These past few months, it seems like all we DeJerks have been doing is playing catch up. Luckily, almost everything that’s been preoccupying us has been extremely worthwhile and rewarding! Keeping in that spirit, it’s our turn to catch YOU up on all the catching up we’ve been trying to do! Between a wonderful trip to San Francisco and Tiago’s installation at CELLspace, moving closer to town here in Portland, the completion of Tiago’s city sanctioned mural, and the coordination of our city’s May Day March and Rally for Immigrant and Worker’s Rights, it’s been a crazy few months and we (obviously) have lots to share. In an attempt to retain readership, I’ll try to minimize my verbosity, move chronologically and, well, just get to it…
The last time we updated you we let you know a little bit about Tiago’s awesome wheat-paste installation at San Francisco’s CELLspace art collective. Thanks to Russell Howze’s generous efforts of always including Tiago in his awesome projects, (see our previous posts about Stencil Archive, and Russell’s amazing book Stencil Nation in which Tiago is featured), we were able to venture to SF for the unveiling events of CELLspace’s now permanent street-facing stencil installation, Stencilada. We even got to spend a night in the collective’s newly renovated, and totally swanky artist-in-residency apartments! Thanks Russell! The collective’s efforts really inspired us, and they’ve done some really amazing things in the past 15 YEA
RS of their existence. We’ll have a post detailing their work and history coming soon! For now, here’s some pictures of the installation!We really tried to maximize our trip, and with the support and guidance of our friend Paige, (owner of Portland’s Breeze Block Gallery), we were able to put together a nice kit of Tiago’s art and accomplishments, which we used to schmooze with some of the coolest SF galleries. You may remember my trip to New York last summer, when I tried to do just about the same thing, but without any of Paige’s wonderful tips and information. Let’s just say that Tiago and I are completely committed to this coast for now, and that we had 100% positive feedback from the folks we met. We made a lot of really wonderful connections, and even got the opportunity to showcase some art at Fabric8 – an online gallery and retail fusion with an eclectic physical gallery in the heart of the Mission district. They’ve been around for over a decade, and we’re stoked to have the good fortune to collaborate with them.
Moving right along… You may’ve noticed my absence from the blog scene (or maybe you didn’t) over the past few months. One reason being my utter and complete involvement with this year’s May Day March and Rally for Immigrant and Worker’s Rights. Tiago helped a bunch by designing some really powerful posters that garnered attention throughout the entire city. I’m happy to report that this year’s event was a HUGE success with a crowd of over 3,000 people, and I think a lot of the attendance can be chalked up to the awesome image he created!
The rest of May brought the retirement of the physical La Casa DeJerk, our home at the outskirts of North Portland. After a year and a half of living it up in St. John’s, we DeJerks said goodbye to our first real home together, and hello to a brand new chapter of North Portland living at a house our friends bought in March. We’re really excited about this home, and our new band of living cohorts. We have big plans for depaving, permaculture gardens, a community freewall, and a safe space for our community members! We’ll keep you updated on the progress…
Back in November, I posted about a mural that Tiago was planning with the Teen Volunteer Corp at the Mt. Scott Community Center in Southeast Portland. Through the efforts of the teens and their volunteer directors, the project secured its funding through RACC (the Regional Arts and Culture Council) and physical work was underway shortly thereafter. After upwards two years of involvement, the end of May and beginning of June also brought the conclusion of Tiago’s work on the city-sanctioned mural, nestled in the heart of our old neighborhood in deep Southeast Portland. The teens were able to be directly involved in every part of the process. They directed Tiago by coming up with ideas of images that represented their community and they even helped him cut the stencils and paint the mural. The end result looks amazing, and was a rewarding process for all involved. W
e are currently planning a public unveiling celebration slated for July, and are looking forward to sharing the story of the process with the entire neighborhood! We’ll keep you posted about the date and time of the event once it is determined. I have to say that Tiago put SO much work into helping these teens achieve their artistic potential, and I am SO proud of all of them!As a final note, today is our two-year anniversary of getting hitched, and tonight we’ll be celebrating in traditional DeJerk fashion by renewing our vows in the company of our closest friends on the Summer Solstice Shortest Night of the Year bicycle ride. The last three years of sharing my life with Tiago, and the last two years of being “official,” have been the best and most rewarding of my life. Our love is a special testament to the potential of love everywhere; within everyone. I am so lucky to be Mrs. DeJerk, and I want to thank all of you for all of your support along the way. We’ve had our ups and downs like any couple, but I am continually amazed by how well we work together – how we communicate so openly and honestly, and how we perpetually inspire one another to grow and to change. We’d like to invite all of you in Portland to come celebrate with us tonight, and all of our loved ones across the world to think of us, and love in general, as the earth revolves and our hemisphere welcomes summer once more.
With open arms, and open hearts, we implore you to LOVE and BE RIDICULOUS!
With love,
Drica DeJerk
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