Issue 1.4 Sacred

TABLE OF CONTENTS Cultivator Notes

4

Contributors

5

Sacred School

6

Love Thy Neighbor

8

On The Street

13

Sacred Art

14

Imprints

22

Virginity

26

Scarcely a Word

30

Writings

32

Knit

34

Maverick

42

Artist Spotlight: Jacob Blaze

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CULTIVATOR’S NOTES

sacred

issue 1.4

In my own life and journey, I have begun to see that there is a short list of things that people hold dear; things that they will not give up or let go of. In some cases, they will even fight for them. These things hold such a place of reverence and importance that they have become Sacred.

In issue 1.4, we explore what people hold near and dear to their hearts, exploring the beliefs held by two neighbors, two artists and the man on the street. Ultimately, what we think or say we hold with respect is demonstrated by how we spend our time. As we head into 2010, find out what you really value by checking your calendar. sacred |sākrid| adjective

connected with God (or the gods) or dedicated to a religious purpose and so deserving veneration.

• (of writing or text) embodying the laws or doctrines of a religion: a sacred Hindu text.

• regarded with great respect and reverence by a particular religion, group, or individual.

Cover Photo Hand: Jessica Havens Photo: Daniel Garcia Hebrew: Love

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Because what’s inside will always come out.

Daniel Garcia, Cultivator daniel@content-magazine.com

CONTRIBUTORS Daniel Gaines

VISUALS

Daniel Gaines was born and raised in Richmond, VA. Following a career in hospitality and property management, Daniel began the journey as a photographer in 2009. Currently he lives in San Jose, CA and works across a range of styles and disciplines, including portraits, events, fine art and commercial photography. www.danielgainescreative.com

Jessy Dewi-Design/Layout jessy@content-magazine.com Brian Jensen-Design/Layout brian@content-magazine.com www.madebybrian.com Amy Iniguez-Design/Layout amy@content-magazine.com Chris John-Design/Layout chris@content-magazine.com

Adrea Cabera-Sylte Adrea was born and raised in San Jose and enjoys simple things in life and really loves to laugh. With an appreciation for beauty in all forms, she realizes there is more than the mere aesthetic of things. As a designer and stylist Adrea tries to translate her vision in ways that everyone can enjoy. Her take on fashion and beauty this month is expressed in a homage to “knits”, pg. 34.

Jon Havens-Writer Jon Havens has an unhealthy obsession with literature.

While he is not ruminating over the words of literary giants he spends his time writing, for Content (pg. and a novel he is slowly working on. You can also find him playing shows with his band Hurricane Roses or planning his next adventure around the world, pg. 30 & 42. A selection of his short stories at: http://stores.lulu.com/jonhavens

Sarah Garcia-Marketing Sarah is an investigator by hobby and a sleuth by trade.

Sarah enjoys discovering the best deals, websites, recipes, and little known tidbits of information. She is invigorated by productivity, saddened by apathy and inspired by ingenuity. While not searching around for the next great thing, she is wearing one of many hats-but none that she loves more than being a wife to an amazing husband, and mommy to the greatest two kids. Follow Sarah’s weekly blogs on content-magazine.com.

WORDS Shadd Williams-Editor/Writer shadd@content-magazine.com Jon Havens – Writer jon@content-magazine.com Deanna Wallace-Writer deanna@content-magazine.com Caitlin Robinett-Writer caitlin@content-magazine.com Anthony West Patane-Writer tony@aberrantphoto.com

FASHION

Adrea Cabrera-Style adrea@content-magazine.com

PHOTOGRAPHY

Daniel Gies www.danielgies.com Krystal Avedisian www.krystalavedisian.com Daniel Gaines www.danielgainescreative.com

SHAPERS

Daniel Garcia-Cultivator daniel@content-magazine.com Sarah Garcia-Marketing sarahg@content-magazine.com Keith Hendren-Inventor keith@content-magazine.com Nathan Jensen-Adviser nathan@content-magazine.com Sarah Hale- Sustainer sarahh@content-magazine.com

For advertising information please contact: advertising@content-magazine.com.

Submissions and contributions are welcome.

Please read “Submission Details” under the “PARTICIPATE” tab on our website. content magazine is a bi-monthly on-line publication about life and style in San Jose, Ca. Reproduction, duplication, distribution and remix are encouraged provided you give credit to the material source and artists and allow the same conditions to your contributions.

Find out more about our copyright license at creativecommons.org.

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A Sacred School Lekha Publishers and School of Creative Writing written by Deanna Wallace Photography by Daniel Gaines

Words are the method by which we communicate.

Without words, without ideas, without a way to convey one’s thoughts to others, the world would be a very different place. In writing, one may communicate through email, a business report, or a novel. Writing can be a necessity and a chore, or it might be an enjoyment, hobby, or career. At the Lekha School of Creative Writing (www.lekhapublishers.com), the staff believes that children should be able to write well, to enjoy writing, and to be published authors. Using the “Lekha way,” which involves imagination, writing, authorship, and publishing, all while having fun, the San Jose company teaches students to love writing, to do it well, and provides an opportunity for them to publish their work at a young age. Founder Jyoti Yelagalawadi described what inspired her to begin Lekha Publishers and how it led to teaching children to love to write.

When Jyoti Yelagalawadi’s daughter Varija was young, Jyoti observed that Varija had a strong aptitude for writing both fiction and non-fiction. Jyoti believed that all children have the ability to write and articulate in a way that is unique from the way that adults do. She wanted to see more children publishing their work.

“For hundreds of years, people have been doing that at a young age,” she said, “but few and far between. I wanted to make it possible.” Not only was her daughter’s writing ability an inspiration to provide a way for

children to publish their own work, Jyoti also recalled how she used to be an avid storyteller when she was growing up. As a child, Jyoti’s father helped her to submit some of her writing to a magazine in her native country of India, but Jyoti realized that not every child had that chance. “I wanted to guide children when they were young so that many more could reach the goal of being published authors at a younger age.”

Before beginning Lekha, Jyoti was engaged in the study of animals. She was a silkworm breeder in India before coming to the United States. After considering obtaining a Ph.D. in entomology but deciding to change fields instead, she studied computer science which “was all the rage at the time.” Jyoti found work as a technical writer and mentored high school students in writing on the side. She also found the time to edit a children’s magazine, over half of which was written by teenagers and kids. After working as a technical writer for several years, she felt that she was losing her creative ability. She decided to return to writing and publishing her own stories as well as those of some of her friends. Some friends of hers asked her to guide them in the world of publishing. Jyoti eventually left her job as a technical writer to begin her business in children’s publishing.

With the publishing of some of Jyoti and her friends’ stories for children, Lekha Publishers was born. Jyoti chose the name Lekha after the Indian word “lek,”

meaning “writing” or “a write-up,” and “Lekha,” the name of the Indian goddess of education. After beginning as a publishing house for stories by and for children, Jyoti’s friends asked her if she would teach their children how to write creatively. Three years after founding Lekha Publishers, the Lekha School of Creative Writing was added as a new division of the company. The first year, the school consisted of a workshop for her friends’ children. Jyoti advertised the creative writing school prior to the second summer and hosted a total of twenty students in the program. After two years, Lekha’s reputation had grown to the point that it received 150 registrations for the third summer. For those first three years, Jyoti hosted the classes in her home, some downstairs and some in the addition that she built upstairs as a headquarters for the business. The camp also expanded to include a four-week academic writing track in addition to the four-week creative writing segment. By the summer of 2009, the fourth summer of the creative writing school, Lekha received nearly 500 children’s registrations as it expanded from its West San Jose headquarters to locations all over the Bay Area, including Oakland, Redwood City, and North and South San Jose. Lekha has also developed after school programs which they run year-round to help children improve their writing, both creative and academic.

While the success and growth of the camps was rapid, Jyoti explains that the publishing division of the company took somewhat of a backseat to allow for the development of the writing school. However, now that Lekha camps have become well-established and have garnered a positive reputation in the community at large, Jyoti has taken some time to focus on the progress of the publishing side of the company. Lekha has published several titles in the past few years, including Adventures of the Imagination, an anthology of stories that children wrote during summer camps, Laugh with Dinosaurs, Jyoti’s own book about littleknown dinosaurs, and Poems from the Playground, by Richard McKensie. Works from Lekha Publishers come in all genres: science fiction, mystery, folk stories, children’s picture books, and more. Two exciting, upcoming novels from Lekha include Jyoti’s forthcoming sci-fi work, Young Forever, and a novel by 13-year-old Tyler Sadoff entitled, A Journey in Time. Tyler began writing this story in a Lekha summer camp three years ago at the age of ten. After penning the work and the long task of editing and revising, Tyler’s work is now ready to be published. Tyler, his family, Jyoti, and Lekha office manager Novella Genelza, who designed the cover for the novel, were all excited to obtain the sample copy of the book from the printer in early July. The book was formally announced to the public on August 1st.

When completed, A Journey in Time will be distributed through Amazon, Barnes and Noble Booksellers, and directly through Lekha’s website. The Lekha staff is cur-

rently setting up book signing locations for Tyler in San Jose and nearby Morgan Hill.

Balancing family and career can be a tricky task for someone who runs their own company. It can be even more difficult for women, who have traditionally been responsible for family and household tasks such as care for children, meal preparation, and household organization. In order to manage both her growing company and her family of four, Jyoti employs a number of strategies. She makes sure to take time off for important days, such as when a family member visits from out of town. Her family knows that from 3pm to 6pm on weekdays she is typically busy, but after that, Jyoti says that she “turns off” Lekha and it becomes family time.

Jyoti makes the analogy of Lekha being like a “third baby,” and each child gets a certain amount of quality time. She makes sure to cook early in the morning so that food is ready when her husband and children get home. Household cleaning and tasks are scheduled.

“Prioritizing is the key. Extra work is done on my own time,” said Jyoti.

As the owner of a growing business even in the current economy, Jyoti offered her advice to others who might be considering starting a business of their own. “If you have a passion for it, go for it. The important thing is to think ahead and see where you want it to go in the long run, five years from now. It is said that most companies start and fold within three years. It is important to go slow, and after three years, that is the time that you really know for sure that you are growing. Make sure that you have enough passion and financial security to keep you going for three years.” For women in particular, Jyoti counseled, “It is important for women to understand that they may be minorities. It is very difficult for a woman to start a business…[you will] just work, work, work. It is extremely time consuming, so before you decide, know that you need a 24-hour day for your business. Your business will consume 24 hours.” She added, “If you are a lady, just go for it. Let nothing stop you. Family, children should not stop you.

As a woman, as long as you keep them in your mind at all times, you can do it.”

Through the hard work of Jyoti, Novella, the authors who work with Lekha, and the teachers and children at summer camp, Lekha Publishers and the Lekha School of Creative Writing has transformed from the dream of a handful of parents who wanted their children to excel in writing into a full-fledged publishing house and intensive writing school. At Lekha, children can improve their writing talents and thrive in their pursuit of becoming published authors. Children can learn not only to succeed in writing, but to love that which is the means by which they can convey their thoughts, ideas, and dreams to the world.

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LOVE THY NEIGHBOR Written by Daniel Garcia Photography by Daniel Gaines Layout by Jessy Dewi

THERE IS NO QUESTION THAT AMONG THE MANY DIFFERENT WORLDVIE WS, RELIGIONS AND PHILOSOPHIES, THERE ARE SIMIL ARITIES AND COMMON THEMES. But no matter how much we try to embrace other views in the name of tolerance, there are many areas and ideas where people simply don’t see eye to eye. Take for example, an atheist and a theist: two people with a marked ideological clash between the natural and the supernatural. What happens when these two ideas live next door to each other with only a narrow fence between them?

Content Magazine sat down with two friends and next-door neighbors: an atheist, Mark Thomas, and a theist, John Sullivan, to find out what two very divergent worldviews consider sacred. And though it was civil and cordial (even a little fun), they both confessed that there are things these friends choose not to talk about because they “like each other and value each other’s friendship.” They choose a familiar path in our society and region: to agree to disagree. But what they both can agree on is that we need to love our neighbor.

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MARK THOMAS was raised in the Methodist Christian tradition, but at an early age did not find the questions he had about life and existence to be satisfied by the worldview of Christianity. On his quest for truth, he read Atheism: The Case Against God by George H. Smith and www.infidels.org. These and other resources “just made sense” to him. Thomas joined American Atheists and San Francisco Atheists, which led to his role as Co-Founder and President of Atheists of Silicon Valley. You can read more about Mark’s Naturalist Philosophical perspective at http://www.godlessgeeks.com/WhyAtheism.htm.

JOHN SULLIVAN has been the pastor of Hope Lutheran Church in Santa Clara for 7 years and in pastoral ministry for 29 years. He did not originally set out to be a vocational minister but as he studied his faith in seminary he sensed a deep leading in that direction. Though raised in a Christian family he did not merely follow the family tradition, but willfully and consciously found the questions to existence answered through the words of Jesus and the Bible. John believes that he represents a voice of the Christian faith that is not usually heard in the media.

You can listen to Pastor John’s sermons at www.hopetoall.org.

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CONTENT: What is sacred to you?

MARK: Everything from ideas to places and types of places. Typically, I think that life is fairly sacred. We are naturally programmed by our humanity to find other humans to have meaning. Most of us can recognize the common bond of our social species. As far as external sacredness, there are many places I go because they evoke certain feelings in me--even churches and temples. They have been designed to evoke these feelings in people. So, as I travel to different countries, I visit their temples and churches--whether in Germany, Thailand or Morocco. They create certain feelings within us, feelings of being human.

But even more so, going into the wilderness and the mountains. I can see how people used to think that spirits inhabited the mountains, because you get these strong feelings in the midst of these eminent structures.

Hang gliding, for me, against the backdrop of the Sierras is a tremendous emotional experience. I am just a speck on a piece of aluminum and cloth against a huge wall of granite. Going out in the woods, camping, getting away from civilization and into nature evokes these emotions. I think it is a common emotion, religious or not.

CONTENT: For you, sacred is a feeling of mystery or awe?

MARK: I don’t think of it as mysterious but it is evoked within us by our surroundings…that sacredness, that emotion. Looking at giant redwood trees, I’m not going to worship them. But to see this giant living thing that has been here for hundreds of years evokes certain emotions in me. Almost any natural environment—from the desert to the mountains—is tremendously fulfilling.

CONTENT: John, what would you say is sacred?

JOHN: That word is interesting because it is used both by people who are religious or atheist. It can mean a lot of different things. In some ways it is like art. You are moved by the piece and have to ask, “Is it something in the object or the appreciation of the art?”

The things I find sacred have to do with relationships. I enjoy nature, like Mark does. There is something awesome about that. I remember cycling on highway 1 near Half Moon Bay from San Gregorio and coming down a big hill to a beautiful bay, and the sky was so blue, and I had just this amazing feeling, and it was a “sacred moment” for me. Was it in me or in that or in the interaction? But what I find most sacred is relationship. I certainly can find it in nature but I think particularly with people. When I think of people who have been warring with one another but who can be peaceful, this is sacred. When truth is spoken to unjust powers and there is satisfaction for justice, this is tremendously sacred. That’s where I find what is sacred. Along with so many other things; seeing a newborn baby, for example. It is awesome and there is a certain holiness about it. In many ways sacred and holiness are used about gods and deities and in my own denomination we have a hymn called The Sanctus, which says, “Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God Almighty.” And while I can see how that can be open to misinterpretation, when we think about God who is loving and invites us to be just and forgive and be compassionate--that Deity is inspiring. I think that I can say with good faith: that is sacred; this is holy.

CONTENT: What are some of the ideas that you hold dear…the non-negotiables?

MARK: I am a philosophical naturalist. I believe that all that exists is the natural world. There is no evidence of anything beyond it, and I have experienced nothing that I can interpret as supernatural, or not natural. So that is the basic level of my mindset: the perspective of the universe around us.

So then how do we deal with each other, since there is no “top-down” law or rules we have to obey? We have to construct ways to deal with each other based on our humanity. Evolution teaches us that love and cooperation are critical to our survival. Babies cannot survive without the love of parents, at least not very well. And certainly, a couple who loves each other increases the chances of their own survival and the survival of their offspring. Loving their offspring is very important in order for the parent to devote so much energy to their children.

And cooperation: we survive much better within a tribe. For most of our history on this planet we have been in tribes. When we existed in more of the standard definition of a tribe, people who did not cooperate were not likely to stay around unless they could fight and take control of the tribe through force. Someone who didn’t cooperate in the tribe would quickly be pushed out. And an individual on his or her own would not do very well in the wild.

That’s why we lived in tribes. There is a very strong evolutionary trend towards whatever it takes to love and cooperate. Human relations have tremendously evolved over time. You can look at our time, it’s no longer considered socially correct to have racial prejudice. Women are gaining tremendous improvement in their social positions. We’ve seen countries come together to stop wars. We have understood how to deal with ourselves as a species. I think we have evolved tremendously in our social interactions.

CONTENT: Would you say we are moving towards a utopia?

MARK: Well, one person’s utopia is another dystopia. (Laughter) We are evolving societies. Most people want love and cooperation. You travel to other countries; they want the same thing we want. They want stability in their life, love, friends and cooperation, and some assurance that their stability will go on. That’s what we want as sentient beings. You want to know that you have food for tomorrow. If you have children, you want them to grow in a society where their future is assured.

This is our natural human feeling, even primate feeling, you could call it.

CONTENT: So, built into our nature is survival because that’s what existence is: survival?

MARK: Any of your ancestors, any distant human being who didn’t love and cooperate had a much lower probability of leaving offspring. Anyone who didn’t love their kids, their kids would be less likely to survive. Anyone who didn’t cooperate in the tribe would be much less likely to survive within the tribe. We have a natural tendency towards love and cooperation. It is not 100% all lovey-dovey, but it is a strong tendency. I find this to be deeper concept than some god who tells us that we have to love and cooperate because it grows out of our humanity.

JOHN: It was great hearing Mark’s answer; he went from evolution to love. That is one of the bottom line issues for me: love and grace, compassion and

Christian tradition asserts all these as non-negotiables. This is what we are about. Religious mandates often move us even further on the “evolutionary journey,” if you want to put it that way. To lay down your life for another, to sacrificially help people who are not related to you…this doesn’t always happen in religion but the reality is there is no need for Americans to give to Africa and you can argue from the standpoint of evolution that we would be better off if the poor didn’t survive. And the tribal urge to be the “top dog” in our societies has brought horrendous atrocities, which major religions speak against, and invite us to a different perspective: “Do unto others as you have them do unto you.”

The most stunning statement of the New Testament is when Jesus says, “Love your enemies.” This is hard work. This isn’t easy. It’s not in our nature to love our enemies. We want to annihilate our enemies. We want vengeance against our enemies. To love our enemies: this is a profound inward transformation, to have that kind of love and compassion for someone who is against you. So I think that the religious journey can help human society a lot. That is not to say that I would like to defend all that has happened in the name of religion. Of course there have been horrendous things done in the name of religion.

I would also agree that there has been significant social development. The situation for women in western culture today is a magnitude better than 100 years ago. For different ethnic heritages the playing field has leveled significantly. What I love about the Silicon Valley is the ethnic diversity and vitality of working together in such creative ways. But we still see there are horrendous lapses in human behavior. People taking advantage for the “top dog” position. “I’ve got to get to the top no matter who it hurts.” Here in the Silicon Valley we have what I call “economic slaves.” Mostly the Latino population—I’m not calling them slaves but many of them are living in slave-like conditions because of coercive pressures that can be applied to these people because they don’t have documents. This is terrible. People ought to have a fair wage so they don’t have to live 3 or 4 families in a one or two bedroom apartment even though they are working fulltime. There is still plenty of human development that hasn’t “evolved” yet. But we are hopeful that using the wisdom from the past, we can envision ways to live with one another in more just ways.

“The things I find sacred have to do with relationships.”

CONTENT: It seems you’re both saying that life is sacred. Because it’s all we have.

JOHN: We are relational beings. So, we obviously seek relationships. But it is the quality of those relationships that makes a tremendous difference. Whether you are in a tribe you like or where the “top dog” is cruel. We have the need for relationship within us.

MARK: It’s all I have--all you have. And you are caring about those you love and care about. People who don’t are considered weird. We are more alive when we are with others.

To listen to the complete discussion, go to the Content Audio page.

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STREETS OF SAN JOSE Interviews by Ruben Escobebo Photography by Daniel Garcia

What is sacred to you?

I hold most sacred is our environment and the “ What creatures that are in it. Currently, I volunteer at the Ma-

rine Mammal Center rescuing and rehabilitating marine mammals, most particularly sea lions, harbor seals & elephant seals. That is my passion and that’s what I love. I love animals.

”

--Sammarye Lewis

hold my sister sacred. She is the best person in my life. “ IAnd, I take very good care of her and she takes very good care of me. ” --Sara Leung really appreciate and hold sacred the fact that I have free“ Idom of movement, in anyway I want move. I can walk and

I can still bike, even in an area that is kind of known as an extreme car culture. So I really appreciate that and it keeps me grounded in a great way.

--Erik Solberg

”

believe what I hold sacred is the freedom of belief in “ IAmerica.

The fact that you can be nearly any type of religion and not be burned at the stake is a pretty important concept to me since I am an atheist. And, most of the First Amendment is important to me as values.

”

--Zackery Yeager

“

I hold God and religion sacred.

”

--Victoria Boyert

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Sacred Art If you’ve ever participated in the First Friday Art Walk, or seen the Phantom Galleries while strolling downtown, you’ve probably heard about Anno Domini, operated by Brian Eder and Cherri Lakey, two very passionate individuals who have set out to cultivate the fledgling art scene in San Jose. Read on to find out how.

written by Anthony West Patane photography by Daniel Garcia layout by Brian Jensen

CONTENT: How did Anno Domini come to fruition and what are you guys all about?

CHERRI: In 2000, graffiti actually became a felony instead of a misdemeanor, so that was jail time.

We really loved the street art that was happening in San Francisco in 98-99, the time when you’d see something really beautiful everyday and then 3,4, or 5 months later it was just gone, and it was just heartbreaking. So we really took an interest in the artists. There were maybe 2 galleries at the time showing street art. We really wanted to be involved in that and Brian had somewhat of an art background already, so we just had to find our place. We knew we wanted to start our own graphic design company. And then it was a matter of, do we go to San Francisco where we already feel like it’s a scene and has support, or do we go to a place like San Jose where it’s zero tolerance, it’s much harder, and there is less of a scene? Don’t they need it more? And couldn’t we build something of our own? We chose San Jose.

BRIAN: I lived here before and I think the campaign back in the mid-eighties was “San Jose is growing up.” And I remember “San Jose is throwing up” would always go through my mind because there was nothing happening. It was so devoid of life in a lot of ways, at least it seemed like it at the time.

And the things that would start up, the cool kinds of places, they would disappear so quickly. Where was the culture? Only New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles? We wanted a place kind of like where Warhol and his friends would have hung out back in the 70’s, where people talked about everything from politics and religion to street art. And that’s the whole reason we started the gallery. In the beginning it was just wanting to get together with other like-minded people.

CHERRI: It was during the dotcom boom. There was a vibe down here; startups all the time, crazy creative people with two guys sleeping under a desk. We really thrived off that.

CONTENT: How do you think the scene here in San Jose differs from that of LA and SF? BRIAN: For someone here to get attention on any level they really have to work a lot harder and we think that just makes for stronger artists. But at the same time, what’s happening in San Jose, especially in the past, was that artists would get to a certain age and they would leave, they would move to another city. So right when you got artists to a place where they could start creating here, they were taking off because they didn’t see being able to survive in San Jose doing their art.

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CHERRI: It becomes a portal. The city and the artist invests so much into going to school here or trying for awhile. San Francisco is 45 minutes away.

You can live really cheap and there are hundreds

of galleries to plug into right away in terms of an art scene. And LA is not that far either, so every city has to say, what are we doing to really support them so they can live and work here? When we started 10 years ago, nobody was talking about artists. It was all about the tech industry, biogenetics, all this crazy stuff, and we would stand up at the end of a meeting and just go, “what about artists?” And they would sort of look at us like they had no idea what we were talking about. It was a real battle and we tried to find a bridge where we could work with artists, but also be a city liaison too because if you know anything about the digital culture and what’s coming, these are the bright minds that are starting these companies or being hired, mainly because these companies need musicians, and artists and poets. They can teach anybody the rules of accounting, manufacturing rules, but who’s going to think of the next big thing? Who’s gonna say, well why can’t we do this? They start with a blank canvas and they create something no one has ever seen before. And that’s who the companies want. So there’s this thing going on where the MFA is the new MBA. We need to cultivate that if we want tech companies to stay here too. They need to have a creative pool to hire from. But we need artists that live and work and thrive being artists. Hopefully there is some harmony there and some opportunities.

CONTENT: Can you tell us about the Phantom galleries, what you’ve done with that, and how it’s a part of the San Jose Downtown project?

BRIAN: With the dotcom crash, we would be walking around downtown and the biggest thing that was standing out was people just walking the streets staring at the ground past empty businesses and dying restaurants. On the weekends, it was literally a ghost town. We put in the phantom galleries by arguing that the empty storefronts were public space. At first it wasn’t seen that way, but at the end we finally got the project in there and it’s one of only two projects since 2001 that is still running.

CHERRI: At our peak we had 15 spaces going. It was insane! Our contract was to do a dozen installations over the year and we ended up showing 150 artists the first year. And we went back with a binder and said, we have this many artists wanting to show. We’re in our 8th year now.

BRIAN: It was about artists being part of economic progress in a city. That entire area is rented out now.

CONTENT: Do you have any advice for upcoming artists that are trying to break through?

BRIAN: I’ll use David Choe as an example. He did a show in Los Angeles at an ice cream parlor and the next time we saw his work in San Jose, it was

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in a hair salon. He wasn’t afraid to do it and there was nothing really beneath him in the beginning. It was just about getting his work out there. And there are a lot of artists that start out where they’re already too good for places. It’s just about doing the work and being open to possibilities and not slamming the door on an opportunity because it could be a bigger deal than you imagined.

CONTENT: How about you, Cherri? Advice for the upcoming artist?

CHERRI: The most successful artists we’ve seen do their art every day because it’s who they are. There are artists, where it’s a hobby, it’s fun, it’s a relaxing thing for them, and that’s great. So put that into context too. But typically the artists who are like, there is no plan B, this is it, this is what keeps them sane and they do their work with or without anyone noticing.

BRIAN: Artists have to understand the gallery. If you’re a punk band, you don’t go to the opera house and ask for a gig.

CHERRI: And then be upset when you don’t get it.

CONTENT: What would you both like to see happen in San Jose in the future, specifically in the art scene?

CHERRI: Fifty more galleries, first of all.

BRIAN: More of an art buying culture. People would be really surprised about the kind of art that comes through San Jose. Besides having amazing local art, there is amazing international art being exhibited here. With all the wealth that’s in the Bay Area, it’s not romantic in their minds right now to buy their art in San Jose, so they think, I’ll just go to New York and buy this or that artist. There are artists being exhibited and blowing up in Europe and New York that have come through here.

CHERRI: More of an appreciation of the culture that thrives here.

San Jose has a history of a more institutional and academic art scene. I think we are the only non-profit gallery downtown right now. But there are people doing amazing things in their basements and garages and down the street. San Jose has the same sort of habit of trying to bring artists in from fairs and stuff from outside, but I know a guy two blocks away that blows those artists away. So why are we not giving them more opportunities?

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And it’s not San Jose’s fault, it’s a matter of people realizing it, being a part of the culture, and giving them opportunities. That’s sort of what we try to do with the street market and with Subzero. Let’s bring them out and bring them topside. We tend to gravitate to subculture and people under the radar. You know, a lot of them want to be there, they like flying under that radar.

BRIAN: It’s because mainstream doesn’t need anyone’s help. It’s already been embraced. And where’s the fun in that?

CHERRI: It’s fun for all of us in the underbelly to come up topside and get together and have one big party. It’s cool, because the mainstream comes and they feel safe. They are shocked a lot of times, especially when the artists are saying they’re from San Jose!

CONTENT: What is sacred for you about Anno Domini? What sets it apart?

CHERRI: Anno Domini is family. I grew up as an outcast, without friends, in a very small town in the Midwest and I never fit in. So when I found Brian, to find someone who is definitely my other half, that’s one huge life-changing thing. But then together, to create a place where we asked, where are the musicians and where are the poets, where are those people that we can debate with about all these amazing things? And then to suddenly have them in this box. Cause really that’s all Anno Domini is. It’s just a box. It’s just walls, a floor, and a roof. And to feel like you’ve found your people, your like-mindedness, you’ve found friends…the real definition of friends. People that step up every single time in the most amazing way. Consistently.

That, for me, is the most sacred part of it. It’s interesting that you use the word “sacred” because we had a girl here and she was telling me how much she loved Anno Domini and I realized how much her eyes were starting to well up and starting to cry. She said Anno Domini was her church, where she gets her inspiration to keep doing that nineto-five thing everyday, day after day. It’s amazing.

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BRIAN: To us, it is a sacred space. It’s this place where ideas are born. We curate the artists, we don’t curate their work. A lot of places you go into, especially bigger institutions, they want to tell you why something is art and to us, the question is more important. If you come to it like you have all the answers, you’ll never get anything out of it. But we try to walk in here as if we don’t have the answers and keep looking at everything as if it were new.

CONTENT: How would you describe the artwork you feature?

BRIAN: We refer to it as urban contemporary, and that’s about as tight as we want to get. The idea is that it’s by someone who lives in a big city, who really lives in it. And that comes through their music or poetry, or the art that’s there.

CHERRI: Artists will sometimes say to us, I can be this or that. We just want you to be you. And whether or not it fits with us is fine, but that’s the only criteria. We give a lot of debut solos and it’s not smart business to give an artist their first solo show. But our thing is, we knew a long time ago that we were in this for moving the culture forward and for art history. We know that someday, somebody is going to look at our history and say, something happened here, something came out of here.

BRIAN: That’s more important than how much money is in our bank accounts.

CHERRI: We know there are still a lot of artists out there that don’t know about us and we don’t know about them, but we would love to! The biggest thing we always say about Anno Domini is the inspiration part. A lot of times, we bring art here because we want people to realize what’s going on in the world. If you come in and say, “I could do that,” great! Do it! The best thing we hear is when a kid says, “I’d love to stay, but I really want to go home and paint.” Cool, we have done our job for the night, you know? That’s it!

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IMPRINTS Written by Caitlin Robinett Photography by Daniel Gies Layout by Jessy Dewi

We are all imprinted, in one way or another, by our ancestors. Their stories color our upbringing; shadows of their experiences linger in our souls.

Whether we acknowledge the way we are affected or not, the imprints from our family exist. One local artist, Leah Jachimowicz, transfers those experiences to paper.

Leah was born and raised in San Jose. She is a third generation Holocaust survivor. From her earliest years of awareness, she knew her family history was different. Beyond Jewish traditions and Hebrew school, Leah’s upbringing also includes stories of heartache and loss.

While her grandfather Nathan chose not to share much about his time at the death camp Dachau, her grandmother Esther was more open to sharing about her own experiences at another camp, Stuthof. Those stories have driven Leah in her most important artistic endeavor.

Leah has been an artist from birth but she didn’t discover printmaking until she took a two-dimensional art class during her undergraduate years at University of California at Santa Barbara. She knew right away that it was the proper medium of expression for her.

At the Academy of Art in San Francisco, Leah knew she wanted to incorporate her grandparents, and their experiences, into her thesis project. It started with a shadow box where Leah placed buttons, thread, and safety pins that looked like they had been dug up from the ground. Papa Nathan was a tailor, and some of Leah’s earliest memories were of digging her hands into boxes of buttons in his shop. She thought of the mending as something of a rebirth. But just as these were the tools he used to mend his past and create his future, they were also his tools of survival at the Concentration Camp.

Grandmother Esther once said, “Well, we worked. It’s what we did. Our other choice was death.”

From there the project happened organically. Leah used mixed media, and collagraph plates to transfer the themes reoccurring in the stories from her grandmother. Feeling like the immensity of the Holocaust was not being adequately expressed in her work, she decided to make prints as large as the press would allow. Grandmother Esther’s words seem to echo in Leah’s prints, 24

although they are somewhat removed from her experiences. This reflects perfectly the way Leah feels: connected to the memories, but far removed. She is a third generation survivor, transferring the ink, further away from the original but with a real result.

Leah has created huge prints of iconic images from the past. The iron gates of Dachau with the German words “Arbeit Macht Fret” or “Work Will Set You Free” reoccur in her prints. She also frequently used images of the blue and white striped work uniforms because of stories her grandmother shared.

In 1939 Esther was living in Lodz, Germany when Nazi troops entered her neighborhood and closed it down, cutting off its occupants from the rest of the world. Her mother and younger sister were taken to Auschwitz and presumably gassed. Her father, Dov, was taken to Dachau. Esther and her little sister, Hinda, were sent to Stutof Death Camp. They were stripped of their entire identities, of everything they owned, and were given a number and a blue and white-striped uniform.

Hinda told Esther, “We will not live. We will not see the end of the war.”

Esther said, “Yes, we will.”

“Well, maybe you will,” she replied, “but I won’t.”

One cold morning during roll call, wearing nothing but her blue-striped dress, Hinda froze to death. Esther was forced to carry her sister’s body to a ditch and dump it among the tangle of other lifeless bodies.

“I kept her close to me. But I guess I couldn’t hold on to her anymore. She fell down in the snow.”

Leah hopes to continue to honor her grandparents’ will to survive as well as express their profound sense of loss. She dreams of showing her work one day at the Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington D.C. Her grandfather’s tools, grandmother’s words, and the image of a uniform are worthy of expression. But the imprint they have had on her family is sacred.

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THE

SACRED VIRGIN Written by Shadd Williams Photography by Krystal Avedisian Layout by Jessy Dewi

ONE NIGHT, I HEARD A COMEDIAN say, “I was raised in a very Catholic family so I was taught that sex is dirty and filthy and vile…and something you save for the person you marry.”

Sex is a mystery from one human to the next. It is necessary. It is our method of survival as a species. It is much more than that. It is often much less. It is a simple act with many complex variations, implications and interpretations.

Sex is a ritual. It is a religion for some. It is a sacred act. Even more sacred is the one who has yet to commit the act: the virgin. Part of religious tradition and ritual since the beginning of recorded civilization, the virgin holds a singular, and yes, sacred place in almost every culture and society past and present.

Virginity is a punch line. It’s a hallowed status. It’s an embarrassment. It’s a promise ring. It’s a sign of youth and inexperience. It’s a sign of virtue and of wisdom.

Two stories, Three virgins I knew a girl who grew up in a very religious setting. Her family’s idea of sex was not unlike that of the comedian’s. It was, if possible, an even more repressive environment; as repressed as I’ve ever personally come in contact with. It was the kind of Bible-thumping, Focus on the Family-loving, completely missing the forest for the trees kind of home you’ll find at church on any given Sunday here in religious America. It was the kind of home where the children were sent to the other room if there was a kissing scene on the television. Any kind of passion or mention of sexual contact was only in the context of the worst sin known to God, the kind that will eternally separate you from your soul. If you or anyone you know has touched your genitals, you are endanger of the fires of hell. That kind of house.

Back to the girl. She was on to their delusions early.

She knew how to play the part and she saw their religion as a crutch at best, at worst, an opiate, and most definitely, full of shit. A meaningless exercise.

An empty ritual.

And she knew she wanted something else.

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She decided that she would give herself to someone before she was married. It was a choice on her part, before there was an object of her affection to whom she could give it. She knew it was a sacred thing to give. She thought that maybe it was magic.

Maybe it would take her to something real, give her a taste of a real heaven, not just something people create in their minds to get through the hell they’re living.

And one day she met somebody. She fell in love.

She knew he would be the one she would give everything. She had visions of marriage and dreams of a life together.

One day, they were on a hike. They stopped to rest.

It was a hot day. There were flies and mosquitoes everywhere, buzzing close to their damp skin. A kiss led to something more. And more. She took off her shirt and unzipped his pants. There was little to no chance anyone would happen by. They hadn’t seen anyone on the hill that day.

More clothes. She tried to take off his belt while thrashing at flies in her face. He leaned into her on the dirt and wild grass. He pushed himself into her as gently as he could given the hard ground and rotten conditions. She thought they were just making out. She thought it was just the dry hump they’d gotten used to. And then it felt different. She knew they were going further and deeper. And before she knew it she was crying and he was inside her and he was done and she was crying and he said what’s wrong and she said I’m fine and he held her tenderly and she was crying and crying…

And she was mad. Not at him. Ironically, it had nothing to do with him. She was mad because even

though she chose it, it happened to her. She didn’t, in that moment, even have the chance, with the flies and the rocky ground and the dirt in her sweat, to choose it and be present and to know it and to want it. And it was gone. It was over and done.

And she cried.

I knew a couple once who were high school sweethearts. They waited until their wedding night. Five years of dating and somehow, miraculously, they narrowly escaped what most people don’t. They both entered their wedding day as virgins. In fact, they remained virgins all day. Arriving at their honeymoon suite late that evening after the wedding banquet, they were passionate enough to try but tired enough to fail. They had decided beforehand to lower their expectations for their first time. They knew they didn’t know what they were doing. They knew they had a lifetime. They knew they would be tired and there would be pressure and maybe a little too much alcohol in their systems.

And so they went to sleep.

The sleep didn’t last long. Long enough to give them the strength and the confidence to try again.

They were both determined to learn from their mistakes the previous night. And to apply all the bits of data and unsolicited tips they had acquired over the weeks and months leading up to their nuptials.

They took their time. They talked through it, each step, each movement, each touch, each breath.

He lowered himself onto her. She took him in her hands and took her time. And then he was inside of her. And he looked into her eyes. And she looked into his eyes. And they cried. And it was over quick.

And it was uncomfortable for her. Uncomfortable but intimate, she said. And they cried because of the relief. Because of the release. Not the physical release but the waiting and the time and the pain and the waiting and the desire and the passion and the waiting. It was over. The weight was lifted. He cried because they made it. She cried because she felt so close to him.

Tears from the girl on the hike because it wasn’t what it was meant to be. Tears from the boy and girl on their first morning together because it was exactly what they meant it to be.

They cried because it mattered.

We create our own realities. We believe what we want to believe. But there are some things that we can’t change. These things change us. They shape us. They create us. These are our sacred things. And we cry for them because they matter.

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knit With each new year, we experience both a sense of renewal and a reflection on things past. Our winter fashion editorial illuminates past traditions and trades that still feel very current, taking the form of knitwear. With the help of our friends at The Very Knit Shop, we invite you to slow down and gaze at their hand-crafted knitwear for inspiration. Let us be reminded that sometimes handmade things are not only one of a kind, but they also have a certain glow about them.

Model: Natasha (Halverson Models) Styling: Adrea Cabrera Makeup: Danielle Randleman Photography: Daniel Garcia The Very Knit Shop 24 N. Santa Cruz Avenue, Los Gatos

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Light pink ribbed knit neck and arm scarf

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Mustard yellow scarf with ruffled edges Cashmere arm warmers

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Multi colored LongTrench Knit Sweater/Jacket

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Teal Knit colored scarf

Perriwinkle blue knit dress with wide turtleneck and pom poms

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Teal knit button down sweater blouse with pom poms

White hoodless knit poncho with button details

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MAVERICK Changing the World One Film At A Time Story by Jon Havens Photography by Daniel Garcia Layout by Brian Jensen

Pulling up in front of the Cinequest offices in downtown San Jose, one wouldn’t know that inside are the brains and vision of one of the world’s leading film festivals.

Only last year’s poster on the glass doors allude to the fact that inside contacts were made with Sir Ben Kingsley, Kevin Spacey, Sir Ian McKellen, Minnie Driver, Spike Lee, and many others, all recipients of the Maverick Spirit Award. The bare walls don’t tell a visitor that last year over 80,000 people spent 12 days watching films representing over 44 countries and nearly 600 artists in downtown San Jose. It is only after a conversation with Cinequest co-founder and director Halfdan Hussey that you would realize the magnitude and impact that Cinequest has on the film industry.

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In 1990, after studying at NYU, filmmaker Halfdan Hussey moved from New York to San Jose. He and fellow filmmaker Kathleen Powell had just finished running through a circuit of film festivals (including a premiere at Venice film festival) screening their independent film, “He’s Still There.” The film was received well by critics and audiences alike. As a 23-year old filmmaker, Hussey was astounded by the warmth and generosity that they received from their film. “Seeing people from all walks of life, gathering around this convergence point called film,” Hussey says, “that’s what inspired us to cre-

ate Cinequest because we wanted to give back what we had been given.” It was here in San Jose that Hussey and fellow filmmakers and entrepreneurs premiered the Cinequest film festival to roughly 3,000 people. With all 60 films shown in the Camera 3 theater over a four-day period many people thought that Silicon Valley did not have enough of a cultural base to drive a film festival.

“We found that it was hard at first,” states Hussey, “but we had very loyal followers, and through the years built up a magnificent audience; and then began to find our real position around innovation.”

One of the greatest advantages to holding a film festival in San Jose was that they were at the epicenter of much of the cutting edge of technology. “We were able to lead the revolution in digital filmmaking in the 1990s,” Hussey says. “We knew about the technologies before they became popular.” Cinequest brought these new technologies to filmmakers and were instrumental in the “democratization of filmmaking.” This is where Cinequest truly began to succeed. In 2004, Cinequest launched a distribution division and has helped find new ways to distribute outside of the Hollywood system.

The word heard most often around Cinequest is Maverick. The idea of Maverick is derived from a cattle ranch

in the 1800’s named Samuel L. Maverick, the only rancher in his area that refused to brand his cattle, allowing them to roam free. For Cinequest, a Maverick is someone who stands above the crowd. “Cinequest is about empowering the Maverick,” Hussey continues, “people who do things from the heart, that step outside of a business plan and the norm and marketing plans to do something highly creative and original and really drive towards something that is going to change the world, be it in technology or the arts.”

Hussey believes that to be a filmmaker, your location no longer matters. “A decade ago if you wanted to be a filmmaker you lived in Los Angeles or New York. That was it.

And there were a few people working in San Francisco.

It’s a virtual world now. There are filmmakers living everywhere, every place in the country.” This is evidenced by the fact that several of the films premiering at Cinequest are from the film department at San Jose State. “I see San Jose as a place that has really developed over the last 20 years, the level of film artistry is much stronger, by leaps and bounds.”

Cinequest is not only receiving recognition around the world but here in San Jose as well. “It’s truly a community here,” Hussey says. “It became part of the identity of the residents.” Hussey believes that San Jose can hold its place amongst the cities known to have more of an artistic flare. “I have always preferred San Jose. It has a little bit more of a working-town energy but it is the capital of the Silicon Valley. When people look back on this location in terms of art and innovation, this is the Greece and the Rome of our day. We have a really spectacular city here. It’s a beautiful place.”

As for this year’s festival, Cinequest knows where it stands. “We are at 20,” Hussey says. “We’re not looking back, we’re looking forward. Where are we today in cinema? What are the issues and how can we make that better next year because that’s what our role has been.”

A 13th day has been added to the festival to truly celebrate all of the Cinequest films. No longer does the festival take place in one theater. Cinequest will premiere movies at the Camera 12 theater and at the beautiful California theater as well. All locations are downtown and within a few blocks of each other. As for who the Maverick Spirit Award will be given to this year, we will have to wait and see.

This February, for their 20th anniversary, Cinequest will return to its roots for its theme: Maverick. “It’s about discovery, discovering the new and emerging maverick.”

Hussey says. Hussey believes that doing art can change people’s lives. He believes that the purpose of Cinequest is to give back: to give back to the community of artists and viewers who have supported and given to film over the years. Cinequest has stood by this for 20 years now.

We can only hope for the same in the next 20.

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San Jose native Jacob Blaze offers a compelling look at redemption, utilizing easily overlooked materials to create beauty. Found items and everyday objects play a part in almost every one of his pieces, sometimes embedded in the work—he’s used pieces of scrap wood as canvases—other times leaving imperfect impressions. It’s this imperfection that Blaze finds attractive. “I’m a big fan of grace,” he says.

“I love the idea of giving life and purpose to things that are ordinary and broken.” These found objects aren’t the only focus of his work. They get caught up in larger stories, replete with printed imagery and bold colors and patterns. Blaze currently lives and works in Nashville, Tennessee.

Jacob Blaze’s paintings can be viewed at www.jacobblaze.com And can be contacted at jacobblaze@gmail.com

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