22 Sardines.......by Joyce Oroz

How many people will fit in a phone booth? How many sardines will fit in a can? How many murals will fit in a two-block one-horse town? Good question and the people of Aromas, namely the Aromas Hills Artisans, are working hard to answer that question. In the last two years three murals have been installed—Marshall’s Service, Dragonfly Gallery and the church. But Libraries have feelings too. They want their own decoration, expression, and recognition. “Friends of the Library” and AHA members are madly putting together a plan to distinguish the local library, give it more character and help it grow and serve even more readers. Today I will show you a sketch of the prospective mural, a photo of the library without paint and another photo showing a preliminary coat of blue and green. In a couple weeks I will be able to show you the final “look.” So please stay tuned!

Dragonfly Gallery News.........by Joyce Oroz

Featured Artists for June 2012

Susan Ramirez is a new AHA member and an amazing Jeweler. Her jewelry is created from old, sometimes antique pieces of jewelry and sold at modest prices. Her lovely filigree necklaces are sensational--each an original one-of-a-kind design. Drop by the Gallery and see for yourself!

Another special for the month of June is the gallery’s collection of Thomas Kinkade Certified Authentic Limited Editions with original signatures.

New items at the Dragonfly Gallery are embroidered dragonflies and hummingbirds mounted on black velveteen gift pouches for only $5.00. You will receive a free pouch with any purchase of $100.00 or more.

Don’t forget to checkout the “What-not’s” starting at one dollar!

Thanks for listening and stay tuned.......Joyce Oroz

Nerdiest thing on the planet.....by Joyce Oroz

"Your time is limited so don't waste it living someone else's life."

- Steve Jobs

I hope you made it to this year’s Maker Faire in San Mateo—the nerdiest thing on the planet. Over 600 makers entered their creations, such as a giant cardboard robot army, a human-size mouse trap, strange vehicles, light shows and zillions of other interesting inventions. There were things to do, things to drive, things to eat and things to see.

Ben Hylak earned five blue ribbons with his DIY Telepresence Robot and Tim Laursen was awarded five blue ribbons for his MIDI Controlled Musical Robot.

Avery Laurin took most of the pictures I am sharing with you.

An Interview with Author Jennifer Chase......by Joyce Oroz

Jennifer Chase
Award Winning Author & Criminologist

Today I am happy to be interviewing Author Jennifer Chase, a prolific writer and valuable member of the Aromas Hills Artisans. She is an amazing writer with more energy than a loaded mini-van going down hill.  

       “Jennifer, how many books have you written and what are you writing now?”

I’ve written four thriller novels, one screenwriting workbook, and one horror/suspense short story.  I’m currently working on the fourth Emily Stone Thriller that should be out in the fall of this year.  Also, I’m outlining and mapping out a couple of other series of books, one a mystery series and the other is more of a paranormal series.

“Has your beautiful black lab, Sarge, had an influence on your writing?”

Sarge reminds me that I need to take breaks and smell the ocean once in a while!  Writing about mysteries and serial killers can take the wind out of my sails so Sarge keeps me in balance.  I love being outdoors whenever I can and having a high-energy Labrador keeps me on my toes.

“Your protagonist is named Emily Stone. How did you decide on that name?”

Funny you should ask.  I had an extremely difficult time deciding on a name for my tough female heroine who covertly hunts down serial killers – alone too!  I had a list of all of these hip sounding names but they didn’t seem to fit her character.  So I decided that I wanted a wholesome sounding name that paired well with the last name of Stone.  I began looking through a book of baby names and presto I found Emily.

“Jennifer, what has been the greatest career thrill for you in the last five years?”

This biggest thrill for me, after seeing my books in print, is when a reader takes the time to email me or comment on my blog or social network site just to tell me how much they’ve enjoyed my books.  It doesn’t get any better than that!  My followers, readers, and fans are like gold to me. 

“Where do you live and why?”

I live on the beautiful Monterey Bay in California.  It’s where I’ve called home for most of my life.  Even to this day, I can’t believe that I live in such a beautiful place.  It’s quite an inspiring place for writers.

“How can people find your books?”

All of my books are available in paperback and e-book from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and most book retailers.  You can find out more about my books on my blog: www.authorjenniferchase.com/

Books: Compulsion  Dead Game  Dark Mind  Silent Partner  Screenwriting

Maker Faire by Tina Baine

Today I am featuring excerpts from an article written by my friend, Tina Baine, who happens to be an incredibly interesting and knowledgable writer for the Santa Cruz Sentinel. This week she writes about the Maker Faire which is a "Burning Man" for families. Kids love this place where extrodinary inventions are common place and art and science rule. Cupcakemobiles? May 19 and 20th is the time--San Mateo Event Center is the place. Family friendly and highly recommended. Now here is Tina.

 

Tina Baine, DIY: The joy of sharing what you make

-santacruzsentinel.com

Posted: 05/13/2012 01:30:53 AM PDT

There are a lot of good reasons to attend this year's Maker Faire, May 19-20, in San Mateo. For parents, it may be to expose their kids to inventive minds and encourage an interest in technology or engineering. For the crafty, it may be to learn a new skill, like knitting, coffee roasting or soldering. For inventors, it may be to satisfy a need to share an innovative idea or brainstorm with other makers. But possibly the best reason to attend Maker Faire, is to witness the warm handshake of art and science as they begin to rekindle an old friendship.
OpenLab Network
Jennifer Parker, associate professor at UC Santa Cruz in the Digital Arts and New Media Program, says that art and science have always been linked.
"Every time you're sculpting, you're being an engineer," she says.
She also believes that art is vital to science, as it can help convey complex concepts to the masses through more accessible 3-D venues, such as apps, games, and exhibits.
"It's much better than explaining on a chalk board," she says.
In an effort to cross-pollinate the efforts of both artists and scientists, Parker co-founded the OpenLab Network [openlabresearch.com] at UCSC in 2011. OpenLab brings artists and scientists together in the real and virtual worlds with
dramatic results. Most recently, they helped to create the Kepler Explorer, a new application for the iPad and iPhone, allowing armchair explorers of the cosmos fingertip access to nearly 2,000 distant planetary systems discovered by NASA's Kepler Mission. Parker and others from the OpenLab Network will be at Marker Faire, showing the Kepler app, a Nintendo Wii Galactic Center Bowling game, and other OpenLab projects
Tina Baine's DIY column runs monthly in the Sentinel. Contact her at features@santacruzsentinel.com. Visit tinabaine.blogspot.com to see old columns.

if you go.....
Maker Faire
Bay Area
What: A two-day, family-friendly festival of invention, creativity and resourcefulness, and a celebration of the Maker movement.
when: 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday, May 19, and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday, May 20
where: San Mateo Event Center, San Mateo
Admission: Single-day tickets start at $22. Visit makerfairebayarea.eventbrite.com for ticket options.
Details: makerfaire.com/bayarea/2012

Wildgoose..........

I want to introduce you to an artisan--maker of furniture 

Arts Habitat Presents

Michael Wildgoose

Furniture Craftsman and Builder

at Arts in Progress

Tuesday, May 22, 7:00 to 9:00 P.M.

Studio Seaside, 840 Broadway Avenue

Arts Habitat will present furniture maker, Michael Wildgoose, at Arts in Progress (AIP) on Tuesday, May 22, in a presentation and discussion entitled, "Building Furniture from Reclaimed Materials". AIP takes place the fourth Tuesday of each month at Arts Habitat | Studio Seaside, 840 Broadway Avenue, Suite B3, from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. The Studio is located in the Seaside City Center (next to Erik's Deli). The event is free and open to the public and complimentary refreshments are served. The first and last half hours are devoted to socializing and community building; the program runs from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. Michael will talk about how to make furniture and build houses from reclaimed materials. He'll show photos and examples of his work, share ideas for material sources, and make suggestions about techniques and applications. Wildgoose never planned to be a craftsman; he didn't attend art school or take technology classes. He dreamed of being an archeologist. Instead, after a short advertising career in the "Mad Men" era of advertising, in 1969 he traveled the Hippie Trail from Marrakech through Asia. It is there that he first saw people making their houses, furnishings and clothing from local materials such as mud bricks, bamboo and palm fronds. When he returned to the U.S. he spent five years acquiring building skills in Los Angeles. By day he worked in construction, by night he attended woodworking classes. His inspirations were the great California craftsmen Greene & Greene and Sam Maloof. He settled in a small New Mexico village, where the people still built their own homes and carved handmade furniture. He has worked continually on his craft the last three decades from his homes in New Mexico and Seaside, Ca.

For further information: 624-6111,staff@artshabitat.org, or artshabitat.org

Robots do the backstroke........by Joyce Oroz

Speaking of ROV’s

An ROV is like a UWR (under water robot). These robots, invented and constructed by ultra-smart kids, like to go to competitions, root around under water doing low-pay high-skill jobs, showing off their colorful components. Such a competition took place yesterday at MPC in Monterey.

The team I rooted for ( 4H20 )consisted of my grandson, Avery and Teralyn, Josh, Michaela and Ryan—all members of 4H in the San Lorenzo Valley. These kids are focused! They spent months inventing, building and teaching their ROV to do tasks under water (no summersalts). This team named their robot “Zeus The Mighty Toaster” because it didn’t look like a bread box.

So on this sunny day teams of teenagers took turns dropping their robots into the swimming pool. They instructed their little mechanical friends using underwater cameras and lap top computers. No child got wet. But scuba-guys were stationed in the water to keep props and such in order.

Zeus The Mighty Toaster had to handle items at the bottom of the pool and determine whether they were metal or not. At least that is the rumor. Stay tuned for the facts.

The competition was not limited to teenagers. Groups of 8 to 12-year-olds entered their ROV’s in other categories. As the child gets older the tasks are more complicated.

Congratulations to Avery and all the teams who participated!

Las Latinas........by Janet Martinez

Fifteen minutes south of Aromas, San Juan Batista is nestled in the beautiful rolling hills of the Central Coast of California. The village is famous for it’s intact Mission and Museum, chickens wandering the streets and for it’s unique shops, restaurants and galleries. The Galeria Tonantzin is celebrating its 20th exhibit of Las Latinas Janet Martinez…….We will be having a Collective Retrospective Exhibition June 1 - July 29, 2012. Galeria Tonantzin celebrates 20 years of exhibiting women's contemporary art. 115 - 3rd St. San Juan Bautista, CA 831-623-2783 Hours: 12 - 5pm Fri, Sat, Sun The 20th exhibit of "Las Latinas" will take place during the month of May featuring women artists of Latina heritage including gallery co-founder Carmen Leon, long time exhibitor Pat Zuniga, and well known muralist Patricia Rodriquez. Other artists include Alejandra Oseguera and Helene C’de Baca.  Patricia Rodríguez, is a muralist and printmaker. She also creates box constructions with mixed media. Ms. Rodriguez co-founded the “Mujeres Muralistas”, a breakthrough group of Latina artists who painted 18 murals in San Francisco. She is the first Chicana artist to create a course on Chicano Art History, and a reader for the course at UC Berkeley, 1977. A native of Texas, she has resided in San Francisco Bay Area since 1958. A graduate of the San Francisco Art Institute, BFA, and from Sacramento State University, MA. she has taught printmaking, mural painting, in many of the colleges both locally in the Bay Areaand at CSU, Monterey Bay and at the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and at UNM Los Alamos College, New Mexico, from 1990-1996. She recently completed a ten-year career as gallery curator for Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts, in San Francisco. Her latest curatorial work was for Dia de los Muertos exhibition at the Oakland Museum of California, 2011. Her exhibitions; The Museum of Modern Art, NYC, Mexican Fine Arts Museum, Chicago, Ill. White Gallery, UCLA, Daniel Saxon Gallery, Los Angeles, De Young Museum, San Francisco, CA., and The Triton Museum, Santa Clara, Ca. The reception for the artists will be held on Saturday, May 12 from 5 - 7 pm. At 6 pm during the reception Patricia Rodriguez will lecture on "The Chicana/Latina Art Movement - Then and Now" offering her insight from her early work with the "Mujeres Muralistas" to her recent curatorial experience at Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts, in San Francisco and the Oakland Museum of California.    Recuerdos de Mi Casa by Patricia Rodriguez  Janet Martinez and Jennifer Colby, Trustees/Directors Galeria Tonantzin, Center for Art and Humanities 115 Third Street, San Juan Bautista, CA 831-623-ARTE (2783)

Giving Wings to Creativity

A year ago I told you about an outstanding local author, Paul Fleischman. Here is the rest of the story………

At the recent "Aromas Live" event at the Aromas Grange, members of the Aromas Hills Artisans' board presented Author Paul Fleischman, long time Aromas resident, with the "Giving Wings to Creativity" award. He was named by the judges of the international Hans Christian Andersen Award to be in the top 5 authors of childrens' literature in the world. This award is given for the author’s body of work rather than just one book.

AHA wanted to recognize Paul for his long time commitment to excellence in childrens' literature. The group of artisans does not have a regular schedule for giving awards. Only creative excellence triggers their recognition, and the award is always a handmade piece of artwork created by an Aromas Hills Artisan.
Congratulations Paul!

Paul Fleischman grew up in Santa Monica, California, the son of children's book author and screenwriter, Sid Fleischman. Drawing on history, music, art, and theater, his books have often experimented with multiple viewpoints and performance. He received the Newbery Medal in 1989 for Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices and a Newbery Honor Award for Graven Images. Bull Run, his account of the Civil War battle told from sixteen points of view, received the Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction. Breakout, inspired by an all-day traffic jam in Los Angeles, was a finalist for the National Book Award.

Life.....by Joyce Riley

Life takes me where I'm going
not to where I've been.
But, my thoughts, like a revolving door,
keep turning back again.
Life is what I'm reaching for,
not what used to be.
So, I am thinking forward
to a new and joyful me.