Friday, December 3, 2010

South First Friday Tonight!


December 3, 2010 — South FIRST FRIDAYS art walk

Posted on November 21st, 2010 admin No comments
JOIN US for the next South FIRST FRIDAYS art walk on DEC 3rd!
8pm ’til LATE — ART WALK venues are free and open to the public
SoFA District (So. First Street between San Carlos and E. Reed streets)
  • Anno Domini // the second coming of Art & Design – 366 South First St. map

    Opening Reception: FRESH PRODUCE 10th Annual Invitational Group Exhibit & Sale
    Over 30 artists from around the world have created hundreds of works of art for this highly anticipated annual exhibition and sale. The artists were invited based on their unique artistic vision and contribution to urban contemporary arts and culture. Art can be taken home at the point of purchase.
  • Art Glass Center of San Jose – 465 South First St. map

    The 4th Annual Glass Ornament Show opens at the Art Glass Center of San Jose. Enjoy a chocolate and port tasting while perusing hundreds of one of a kind glass ornaments.
  • Higher Fire Clayspace & Gallery – 499 South Market St. map


    Ikebana Vessel by Doris Fischer-Colbri
    GEO GEOMETRY featuring artists: Doris Fischer-Colbrie, Linda Mau
    Linda Mau’s meticulous sculptures are born of two unique processes developed by the artist — Paperclay on Steel Wire and Geometric Sculptures for flower arranging. Her forms are quiet and elegant, yet powerful in presence. Doris Fischer-Colbrie infuses her theoretical math background into the more tangible media of clay — view one-of-a-kind ikebana vessels, fine functional porcelain, and cleverly coiffed containers.
    Works by Mau and Fischer-Colbrie are featured in a broader holiday show of numerous Silicon Valley clay artists at Higher Fire Clayspace & Gallery this December: Deborah Anderson, Barbara Brown, Anita Clemetson, Cindy Couling, Dan Dermer, Jon Dunlavy, Doris Fischer-Colbrie, Jill Getzan, Phyllis Lee, Janet Malan, Linda Mau, Lee Middleman, Joy Munshower, and Jon Price.
  • KALEID gallery – 88 South Fourth St. map

    7-9pm Opening Reception: The Rockin’ Stockings Holiday Show & Sale

    The Rockin’ Stockings Holiday Show & Sale
    40 KALEID Gallery artists present unique works of art in a wide variety of mediums including paintings, ceramics, assemblage, glass & jewelry, all generously priced for the gift giving season. All art works will be sold on a first come, first served basis and you can take it home with you at the point of purchase!
  • MACLA Movimiento de Arte y Cultura Latino Americana – 510 South First St. map


    Amy Diaz-Infante, Installation View of Wallpaper, mixed media, 2010, Photo by Robertino Raggaza
    Hybrid Spaces: Family Origins & Collaborations Recent work by Las Hermanas Iglesias (Lisa Iglesias & Janelle Iglesias) and Amy Diaz-Infante.
    Join Amy Diaz-Infante for a gallery walk through and an engaging conversation about her work at 7:00pm.
    MACLA Spoken Word All-Stars hosted by Elijah Lozano – featuring a drumming mash-up from JALIYA & Jimmy Biala
  • Phantom Galleries – art exhibits in vacant storefronts and alternative spaces

    386 South First St: Shoebox Productions featuring Sean Sczepanik, Steven Sczepanik
    Caretaker in Need of Repair installation by Sean Sczepanik
    Animals have now been dissected and modified to benefit humanity. However, human beings have been complacent in the maintenance of these creatures. Therefore they have been malfunctioning and destroying the environment.
    Voice from the Tomb installation by Steven Sczepanik
    This installation is the beginning of a tribute towards Charles Perry Grooms. This man was an endearing poet of great imagination. His words explored places where the white cherry blossoms drifted and the gypsies roamed. His life history is unknown and untraceable, but his words will be carried on forever.
  • San Jose Museum of Quilts & Textiles – 520 South First St. map


    Yvonne Porcella, Come Again Kabuki
    Two exciting exhibitions! Cream of the Cloth: Quilts from the Marbaum Collection of Hilary & Marvin Fletcher. Cream of the Cloth is the personal collection of long-time contemporary art quilt advocates Hilary & Marvin Fletcher. A rare survey of 25 years of the contemporary art quilt movement.
    Bold Strokes is a 25-year retrospective of Yvonne Porcella’s art quilts, known for their bold originality as articulated through her collage aesthetic and strip quilting. Porcella, founder of Studio Art Quilt Associates, has been a driving force in the studio quilt movement not only as a prolific artist, but also as a teacher and author.
  • SLG Art Boutiki & Gallery – 577 South Market St. map


    The SLG Art Boutiki and Gallery turns two and does it in its own unique way as we mark the holiday season with an SLG FESTIVUS celebration. Perform FEATS OF STRENGTH in the front galley and wow your friends. Make a donation to the Human Fund. Get your picture taken next to our very own Festivus ALUMINUM POLE. But the highlight of the night will be our turning over the microphone between band sets to anyone who wishes so that you can air your grievances to the whole world. Yes, the WHOLE WORLD as we will be broadcasting said airing of grievances via Ustream to the internet on the Artboutiki, SLGCOMIC and SANTAGOROUND websites. So, let all of your friends know that you will be telling the entire world how much they disappointed you.
    Holiday themed art by Andy Ristaino and an assortment of cool art from the past years shows will all be on display as SLG closes out the year in its own peculiar fashion. Live music too!
  • Works San Jose – 451 South First St. map


    Opening Reception: Ring in the New
    Ring in the New is Works’ 2010 member exhibition, the most eclectic, startlingly open, unjuried annual regional exhibition of art. Work from the stars of the South Bay scene are brought together with first time exhibitors. Come celebrate and support your community art and performance center with the artists who do the same.
  • Caffé Trieste – 315 South First St. map


    Artist’s Reception: Robot Girl! by Christine Benjamin, a local artist who creates her own cast of characters: monsters, robots, aliens, skeletons & more, culled from her childhood memories and emotions.
    First Fridays are Opera Night! at Caffé Trieste with some of the Bay Area’s best opera singers performing your favorite arias and duets.
  • Downtown Yoga Shala – 450 South First St. map

    Join us after Candlelight Yoga (6-7:30pm) to welcome the downtown community and art walk patrons. Our featured artist for December and January is Clay-Mixed Media artist Paul Rubio, with his captivating exhibit, “Suspension of Disbelief”. Paul’s most recent body of work explores and represents the relationship humans have with nature. He uses the vessel to represent man’s first phase of evolution, and how primitive man with mud and fire could create crude but highly decorated and expressive pieces as time passes. Much of this burnt earth would be markers of civilizations of the past.
  • Good Karma Vegan Café – 37 South First St. map

    Opening Reception: SJSU Color 112: Exploring the Hyperreal
    Working from individual interpretations of the notion of the hyppereal, students in Barbara Boissevain’s color photography class at San Jose State University created these 22 images. Students were asked to construct a reality for the viewer to experience that breaks the boundaries of our physical reality. In these simulations that never really existed, the students played with artificial elements such as artificial color, scale and anti-gravity.
    The assignment was wide open to the student’s interpretation and many students chose to use a cinematic film as a jumping-off point for the images they constructed.
  • METRO Photo Exhibit – 550 South First St. map


    Come join us in the Metro building for EDGE OF NOWHERE a First St. Photo Collective event.
  • Psycho Donuts – 288 South Second St. map


    art by Lacey Bryant
    Creatures, Donuts and Such! Exhibit of local artists representing their take on different original characters that they have developed and where they fit into the local scene in Downtown San Jose.
  • South First Billiards & Lounge – 420 South First St. map

    Bring It Back Tour: the sampler platter!
    Live art, live body painting hosted by one soul and flossofee. Opio, Kung Fu, Zman, My G, Bru Lei, Aivar, Matre, Project Seer, Sub Ren.
    Esik Video Premiere.
    5-9pm ALL AGES. 9pm-close 21+ venue.
  • Art Ark – 1035 South Sixth St. map


    art by Gwen Mercado Reyes
    6–9pm Closing Reception:The More the Merrier: a group exhibition and art sale
    This show is comprised of 39 artists exhibiting a wide range of work in a variety of mediums. The purpose of this show is to mix and mingle local talent while showcasing works priced to sell for holiday gifts. All sales should be negotiated directly with the exhibiting artists.

KALEID Art Sale!


KALEID's Rockin' Stockings Show & Sale Dec. 3rd!



KALEID Gallery artists have created unique works of art generously priced for this gift giving season! This will be a one-stop shopping trip for everyone on your list that shows you care enough to get them something you can't find anywhere else!

A Rockin' Stockings Holiday Show & Sale
First Friday December 3rd, 7pm-9pm 
free & open to the public

All art can be taken home at the point of sale.

Sale continues through December 30th.
KALEID Gallery
88 South Fourth St. (at San Fernando)
Downtown San Jose
www.KALEIDGallery.com

Thursday, December 2, 2010

Glass Artist Alliance Expands in SoFA!

The San Jose Glass Artist Alliance is a nonprofit focused on the art of glassblowing. In addition to teaching how to make glass sculptures, the have a wide variety of art available for sale. I remember earlier this year they expanded their storefront in SoFA into their neighboring space, adding a new instructional area, couches, and a glass gallery. Well, it turns out they are expanding AGAIN.

By adding a secondary storefront in SoFA, right next to the High Fire Studios on Market--a very cool pottery workshop and gallery--they are more than doubling their presence to a total of 5,500 sqft of space. The new space will have another gallery, space for artists to sublet, and will also hold monthly shows for First Fridays!

It is amazing how SoFA continues to cultivate talented artists and expand. I hope this trend continues for a long time. I'm not sure if the new space will be ready for tomorrow's First Friday, but it should be up and running by January for sure. For more information, click here.

SJ FAM / Satori Charity Event this Sunday


MERRY MOROCCAN HOLIDAY



Be merry this holiday season and join SJ FAM and Satori Tea Company for a delightful afternoon filled with fashion, art, music, charity and culture. Relax over a cup of tea and live music or peruse through a mini Moroccan bazaar where guests may participate in henna tattoo art, A Beauty Bar and some shopping!
This event will benefit CAREER CLOSET, an organization dedicated to empowering women to re-enter the… workplace equipped with everything they need to make a great first impression, land the job they want, and improve their lives. We encourage guests to dig into their closets and donate any unused work clothing, which can be used for another woman’s brighter future. Women’s professional clothing that is new or nearly new, clean, and on hangers, gently worn shoes and handbags are acceptable. Receive an additional raffle ticket for every garment you bring in!

So put on your Sunday’s best ensemble and join us for a lovely afternoon of good friends, good tea and a good cause!

$20 admission includes tea tasting, tea bites, henna art, beauty bar and live music by DJ Cutso.

Satori Tea Company
37 N San Pedro St, San Jose, CA 95110
Sunday, Dec 5th: 2pm-5pm
*Complimentary parking available in San Pedro garage until 6pm.*
Reservations required. Please call (408) 493-0554 or email rsvp@sjfam.com
Visit our Merry Moroccan Holiday Facebook event page here
______________________________________________________
Vendors:
A Beauty Bar
Ayoma LifeSpa
Henna World
Ruthie Gems

moroccan-holiday_flyer-B

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Golden Gate Bridge and AT&T Park Floats in the San Jose Holiday Parade

I Just saw this info below on the Daily Fetch:

"In a somewhat related note:  The (San Jose-hating) San Francisco Giants (or two of them at least) will be in the San Jose Holiday Parade this weekend.  Andres Torres and Sergio Romo (of bad-beard fame) will be the grand marshalls of the parade and sit on the NBC float.  That should make Lew Wolff plenty pissed… Not only that, the NBC float “will feature the Golden Gate Bridge, AT&T Park, sailing ships, and fog“… none of which have anything to do with the San Jose, which should make the City of San Jose pretty pissed off… Perhaps the new name of the parade should be, the San Francisco Holiday Parade at San Jose…"


This makes me furious. The Daily Fetch nails this one on the head... the NBC float HAS ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO DO WITH SAN JOSE. This isn't the first time that NBC has made a stupid, yes stupid, decision offending the South Bay. Most of you probably don't remember this from last year but I will never forget. Here is the text from a commercial NBC Bay Area ran to PROMOTE the innaugeral season of Broadway San Jose:

"Lawrence Scott, NBC Bay Area, here at the San Jose Center of the Performing Arts during Broadway San Jose's first ever Season. You know I've heard people in the city say that San Jose is limited in its culture and that it is basically like Fresno with money. Which I think is totally rude, I know plenty of people in Fresno with money. Fore more information... [blah blah]."


So what's the deal NBC Bay Area? Do you simply view us as culture-less money bags in San Francisco's armpit with no rights to having an autonomous city? I would really appreciate some clarification. Thanks.

Downtown San Jose Restaurant List!!!

For a long time I have been meaning to put together a list of ALL downtown San Jose restaurants (I've always been curious as to the exact count of how many we have). The SJ Downtown Association has a pretty comprehensive list, but it has limitations since there are no filtering or sorting capabilities besides genre. So I went ahead and put together my own online spreadsheet that anyone can use!

I used to tell people that Downtown San Jose has over 100 restaurant. That simply isn't true. We have 177 restaurants and cafes downtown (!!!). I thought I had been to almost every one. It turns out that I have "only" been to 125 of them... I have 52 more to go.

The spreadsheet lists each restaurant name along with:
  • Genre - my categories are a little different than the SJDA list to avoid duplicates
  • Region - tried to divide downtown into corridors and districts (like SoFA) since the street addresses aren't always indicative of where the restaurant is
  • Address & Phone Number
  • Website - work in progress
  • Year - also work in progress, if you know which year any of the restaurants opened, please feel free to email me
  • Additional Notes
  • A Column to track the ones I've been to
All of the columns are sortable and filterable, and if you take a look at the bottom of the spreadsheet you'll notice there is also a tab called "Restaurant Statistics." This is a live count of the total number of restaurants downtown, as well as statistics by region, genre, and year opened. 

I think this spreadsheet turned out really well, so please have a look and let me know what you think. Thanks!