David Silva 10/26/20 David Silva 10/26/20

Painting Party with Makers Paradise and Positive Links

Painting party with Makers Paradise and Positive Links at Siempre Verde Park in San Leandro, CA. Thanks to Colin Hurley for helping us make the day a great time for everyone. Positive Links is a program for people with intellectual disabilities in East Oakland, CA. It was a beautiful day and the consumers got a chance to enjoy some sun and create two fun art pieces.

David Silva 8/14/20 David Silva 8/14/20

Prairie Prince and Tom "Fee" Falletti Drumming at Makers Paradise

Prairie Prince and Tom "Fee" Falletti drumming to In A Gadda Da Vida at Makers Paradise. Two of the Bay Area's best drummers sharing the stage. Prairie had an art show that night and many musicians and bands such as Chuck Prophet, The Two Joes and MOAWK featuring Viv Savage from This is Spinal Tap showed up to support Makers Paradise and Prairie. This is a must see video.

From Facebook:

David Silva 7/17/20 David Silva 7/17/20

Workability Intern Gourd Project during Pandemic

Attached is a PowerPoint of the Workability Intern Gourd Project that was done during the pandemic. The interns were also enrolled in our director, Lawrence Silva’s COPED 450 class. The Workability interns did an excellent job participating and supporting the seniors remotely with TRENDS job coaches and College of Alameda IT Department supporting them. Lawrence Silva of Makers Paradise would personally like to acknowledge Shawn Foster, IT Department at COA for his help and support with technology and virtual communication. His support to our interns was vital to our success and Silva commends him on being available at all times and providing technical support with ZOOM and our project. Also, Silva would like to thank the Fab Lab staff and Dean McClanahan for supporting our internship projects and students throughout the year. Many of the interns were able to parlay their experiences into competitive employment.

Sadly, Jessica Veklerov who participated in the internship project and Workability, passed away shortly after our project completion. Her parents expressed how much she enjoyed working with the seniors and creating art with the group.

David Silva 7/17/20 David Silva 7/17/20

Reno Art Collective

The following is a detailed press release on the Reno Art Collective that we are collaborating with for the Reno Public Market: Press Release for Reno Art Collective

David Silva 7/14/20 David Silva 7/14/20

Makers Paradise Reno Art Collective Rendering

Here is a rendering of Makers Paradise's new art collective in Reno slated to open in August 2021. The Reno Public Market is a 34 million dollar venture and we are excited to be a part of this innovative project. We will have private art studios, community art classrooms and labs with larger studios for programs and organizations. We will also have a large gallery and outdoor patio area for events. Tom Franco and Lawrence Silva are working with the development team to create a wonderful hub for the arts and community. The Reno Public Market will also have a large stage for entertainment, brewery, pop up marketplace and a state of the art food hall. Also, plans include a television station streaming from the public market and unique retail stores and outlets. Here is the link to one of the latest news articles on our art collective: Makers Paradise Reno Art Collective

David Silva 7/7/20 David Silva 7/7/20

Art Collective Press Release

Recently, we were featured in an Art Collective Press Release in The Reno Gazette Journal which discusses some of our upcoming projects we have been working on.

Check it out here for more information: https://www.rgj.com/story/news/money/business/2020/06/30/reno-public-market-partners-makers-paradise-art-collective/5352427002/

David Silva 5/30/20 David Silva 5/30/20

Makers Paradise Online Marketplace Fundraiser

Dear Makers Paradise Community,

Due to the recent shelter-in-place and local and regional restrictions in place for the COVID-19 Pandemic, we've had to shut our gallery doors. We are moving to create an online marketplace platform in order to allow artists and makers to have a platform to sell and promote their creations. However, we need support from our communities around us in order to make this goal happen. If you can support us, we kindly ask for any donations. Any amount will help our cause of supporting our local artists and makers.

If able, please click the link to donate below.

Donate

Thank you for your support,

Makers Paradise Team

David Silva 5/6/20 David Silva 5/6/20

Update from the Director

Today, our director went to Makers Paradise Art Gallery. It had been a long time since our director had been there due to the pandemic. Our mascot Tobias "Tobi" Whiskers is keeping an eye on the place. Here are couple of nice pieces that our director wanted to share.

Lady Gaga-Collaboration by Tom Franco and Colin Hurley painted on a puzzle.

Open Your Mind by Brandon Harris.

Bob Marley-Colin Hurley

Succulent Art-Larry Silva and Colin Hurley

Blockhead-Gypsy (a homeless artist from Berkeley who collects and finds old toys to recycle and paint into his own superheros)

We really miss all the artists and events. The artists inspire us to be creative and the gallery is a place where people from everywhere can come together and work where everyone is respected and appreciated.

David Silva 4/15/20 David Silva 4/15/20

Original Art Created by Day Morrow, Artist with Ability Now and Makers Paradise

Here are photos of the front and the back of a tee shirt with original art created by Day Morrow, Artist with Ability Now (A program in Oakland, CA for individuals with intellectual disabilities) and Makers Paradise in Berkeley, CA. Day uses rock and roll bands, songs and themes to create his own designs and styles. He creates tee shirts, hand-sewn teddy bears and other pieces of art.

Here Day has depicted the members of Fleetwood Mac with what their dogs would look like. These tee shirts are machine washable and each one is unique and original with Day's designs. Day's work and other artist's work will soon be available online when Makers Paradise launches their business website later this month. Each artist will be profiled along with their biography and information on their backgrounds and inspirations.

Prairie Prince and Tom Franco's artwork will be showcased during the grand opening event. Go to https://makersparadise.org to join mailing list and receive updates by following the instructions that show up on the homepage.

David Silva 3/31/20 David Silva 3/31/20

A Letter from our Director about Makers Paradise Regarding the Recent COVID-19 Outbreak

To Makers Paradise Community,

March 29, 2020

Makers Paradise wishes our community safety and wellness during these turbulent times. Our commitment to the artists and makers within our program and community remains our mission. We will continue to provide support and assistance to all our members through the Coronavirus pandemic. During this time, for the health and safety of our team, artists, and customers we will remain closed until further notice. Although the gallery is closed until further notice, the team at Makers Paradise will continue operating remotely and develop our business website while exploring funding sources for the future.

I encourage all the artists and makers to be creative during these times; and to develop pieces utilizing your thoughts and feelings. Continue to explore and reflect on your styles and prototypes in order to keep your minds active and focused on your goals. Makers Paradise is available to discuss about your projects or assist with materials and/or marketing.

I would like to thank all the Makers Paradise community for their continued support. During the past year, we have promoted some great programs, shows, and events to a diverse population including seniors with dementia and individuals with all types of disabilities. Our shows and events have included a variety of poetry styles and musical genres. The programs have now been replicated in Alameda, Contra Costa, and San Francisco counties.

I wish everyone the best, and we will work hard to ensure Makers Paradise will continue to grow in the future. We have numerous projects that have been developed that are temporarily impacted by the virus. Thank you for your time and consideration and we will be sending out newsletters and updates to keep our community informed of our present status and progress.

Sincerely,

Lawrence F. Silva
Director

If you have any questions about this email or would like to contact our team regarding your projects and/or marketing or materials for your projects, please email us at support@makersparadise.org.