Happy Two-Thousand-Fine!

2009 Updates and a Call Out for Help!


Happy Two-Thousand-Fine to Everyone in the Land DeJerk, and Beyond!

Sorry we've been away so long - there's just been so much going on! Between holidays, birthdays, special projects and future shows, Mr. DeJerk and myself have been so busy, we're not quite sure which way is up these days... and it's not over yet! Not by a long shot! Let's see if I can catch you all up to speed...

First of all, we had an amazing Winter Solstice and ensuing holidays celebrating two-thousand-great, and ringing in two-thousand-fine, with over 40 friends and family members right here at La Casa DeJerk! Then January saw a slight lull in activity at the homestead, while Tiago and I buckled down to business to make sure the new year would start full steam ahead on the right foot. Tiago painted day and night to finish two big commissions and a handful of periphery projects that all turned out breathtakingly beautiful!

The lull didn't last, though, as February thundered in once again as the busiest short month of both our lives! While Tiago worked on pieces for his upcoming San Francisco show (details below), and we both prepared ourselves for ZooBomb's Mini Bike Winter VI, I secretly stowed away any hours that I could in order to finish Tiago's super secret surprise birthday presents and party plans! (You may not know it to see him, but Tiago DeJerk celebrated his big 3-0 this February 22nd, and this little wifey went above and beyond the call of duty - let alone sanity - to let him know that he is still very loved... even if he is now a dirty old man!) Over 50 secret hours and three exhausting weeks later, I was able to provide him with 3 surprise birthday parties, 2 birthday wishes come true, and a brand spankin' new, hand crafted DeJerk-mobile - a side-by-side tandem of sorts sportin' the family name on the front, and a whole lotta love in between! I presented him with the, well, present, the day before MBW began, and so we were able to show it off to all our friends and foreigners for the entire weekend! It was a smash hit, and Tiago was happy to be the belle of the ball for two whole weeks!

Well, that sums up all that you'd need to know of our last two months! :P Now, getting down to business, we have A TON of exciting news! Here it is, in no particular order...

First off, as a result of my most daring managerial move to date, and months of coordination and design work from Tiago and others, we are proud to present to you Tiago's first international magazine cover art! Amy Walker of Momentum Magazine was introduced to Tiago's art during Russell Howze's promotional book tour for Stencil Nation in Vancouver, B.C. this summer, when the two agreed that Tiago is "the best bicycle artist in the world." Soon thereafter she contacted me to let me know how much she admired the Work DeJerk, and that she would love it if we could send some art for the Bikeosphere benefit art show for the magazine. I told her that we would -IF Tiago could be guaranteed a chance to do a cover for the rag. Six months and bunch of negotiations later, the final product is out and hit the shelves this week to much acclaim! I'm so proud of Tiago and his ever expanding ability to create his art in any medium, and I can't wait to see where this new field may take us!

Moving on, our good friend Nathan Bennet, the sculptor who decorated our wedding reception at The Watershed, has curated a show that opens TONIGHT at the Village Ballroom (700 NE Dekum). The show is a straight-up cornucopia of mediums, highlighting Portland's most up and coming artists, including you-know-who! Tiago has 3 wonderful works on display at the show, and it's up until April 6th, so you have plenty of time to go check his, and the other works, out!

Keeping in line with this year's theme of expansion, Tiago will also be featured in Stencilada, a group stencil-art show at San Francisco's own Cellspace: Collective Exploration Learning Labs (2050 Bryant St.). The show is curated by Russell Howze, and features panel-work by 7 national artists, and "special stencils on paper by Tiago DeJerk." The opening date is March 28th, and we'll be travelling to SF for the week to enjoy the opening party and to try our hands again at big city gallery schmoozing! ...I mean, networking... we'll be networking our little booties off for 5 days straight, from the 25th to the 30th, so "holla" if you'll be around or if you have any leads for us in the Bay Area!

Lastly, and most importantly, we need to ask for your help in any way possible, for a friend of our community's who is in dire need. Hollis Hawthorne, dancer, lover, and muse to the San Francsico bike dance troupe The Derailuers, has suffered brain-stem injuries from a motorcycle accident while traveling in India, and needs to be air-evacuated by ambulance flight to Stanford medical facilities in SF. Hollis has been a major inspiration to our community, and a close friend of the extended family, for quite some time now, and friends and strangers from around the globe are rallying together to raise the funds for her trip back home. Estimates for the cost of the flight are upwards $200,000, and there are ongoing paypal efforts as well as benefits being thrown to reach that goal. As of this writing, these efforts have already raised $65,000, and that amount, coupled with Hollis' stedily stabilizing condition, make the goal extremely achievable at this point. Whether you're in New York or New Delhi, there are ways to get involved. This Tuesday, the Work DeJerk will be available for sale at the Portland benefit to bring Hollis home. Please check out the following blog to see how you can attend or how you can help: http://friendsofhollis.blogspot.com/. We know you'd do it, if it were one of us Jerks in this situation.

Alright, well there's definitely more news to share, but my tip-tappity-fingers are all but tapped out. Rest assured that there will be no more 2 month breaks from my updates in the near future, and that we missed all of you as much as we know you missed us!

Thank you for the love and support you've shared with us lately, and for that that we know you will share with Hollis! Keep on rocking that love, and for crying out loud - get ridiculous while you're at it!

Love, love, love,

Drica DeJerk