December 3, 2004

NEWS BRIEFS

Free holiday eating advice available to customers

Need help maintaining your weight during the holidays? Albertsons, Inc. is encouraging consumers to take advantage of its Healthy Eating program—a service that provides free access to a local registered dietician.

Between Halloween and New Year’s Day, experts estimate that the average weight gain for a typical American ranges anywhere between five and 15 pounds—with most of the weight gain occurring during the six weeks between Thanksgiving and New Year’s.

Consumers can get advice on a wide variety of topics—not just holiday eating. Eileen Peterson, Albertsons’ Northern California-based registered dietician, can answer questions about nutrition, smart eating, healthy recipes, weight control, general nutrition analysis, smart grocery shopping, health and nutrition trends, gender/age-specific nutrition advice and menu recommendations.

The Albertsons Healthy Eating program is the largest dietician program offered in the United States by any food or drug retailer.

Contact Peterson via e-mail at Eileen.Peterson@albertsons.com or toll toll-free at (888) SHOP-ALB.

Saturday, Dec. 11

Grace Lutheran Church’s Annual Craft Fair

Don’t miss the annual Holiday Craft Fair at Grace Lutheran Church on Saturday, Dec. 11, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. to ease those last minute, holiday shopping blues. Peruse a variety of crafts and baked goods available for sale, and to occupy the kids while you shop, there will also be a Children’s Corner.

Grace Lutheran Church is located at 2650 Aborn Rd., San Jose, 95121 at Kettmann (across from the Evergreen Branch Library). Space is still available for interested vendors. For more information or to rent a table, call the church at (408) 274-1200.

Cesar Chavez Festival grants service learning credits

The 2005 Cesar E. Chavez March & Festival, to be held next spring in celebration of the life and work of Cesar E. Chavez, provides service learning opportunity hours for high school and college volunteers who need such credit.

The education outreach committee of the festival will provide presentations to schools about the life and work of Cesar Chavez by members of the Chavez family. It will also provide institutions with curriculum about Cesar Chavez.

Festival organizers would like to use the knowledge, skills and abilities of local high school and college students as volunteers in various capacities for the 2005 March & Festival. They also encourage school districts and universities to create and sponsor a Writing, Art and Essay contest related to the annual theme celebrating the life and work of Cesar Chavez.

“While the actual event is months away, we need to know as soon as possible how many students and educational institutions wish to take advantage of this great opportunity,” said Craig Mann, education outreach co-coordinator.

“We expect a high interest level and will accommodate as many interested students and institutions as practical on a first-come, first-serve basis,” he added.

If you are a student or educator, please contact Mann by Dec. 17 to indicate your interest level. He can be reached by phone (408) 270-6988 or e-mail at cmann4896@aol.com.

San Jose remains ‘safest big city in America’

Annual study keeps San Jose in top spot
San Jose continues to be rated the safest big city in America for the 32 cities with populations greater than 500,000, according to findings based on 2003 FBI crime statistics and released recently by Morgan Quitno Press.

“Protecting the people of San Jose is one of my highest priorities, and I am very proud that San Jose remains the nation’s safest big city year after year,” said Mayor Ron Gonzales.

“Keeping our residents and neighborhoods safe is the result of our continuing investments in an excellent, well-trained and well-equipped police force, a strong commitment to crime prevention and an effective partnership with all the people in our community to focus on solutions that protect public safety.”

This year Fort Worth, Texas, and Louisville, Ky., entered the top-10 list, and Seattle, Washington and Portland, Ore., fell off. San Francisco moved from seventh to ninth, and San Diego slipped from fifth to seventh.

The Morgan Quitno Safest City Award is based on a city’s rate for six basic crime categories: murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary and motor vehicle theft. All cities of 75,000+ populations that reported crime data to the FBI for the six crime categories were included in the rankings.

Each of the six crimes was given equal weight. Final 2003 FBI statistics were used in determining the rankings. Explanation of methodology and full details at www.morganquitno.com/safecity.htm.

Additional information regarding the rankings for each of the 354 cities and 320 metropolitan areas considered for the Safest City Awards are available from Morgan Quitno Press at www.morganquitno.com, or by calling (785) 841-3534.

2004 Top Ten Safest Big Cities
(500,000 or More Population)
1. San Jose, Calif.
2. El Paso, Texas
3. Honolulu, Hawaii
4. Austin, Texas
5. New York, N.Y.
6. Louisville, Ky.
7. San Diego, Calif.
8. San Antonio, Texas
9. San Francisco, Calif.
10. Fort Worth, Texas

2004 Most Dangerous Big Cities
(500,000 or More Population)
1. Detroit, Mich.
2. Washington, D.C.
3. Baltimore, Md.
4. Memphis, Tenn.
5. Dallas, Texas
6. Philadelphia, Pa.
7. Columbus, Ohio
8. Nashville, Tenn.
9. Houston, Texas
10. Phoenix, Ariz.

Source: Morgan Quitno Press, based on 2003 FBI Crime Index

Evergreen’s hidden jewels

EVC’s Holiday Jewelry Show Dec. 8-9
showcases students’ work

For years, the Jewelry Certificate Program at Evergreen Valley College has been one of the area’s best-kept secrets.

Deep in the heart of the EVC campus, a few dedicated students quietly explore their art and create outstanding jewelry.

Although the work produced is worthy of display in galleries around the country, with tight school budgets, the students and faculty of the Jewelry Arts program find creative ways to supplement their funding for equipment and supplies.

Deep in the heart of the EVC campus, a few dedicated students quietly explore their art and create outstanding jewelry.

Income from an annual Holiday Jewelry Show and Sale is a mainstay of support for the Jewelry and Sculpture programs. All students and staff members in the program will have at least one piece of their work on display at the show.

Professors Walter Soellner and Amy Bailey teach their students to interpret the principles of design in ways that communicate their own unique style and vision, so you’ll find a tremendous variety of pieces on display and for sale.

There will be art jewelry in both silver and gold, many with precious and semi-precious stones. Among the techniques represented will be lost-wax casting, enameling, chasing and repousse, handmade beads and dichroic glass, etching, engraving, lapidary work and gemstone carving.

There will also be work by graduates who run their own successful studios but continue to hone their skills through independent study projects at EVC.

New EVC library houses this year’s jewelry show
In the past, the sale was held in the program’s lab, and visited mainly by EVC students, staff and a few savvy locals.

This year, however, the sale will be expanded and held in the community room of the new Library and Educational Technologies Center.

It will provide an opportunity for the community to see the spectacular new building with its cathedral-like woodwork arches and state-of-the-art learning facilities. You’ll be invited to tour the library and enjoy the paintings and sculpture housed there. The new building has already won a statewide Professional Design Award and will soon be featured in national magazines for its architectural brilliance.

The Jewelry Show and Sale will be held from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 8 and from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 9. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to benefit the Jewelry and Sculpture programs at EVC.

Don’t miss unique holiday gifts for every budget, free gift-wrapping, complimentary refreshments and live Celtic harp music.

Free parking will be available next to the library. Enter the Evergreen Valley College campus from Paseo de Arboles off San Felipe Road and follow the signs. For more information, call 274-7900 x 6610.

Dec. 8 – 9
Meet local jewelry artists at new EVC library

The EVC Jewelry Show and Sale provides an opportunity for community members to meet and talk with local artists and experience or own fresh new works from emerging artists and first-time participants.

Geri Comstock
One such artist is Geri Comstock, owner of Comstock Art Glass, whose award-winning fused glass creations are exhibited in numerous galleries including the Oxnard Museum of Art, the Seymour Gallery of Vancouver and the gift shop at Frank Lloyd Wright’s Ennis-Brown House.

Kathleen Wade
Kathleen Wade, a veteran jeweler of nine years, also exhibits nationally. She creates both cast and fabricated pieces, often influenced by ethnic designs, and enjoys working with tribal and antique beads from Africa, Asia and North America.

Eloise Martindale
Eloise Martindale’s creations in silver are characterized by their unique torch-melted textures, playfully sprinkled with the sparkle of topaz and sapphire, or the mellow glow of moonstones. She also incorporates natural elements such as leaves by impressing their shapes into the metal with a rolling mill.

“I call my texturing process ‘Playing with Fire,’ said Martindale. “The free forms of the finished pieces express both tranquility and delight.”

Martina Roethig
The simple elegance of Martina Roethig’s abstract and geometric designs in precious metals projects an aura of harmony and sophistication. Martina often creates a design around a particular stone, emphasizing its unique color, texture or pattern.

Hung Diep
Hung Diep studied the metal smithing techniques of chasing and repousse with a master in Vietnam. He has continued to refine his art over the past seven years in the United States and has become an expert enamelist as well.

Gloria Bumb
Gloria Bumb has specialized in enameling for the past five of her 30-year jewelry-making career, and helps fellow students master the complicated techniques. Her works have been shown at numerous galleries including San Francisco’s Velvet DaVinci.

Beverly Neilson
Exquisite three-dimensional stone carvings set in cast gold or sterling silver are Beverly Neilson’s forte. The graceful designs are carved from unusual semi-precious stones such as chalcedony, gem-quality sodalite, and sparkling gold-treated drusy (sparkling minute crystals).

Marge Regan
Marge Regan has 10 years of experience and specializes in making unique lampwork glass beads. Her wearable art also features sterling silver etched with geometric patterns and designs inspired by flora, set with semi-precious stones.

Nikki Wright
Nikki Wright showcases her lapidary work with unusual stones in unique sterling silver designs. Her lovely marbled glass Christmas ornaments make thoughtful gifts as well.

Dan and Laurie Isdell
The fascinating patterns of Celtic knotwork designs are recreated in Dan and Laurie Isdell’s sterling silver jewelry. Dan is also one of only a handful of artists in the country who is preserving the art of guilloche—the type of engraving that creates the beautiful starburst patterns seen in Faberge’s enameled works of art.

Laurie finds inspiration in ancient designs from the Bronze and Middle Ages and in natural forms such as snowflakes and plants.

“I love working with historical motifs from Europe and the British Isles,” said Laurie. “Creating jewelry with designs that my ancestors would have known gives me a sense of connection to a shared past and a meaning to the pieces that goes beyond mere ornamentation.”

Professor Amy Bailey
Professor Amy Bailey received her MFA from the California College of Art, where she teaches in the Extended Education Program.

Her work is exhibited nationally and includes series in silver and in enameled copper. She surprises the viewer by combining precious metals with unlikely objects such as feathers, or finishing silver so that it looks like paper.

Some of her inspirations come from the influences of nature on man-made objects and architecture and from other forms of expression such as calligraphy.

These are just a few examples of the talented artists who will be displaying and/or selling their creations at the Show.

Don’t miss this opportunity to find unique gifts or the perfect piece of jewelry to wear to holiday parties, while also helping to support the arts in our community.