprised of temporary art exhibits in vacant downtown San Jose stores. The exhibits draw attention to the available retail space while giving the artist(s) visibility.If you would be interested in participating, please email Joanne and attach sample images of your work.
Check out more calls for artists on our website!
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Check out this news piece on Miguel Machuca (Heart of Chaos Co-Director) and the Catalyst for Youth/Heart of Chaos Juvenile Hall Youth Outreach Program on ABC News. The piece is a student project filed with NAHJ (National Hispanic Association for Hispanic Journalism) by NYU student journalist Denise Martinez. It does take a little while to get into the piece so please bear with it, there is a long intro as it is part of another segment. |
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San Jose's First Annual Chalk Art Festival
The next Chalk Art Festival will be held on Saturday August 25th from 10am-3pm at Camden Community Center, located at 3369 Union Avenue, San Jose, CA 95124.
Come join us and enjoy some great art, create your own art and have some fun in the sun!
Fun for all ages! See the Catalyst for Youth or Heart of Chaos websites for more information or email Heart of Chaos program director Anabella Pinon at apinon@gmail.com.
There will be a third installment of the festival in September. Details will be posted on our website soon.
Below you will find an excerpt from an article about the first chalk art event held last month. You can check out pictures from the event on our virtual exhibit.
Chalk It Up
Lincoln Glen Park sidewalks become a canvas of expression
By Mayra Flores De Marcotte
An almost invisible film of chalk dust rises into the atmosphere and
settles over Lincoln Glen Park. It's created from the images of painted
faces with flowing hair, colorful animals and a bounty of artistic
expression.
The gray sidewalks have come alive, and with it the faces of the
passersby. Many stop to take in the temporary art that has turned the
sidewalks into a living canvas. Read more
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Animals and Artists: A Exhibit Celebrating the Human-Animal Bond
Exhibit opens August 11th 11am-4pm at Brooks College Sunnyvale
Community animal organizations will be present with animals up for adoption. Sociable pets are welcome. Bring out the family for some fun in the sun, animals and of course art! We hope to have artists who will paint a portrait or photograph you with your pet for a small fee.
The healing and transformation power of the human animal bond is well known among animal lovers. The following story is simply meant to inspire you.
A Soldier of the Streets: The Healing Power of the Human-Animal Bond
By Kate Nicoll, MSW, LCSW
He was in a juvenile prison, locked behind doors and a high fence.
Living there for over a year, feeling defended and terrified. He was,
however, also searching for hope. A hope for a better tomorrow, a hope for finding purpose and a hope for change.
In this setting, it was hard to experience change and explore new behaviors. However, the wagging tail of a rather battered rescued therapy dog could provide the perfect setting to practice, to experience and to hope.
Bear, a corgi-shepherd mix, is a working member of Soul Friends - a nonprofit providing animal assisted intervention to at-risk children. Bear was also a survivor - rescued from a neglectful situation, hit by a pickup truck at 5 months, and attacked by two other dogs. The wall around Bear's heart was invisible; though his response to quick actions quickly demonstrated his defensiveness. The dog was guarded, the setting guarded and the young man protecting his broken heart.
Then it happened, Bear softened to his gentle voice. The young man's hand reached out to touch the soft fur - and a friendship formed. As he asked for Bear to "look", the relationship was cemented in attachment, connection and even love. It was a love respectful of boundaries, and the pain left the young man's heart. He replied: "Bear is like me. He is a soldier, a soldier of the streets".
Kate Nicoll, MSW, LCSW is a clinical social worker and founder of Soul Friends, Inc a nonprofit established to provide innovative clinical and educational programs that promote the healing benefits of the human-animal bond. She is the author of Soul Friends: Finding Healing with Animals, a narrative of her work with children and her own inner journey of finding healing through interactions with animals. She is recognized as a national expert in the integration of animals into clinical work. www.soul-friends.org |
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We always welcome new volunteers and are in need of as much help as we can get! Below are some volunteer opportunities, if you are interested in volunteering with Heart of Chaos, please email Joanne Hobbs.
Teach a Workshop - Juvenile Hall
Visual Artist and Bellarmine College Preparatory art teacher Al Preciado was a guest artist at Juvenile Hall on June 20th and 27th.
In the first session Al showed the boys how to draw a face.
Would you like to teach a workshop at Juvenile Hall? We need two guest artists a month to teach a two hour Wednesday evening session from 6pm to 8pm. Contact Joanne Hobbs for more information.
First Annual Chalk Art Festival - Artists and Volunteers needed
• 10-15 live HOC artists to create chalk artists for July and August sessions
(can work alone or in collaboration) stipends paid
•2 face paint artists, high school students welcome
• Festive family appropriate music/entertainment
• 2 people to run the food and drink table
• 2 people to run the Heart of Chaos and Catalyst for Youth table
Animals & Artists - Volunteers needed
• 1 or 2 animal portrait artists and photographers for the Animals & Artists exhibit who would be willing to paint or photograph attendees and their pets for a fee payable to the artist or photographer. All sales are between the artist and buyer.
Promoter
• We need some people who is willing to pass out pre-printed fliers for Heart of Chaos events to local business and/or at local events in the bay area
Graphic Designers and Editors needed for collaboration on
Heart of Chaos Zines
File Maker Pro Data Entry Volunteer Needed
Heart of Chaos needs a data base of its artists created in a Mac platform
File Maker Pro. We can provide the software if you can do the time. |
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Catalyst Juvenile Hall Garden Program is Blossoming!
The Catalyst for Youth Juvenile Hall Garden program is in full swing. Six to 10 young men work in two hour sessions on Wednesday afternoon and Saturday morning. Thanks to The Rockery, we have 50 river stones so each youth can decorate a stone and place it in the garden as a statement that their energy helped create the garden. Sugar snap peas, tomatoes and grapes are already visible with watermelon and sunflowers not far behind. Morning glories planted from seed are reaching for the fence to begin their glorious ascent. The irrigation system is working well with a battery operated timer thanks to Catalyst volunteer Russell Waite. And, last but not least, the resident gopher dubbed “G-Loc” by one of the boys has a statuary in the center of the garden to honor his presence (See picture below)
Catalyst for Youth Director Joanne Hobbs was recently contacted by a reporter from the Willow Glen Resident who wants to do a story on the garden. The reporter and her photographer will visit the garden on the July 21st to gather information and talk to the youth involved. View all the garden pics on the Catalyst for Youth website.
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| In San Jose you can find plenty of art exhibits to fuel your creativity. Here are few, visit their websites for details on upcoming exhibits. |
South FIRST FRIDAYS
An eclectic evening of Arts & Culture in downtown
San Jose's SoFA district every First Friday of the month
KALEID gallery
88 South Fourth Street
Downtown San Jose
Gallery Hours
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T-F Noon-7pm
Saturday Noon-5pm
works/san josé
new gallery address:
451 south 1st street
san josé, california 95113
408.286.6800
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The Overpass Gallery
859 West Hedding
San Jose, CA 95126
for more info email Al at apreciado@bcp.org
The Overpass Gallery named after the nearby Hedding Street overpass. It began in March 2006
to promote local artists.
The gallery mission was to simply showcase visual art, poetry and collaborative music without the agenda of selling or money being part of the process. The artists were the cause of their own being helping to facilitate press, installations , receptions and all the other requirements of putting together a show.
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