I hope everyone had a good holiday season. Wow, 2007 was a busy year wasn't it? Heart of Chaos successfully put on several exhibits including Work & Play, Re:Use, Animals and Artists and UpRoar 2007, our first exhibit during downtown San Jose's South First Fridays! We also put on San Jose's First Annual Chalk Art Festival which was a huge success! So much so that we were invited to put on a chalk art event at the 2007 Buddy Walk and at Juvenile Hall as a part of the Heart of Chaos Community Outreach art program, check out pictures from the Juvenile Hall event in the Community Outreach section. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of the venues that hosted our events over the last year as well as the staff at each venue for their help and support. I would also like to the thank the entire Heart of Chaos crew including the artists and volunteers who always make things run smoothly, we couldn't have done it without everyone's help!

Though 2007 was a busy year, 2008 is already promised to be even more exciting. Heart of Chaos will put on several solo exhibits showcasing emerging artists almost every month next year. The first will be Elizabeth Cruz, our featured artist this month, whose exhibit focuses on the reality of child abuse. The exhibit opens on January 7th and an opening reception will be held on Friday, January 18th from 6-9pm at the Gardner Community Center. For details please check out our future events section. The new year will also bring an Art Expo where artists can sell their work, as well as a Chicano Heritage/Graffiti Show in April where several local artists will be gracing the concrete wall at the Gardner Community center with a graffiti composition, come check out the artists while they create live! We are also revving up for the 2nd Annual Chalk Art Festival. With all the new events we welcome anyone who would like to get involved either as an artist or volunteer. If you are interested in participating in our growing collective please email me and let me know how you would like to get involved.

Here is wishing you all a prosperous new year!

Sincerely Your Editor,
Jenifer "Jen" Sluga

P.S.
Don't miss Heart of Chaos' founder Curtis Manzano's one night art exhibit at San Jose's Blank Club. He will be exhibiting early drawings mounted on wood which will be available for purchase.

	Dark Matter Art by Curtis Manzano January 8, 2008 at 9pm Blank Club 44 S. Almaden Ave. San Jose, CA 95113

Elizabeth Cruz: “When Memories Speak”
By: Leon Morimoto

Elizabeth Cruz is a visual artist and Children’s right activist. She was born in San Jose, in 1984. Elizabeth’s family relocated to Oaxaca, Mexico, where she was raised. It was here that Elizabeth experienced the emotional turmoil of child abuse. Elizabeth returned to San Jose in 1999, at age 15. With her past experiences, Elizabeth resolved to take a stance against the perils of child abuse, utilizing her artistic gifts. Her art was given a deep sense of purpose, with subject matter bringing attention to the sensitive issue of abuse. Elizabeth’s art depicts a range of emotion and depth with hope also present in her powerful images, as is her belief that her passion for the image can make a difference, and touch lives affected by abuse.

Although enduring many hardships in her youth, Elizabeth has always believed strongly in herself, and her ability as an artist. Elizabeth created a series of paintings entitled “When Memories Speak”. The series was created to prompt discussion of a truly sensitive subject for many. It is through this open dialogue can we find a solution to a very grim reality of society. Elizabeth’s art is a remarkable achievement of work, and serves the community as a catalyst for social and meaningful change.

Elizabeth’s art is largely acrylic based paint on stretched canvas. Elizabeth has also created mixed media works, incorporating feathers, mirrors, pastels, and collages.
You can view Elizabeth Cruz’s work at her solo showcase at the Gardner Community Center during the month of January, see Future Events for details. Elizabeth will also be taking part of a showcase in May 2008, which can be seen at San Jose City College. Elizabeth’s artistic vision and passion will ensure a productive presence in the local art community. We can expect great things to come from her in the near future.

Dr Pepper is searching for a Latino Artist who can show the world what being a Latino really means.

Enter the Dr Pepper Sabrosura Art contest and you could win a cash prize if your art is selected as part of the 2008 Dr Pepper Hispanic marketing campaign. For the 1st time ever, one grand prize winner may also have their art represented on a Dr Pepper can. For details please visit their website at http://www.drpeppersabrosura.com/

The Saratoga Library is seeking artists for its 2008-09 art wall exhibition.

All artists 18 and older are eligible. Work must be 2-D but can be in any medium. Call for details. Deadline is Jan 15

Contact Details:
408 867-6126 x 3817

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!

Check out more calls for artists on our website!

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 has been a guest artist at Junveile Hall since June 2007. Below are some images from the last workshop he taught in December 2007 focusing on drawing portraits. A big thank you to Al for the time he devotes to teaching!

Teacher/Guest Artists
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.

Heart of Chaos Crew
Help plan, set up and breakdown events. Contact Jen for more information.

Promoter
We need some people who are 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

Get your Heart of Chaos apparel! A $5 donation will be made to Heart of Chaos for every item purchased. There are tons of items to choose from and something for everyone.
Go Shopping!

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 :
T-F Noon-7pm
Saturday Noon-5pm

works/san josé
451 south 1st street
san josé, california 95113
408.286.6800

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.