Grabbing the media’s attention with art always came easily for retired San Jose State Professor Tony May.

When his Art and Community class brought a snow machine to St. James Park in downtown San Jose, it got press coverage from as far away as Canada.

"It was a big public relations success, and quite fun, unusual and a little bit surreal," May said. May addressed his approach to art and creativity along with Consuelo Underwood, a professor of fi- ber arts at the Hinson Campus Center Wednesday. The event was hosted by the Euphrat Museum of Art and sponsored by the De Anza Student Body, and the Creative Arts, Social Science and Humanities departments.

Underwood said her art reflected anger about California history.

One piece of art, which showed 1,000 buffalo footprints, commemorated the few buffalo who survived their near extermination. On it she embroidered "In Gold We Trust," which she said was the "true meaning of our monetary system."

"The United States Congress ordered the buffalo killed so that railroads could be built and so that the Indians did not have a source of food," she said.Underwood says that young artists should not be looking only to make money with their art, but instead looking to help make the world a better place.

For May, his Arts and Community class oftentimes does not start out with a problem in mind. Instead, they "try to accomplish something of substance," without knowing what.

They then explore the area, looking for "sites, materials, [and] ideas," the three things needed for art, he said.

In this way, the class came across tumbleweed, which was used to make an English garden in an abandoned lot.

Being underneath the tumbleweeds was like being underwater, said May.