Featured Artists, Speakers, Musicians 

Julie Berry is a Utah-based artist who tells human stories through her art. Guided by her faith in God and love of travel, she approaches life with boundless curiosity and creativity. Using her signature mixed-media technique, Julie creates original mono-printed papers to form richly textured backgrounds and intricate details, then paints expressive faces, hands, and gestures in oil and acrylic. Her work seeks to reveal the personality of both the artist and the subject.

Julie holds a BFA from Brigham Young University and she has pursued advanced studies at the American Academy of Decorative Finishes in Scottsdale and The Day Studio in San Francisco, as well as workshops with William Whitaker, Jenedy Paige, and Juliette Belmonte. When she’s not creating, she enjoys time with her greatest masterpieces—her five children and nineteen grandchildren.

Her happy place is her studio, where imagination and joy take form on canvas. Through her art, Julie hopes to inspire delight, curiosity, and a spark of creativity in all who encounter her work.

Jorge Cocco Santángelo, age 89, is an award-winning Argentine artist whose original works are featured in museums and galleries across Argentina, France, Japan, Mexico, Spain, Uruguay, and the United States. A self-taught master, he has explored a wide range of media—including painting, sculpture, lithography, etching, and ceramics—though painting remains his deepest passion.

Throughout his distinguished career, Jorge has served as professor and head of the art department at the Universidad de las Américas in Mexico. He founded art schools, and authored art textbooks in his native Argentina.

In recent years, he has devoted himself to developing “sacrocubism,” an original style that portrays sacred themes through post-cubist abstraction. Internationally celebrated, Jorge continues to create and inspire from his studios in Argentina and the United States.

SPECIAL EVENTS 

Daily

Throughout the Exhibit – Demos by our 2025 Featured Artists Jorge Cocco or Julie Kay Berry

2:00-2:30 pm Christmas Stories for the Heart  (for adults)

Hear local storytellers share beloved classic and new Christmas tales from around the world.

4:30, 5:30, 6:30 pm Marionette Shows (for all ages)

Watch hand carved marionettes tell the joyful story of Jesus’ birth, and join a fun singalong  of Christmas carols.

Saturday

1:00-1:30 pm Community Living Nativity 

Bring the Christmas nativity story to life! Join neighbors and friends to dress as an angel, shepherd, or any character from Jesus’ birth– or simply come in a festive spirit. Together we’ll tell the story, sing beloved carols, and share in the wonder of the season. All welcome (no animals, please.)

5:30-8:30 pm Studio of the Magi: A Sacred Story Painted in Real Time

Step into a living art studio where the nativity story comes to life. Local art instructors will paint a live model as a wise man beneath a luminous night sky—a sacred story unfolding before your eyes. Meet our four artists:

Maura Carta 

Maura Carta studied at the Hochschule für Bildende Künste in Dresden after beginning her career in mathematics and economics. Influenced by European plein air traditions, she spent 15 years painting in Germany before returning to the Bay Area. Carta has taught at the Pacific Art League,  maintains an active studio, and is an Artist Member of the California Art Club.

Aina Clotas

Aina Clotas, born in Catalonia, is a figurative painter with a BFA from the Universitat de Barcelona and classical training from the Barcelona Academy of Art. She has taught at the Barcelona Academy of Art, La Salle University, and the Florence Academy of Art in Sweden, and now teaches at the College of San Mateo. She works from Nuance Fine Art Studio in Half Moon Bay with her husband, artist Joe Altwer.

Domenica Maloney 

Domenica Maloney is a Bay Area artist and instructor trained in classical draftsmanship, with a BFA in Animation/Illustration from San Jose State University and a minor in Renaissance Art History. Inspired by structure and narrative, she has taught drawing, painting, and digital illustration for over seven years while maintaining an active freelance practice.

GayLynn Ribeira

GayLynn Ribeira earned a BFA in Illustration from Brigham Young University and trained in oil painting at the Art Students League of New York, Boston Museum of Fine Arts, Sadie Valeri Atelier, and Bay Area Classical Atelier. She has taught privately, at the Pacific Art League, and Cryptic Animation Studios, and now teaches at the Art Student’s Atelier in Saratoga while maintaining an active portrait practice.

7:00 pm A Season of Healing, Peace, and Hope | Reverend Amos C. Brown

Hear Reverend Amos C. Brown, pastor for nearly 50 years of San Francisco’s historic Third Baptist Church, deliver an inspiring Christmas call to action with his signature passion and conviction. A protégé of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and longtime NAACP leader, Reverend Brown will offer bold reflections on healing, peace, and hope.

Sunday

7:00 pm Bells of Joy | Redwood Ringers Handbell Choir | Marilyn Hansen, Director

The Redwood Ringers is a handbell choir composed of community members from the San Francisco Bay Area. Hoping to bring a richer Christmas sound to her congregation, Marilyn Hansen, a seasoned ringer and former member of the San Francisco State Handbell Choir, founded the Redwood Ringers in 2008. The bell choir plays on 4.5 octaves handbells and 3 octaves handchimes. 

Monday

7:00 pm Songs of Light| LALÒ Ensemble | Gianpaolo Eleria, Cofounder and Music Director 

LALÒ Ensemble is a Bay Area vocal group blending Filipino and American musical traditions. Founded by alumni of leading Philippine university choirs, the ensemble performs sacred and contemporary works celebrating cultural heritage. With artistry and authenticity, LALÒ connects communities through powerful performances in concert halls, parishes, and cultural venues nationwide.

Tuesday

7:00  pm Creativity and Faith | Jorge Cocco and Julie Kay Berry

Be inspired by the personal journeys of faith and creativity shared by our two extraordinary 2025 featured artists: Jorge Cocco, painter, sculptor, ceramicist with studios in Argentina and Texas, and Julie Kay Berry, painter and mixed-media collage artist with a studio in Utah.

Wednesday

7:00 pm Carols of the Season | Mountain View High School Madrigals | Jill Denny, Director

Founded in 1997, the Mountain View High School Madrigals is an audition choir with a repertoire featuring a variety of musical styles ranging from Renaissance to contemporary pop songs. Every year, Madrigals travel internationally to participate in performance tours. This school year they will travel to Indonesia to participate in musical and cultural exchanges, workshops, performances, and outreach concerts.