Before
there was DEVOtional 2008, there was Jocko
Dome-o—the energy dome art show to benefit Rachel Bevilacqua and
her family.
The show started out as a desire between myself and KRK Ryden to
collaborate on
an art project of some kind. We both thought it would be cool to do
something
creative with energy domes, and from that was born the idea of getting
a bunch
of other artists interested. The proposed project seemed solid
enough…but I
needed domes!
That’s
where Michael Pilmer came in. He was able to help
me get a good deal on a batch of energy domes. That, coupled with the
fact that
Pilmer had secured the Asterisk Gallery for KRK’s Devonian art
show, and had room for me, was what got the
spud rolling. So, on 3/28/08, I sent out the call to about a half-dozen
artistically inclined individuals I thought might be interested in
doing
something to help Rachel with her legal woes. Apparently word spread
pretty
fast, because the first couple of inquiries weren’t even from
anyone I had
solicited! From there it snowballed. I was inundated with requests, and
within
a couple of weeks I had to start turning people down because I ran out
of
domes. And I really hated having to do that.
So
we fast-forward to 8/28/08. After messaging back and
forth with Dana Depew (owner of the Asterisk) for several weeks prior
to the
event, getting the details pounded out, my wife, my buddy Chris and I
arrived
in Cleveland thinking we were going to set things up and be in and out,
just
like that. Let me tell you, you just never know exactly how many
details get
overlooked in an art show until things get down to the wire. We spent
pretty
much the whole evening of the 28th and most of the day of
the 29th
arranging and rearranging pieces, messing with lighting, printing all
kinds of
stuff and having accidents. It was hectic and nerve-wracking and
probably one
of the most exciting times I’ve ever had.
Finally,
the evening of the 29th came, and it
was show time! Between Jocko Dome-o and The Devonian Art of KRK Ryden,
there
was quite a turnout. Many Spuds who came in for the DEVOtional made an
appearance to show their support—it was an excellent crowd to be
around.
Between the dome sales and donations, the show at the gallery raked in
around
$500. I ended up continuing the show the next day at DEVOtional, where
further
dome sales brought in almost another $500. So it wasn’t too
shabby.
I
appreciate the support everyone has showed during this
endeavor, and want to thank you all. Most notably, I’d like to
properly thank
the following people:
Rich
Anderson
Jim
Borazo
Dana
Depew
Tom
Keirstead
Michael
Pilmer
KRK
Ryden
She-vo
Rev.
Ivan Stang
Rev.
Zepto
All
the participating artists
And
my wife Jamie
Please
check out photos of the event at the link below.
And even though I appreciate all the donations, Rachel and her family
still
need a lot of help. Click here
to
get the whole story and see how you can donate directly to the cause.
And
who knows…maybe I’ll whip up a little something for
next year.