6 LIFESTYLE
SANTA ANA COLLEGE el Don/eldonnews.org • MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2015
SAC JEWELRY
Fine Art
The jewelry program has been reinstated seven years after it was cut.
“Throughout my jewelry instructing career, I have had students go off
to work for companies like Michael
Kors, Tacori, 1998 Jewelry, Tiffany &
Co., and the list goes on,” Program
Coordinator Jennifer Monroe said.
The jewelry classes are offered in
three levels and meet Tuesday and
Thursday nights. Classes transfer to
all CSUs and count toward the SAC
certificate program. Students establish a skill set that can help them enter the industry, Monroe said.
“I retired after working in the lapidary business. I’m self-taught and
taking this class to learn more about
jewelry-making,” said jewelry student Robert Hanson. “Right now
we’re working with copper. I’ve never done that before.”
Just a Few of Our Favorites, a SAC
Art Department jewelry exhibit, will
show the work of alumni John Klima
and Cynthia Deaton in the Main Art
Gallery, along with works of other
alumni, from Sept. 17 to Nov. 5.
Five-piece jewelry collections created by advanced students during
this semester will be on sale at another art exhibit taking place after
Thanksgiving. / MEGHAN KLIEWER
SELF-MADE / Wonton Soup performs on a makeshift outdoor stage at Top Acid in Downtown Santa Ana.
CHUP FEST/ STORY AND PHOTOS BY ITZEL QUINTANA
LIVE SHOW ROCKS DOWNTOWN
A
round the dimly lit interior of the DIY venue Top Acid, two
punk kids gazed at the art on the wall from the Fight Like a
Girl! exhibit the day before.
Jesse came dressed in his best punk attire with a perfectly
spiked Mohawk and a denim jacket adorned with band patches.
His friend Kevin wore an Iron Maiden long sleeve with ear buds
dangling out of the collar.
Jesse and Kevin are two high schoolers who broke into the Top Acid scene
Sept. 6 with Chup Fest, the all-ages event
featuring about 18 bands and artists from
the southwest.
“My friends keep telling me to dance
but I don’t really know what to do in [the
pit],” said Kevin, the younger of the two.
Cheezedow, a three-man band from
Santa Ana was on. They played on an
outdoor stage, facing the back alley,
which served as the second stage.
I arrived three acts late because I
couldn’t find the venue. Top Acid moved
around a bit, spanning three different
locations since its inception, making the
trek to find the space a quirky tradition
unique to Top Acid.
Cheezedow members distinguished
themselves by wearing white masks
stained with faux blood.
Whimsical and interactive, the band’s
songs were written almost entirely in
Spanish. At one point some kids jumped
on top of their friends’ backs and started to push people around in a sea of
bodies, reminiscent of a game of chicken
fight. Balloons and confetti were thrown
around during the performance.
After Cheezedow’s set, the crowd migrated to the first stage.
About half a dozen pieces of equip-
ment malfunctioned during the bands’
sets. Microphone stands kept falling and
guitar strings would break, but the crowd
stepped in to help the band by picking
up mic stands, adding to the feeling of
interconnectedness at the festival.
It was exactly the atmosphere Chris
Gonzalez, the owner and man in charge
at Top Acid, wanted since day one.
“I like it when the band is right in front
of everyone because it’s more personal,”
Gonzalez said.
Top Acid originated as a vintage clothing store that would throw parties for
the monthly artwalk in Downtown Santa
Ana. Eventually, it evolved into the music
venue it is today.
The development of the venue has been
a maturing process for Gonzalez.
As bands like Stumped and Wonton
Soup played with skate-rock sets at the
outdoor stage, Gonzalez would look in
at the madness from the alley while not
busy on door duty.
“Top Acid used to be this place where
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