Los Gatos Weekly-Times

Photograph by George Sakkestad

Los Gatos artist Eric Hoffman is participating in the Santa Clara County Fair's first ever Art of Digital Technology exhibit.

Old-time fair plants one foot in the present

By Shari Kaplan

The slogan of this year's Santa Clara County Fair--which runs July 31 through Aug. 9--is "Hayrides and Hard Drives," a reflection of the agricultural past and high-tech present of the Santa Clara Valley. It's also fitting that people participating in the fair are exhibiting a combination of the traditional and modern.

Los Gatan Eric Hoffman is one of more than 40 participants in the fair's first-ever Art of Digital Technology exhibition, which showcases creative digital art, interactive programs and other state-of-the-art features.

A professional painter for more than 20 years, Hoffman got into digital imagery about three years ago. Using a computer and scanner to embellish his art--and sometimes create it from scratch--he has broadened his artistic horizons, he says.

"It's not just the lonely-artist-in-the-garret scenario anymore. All of this has made me a lot more multidimensional. It's not just painting anymore," Hoffman explains.

"Essentially I'm making paintings on the computer. I use it partially as an image-making tool and partially as my sketchpad. A painting is like a puzzle, and sometimes it's easier to figure it out on the computer," he says, adding that when making art digitally he can "undo" mistakes with a simple keystroke. There's also no waiting for paint to dry.

Hoffman is an instructor at the San Jose Museum of Art School and the Community School of Music and Arts in Mountain View. He's included some of his students' projects in the Art of Digital Technology, including three QuickTime digital movies that blend students' art, creative writing and music. He's also exhibiting images based on his original watercolors that he scanned and altered using Adobe PhotoShop.

Debi Cormier and her three children, who live in the Santa Cruz Mountains, expend their talents on more down-to-earth topics. Debi, who enjoys sewing and handicrafts, entered the Home Arts category with handmade dolls, quilts and costumes.

Twenty-year-old Crystal entered a wreath, a miniature chair made of cinnamon sticks and painted T-shirts. Five-year-old Ruth is showing her rabbit, Wilbert. She's also displaying several 4-H Club projects: nest, feather and seashell collections and a seed poster.

"We just thought it'd be fun to enter a lot of things and see them at the fair," Debi says.

On Aug. 4, Debi's 18-year-old son Josh competes in a gymkhana event with his quarterhorse PressClub's Legend. Gymkhana, Josh explains, is a collection of fast-paced events done on horseback, including barrel-racing and maneuvering around other obstacles such as poles and stakes.

"It's all about the skill of your working together with your horse. My horse likes to run; she doesn't like to just stand around and look pretty," adds Josh, a 4-H Club member and gymkhana student for about a year. In the future, he says he wouldn't mind trying the rodeo circuit.

The 53rd annual Santa Clara County Fair takes place at the county fairgrounds on Tully Road in San Jose. Highlights include the play area of KidZone; rock climbing, obstacle courses and virtual reality pods of ExtremeZone; a laser light show; a microbrew festival; live performances of School House Rock; "modem-calling" and Bill Gates look-alike contests; a demolition derby; Sprint Car races; a Wild West show; exhibitions of arts, crafts and livestock; and free concerts.

For hours and admission prices, call 494-3100 or visit the Fair's Web site at www.thefair.org.

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