Fundraising Events

For Immediate Release 

Tents of Hope ­ Haitian Relief Benefit  

 Exhibition, Sale and Silent Auction 

Featuring  Art by Jerry Garcia 

 

 

During  his  lifetime,  Jerry  Garcia  was  known  to  help  those  in  need  and  championed  support  for  the  arts.  This  exhibition  has  been  arranged  with  the  spirit  of  generosity  that  Jerry  Garcia  fostered throughout his life. 

Haiti still needs your help! 

Three months after the devastating earthquake in Haiti, the majority of the population remains extremely vulnerable.  With the onset of the rainy season, far too many Haitians lack basic protection from the elements and are sleeping in the mud.  The Tents of Hope Benefit Exhibition, Sale and Silent Auction features one of the largest collections of original drawings, watercolors and prints by Jerry Garcia along with a display of rare items used by Jerry during his everyday life.  All donations and proceeds from the silent auction will be used to purchase despertely needed family tents.  The tents will be shipped to Haiti, and set up at Camp Hope, a refugee and recovery compound operated by Love A Child.  To make it possible, Image Makers Art, Inc. has teamed up with the charity Living For A Cause, whose mission is to provide aid to worthy causes.

 

 

Saturday April 24th,   10am ­ 10pm       

Sunday April 25th,  10am ­ 6pm 

The Bethesda Marriott 

5151 Pooks Hill Road 

Bethesda, MD 20814  

Free Admission  

Benefit and Sale Information:  www.imagemakersart.com  610­999­5880 

www.livingforacause.org            www.loveachild.com 

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For additional press information, please call or email: 

Garry Engel, 215­768­2777     garry@imagemakersart.com  

www.imagemakersart.com          

 

Image Makers Art, Inc.

IMAGE MAKERS ART, INC.  9 BRACKEN AVE. PAOLI, PA 19301

Jerry Garcia: The Man, His Music and His Art

Jerome John Garcia, who rose to fame as Jerry Garcia, lead guitarist and vocalist of the Grateful Dead, Jerry’s father, a jazz musician and a Dixieland band leader in the 1930’s, played several instruments, so his early years contained exposure to music from many different fields, including jazz, and the big band sound. Jerry lived with his grandmother after the tragic sudden death of his father. His grandmother always listened to broadcasts of bluegrass, especially the bluesy sounds of Bill Monroe, who Jerry would credit later as having a major influence on his own music style. When he was fifteen, his older brother, Tiff, introduced him to rhythm & blues music and the early rock and roll guitar players like T- Bone Walker and Chuck Berry. Jerry decided he wanted to play those same sounds, and requested an electric guitar from his mother for his birthday. He spent the next year teaching himself to play the guitar tuned to an open chord. At seventeen he joined the army smuggling his guitar in. It was during his nine months in the Army that Jerry began to play acoustic guitar and to evolve what later will become his own unique folk, jazz, blues, bluegrass and improvisational rock and, with some occasional soul or gospel in the mix. By 1961 he was playing, occasional gigs in San Francisco Bay Area coffee houses. 

His early interest in art was sparked by a third grade teacher, who recognized in the young Jerry a natural talent for drawing, and encouraged him to develop it. While still in high school, he began to take weekend courses and summer sessions in art at the California School of Fine Arts, which later became the San Francisco Art Institute, where he was a student of Wally Hedrick. He continued his art studies there during 1958-1959, and then became intrigued with the banjo, after watching Wally play at a live concert at the school in 1960. Since there was no one in the area teaching that kind of music, he began to teach himself to play banjo by ear, which led him to old-time country and string band music. By 1963 he had joined forces with Bob Weir, Ron “Pigpen” McKernan and several others to form a jug band. Since bluegrass music was not popular in the Bay Area at the time, the decision was made to change their sound into something with more of a blues flavour. A short time later, the group members elected to switch from acoustic to electric instruments, and the blues sound gave way to rock and roll. Known initially as the Warlocks, the name was later changed and the band we came to know as The Grateful Dead was born… And the rest is history!

Jerry’s artwork took a backseat to his musical performance for years, although he continued to paint and draw for his own enjoyment.  Then, in July 1986, he unexpectedly went into a coma due to adult onset of diabetes.  Because of medical complications including extreme dehydration, he remained in a coma for 5 days, and almost died.  When he finally regained consciousness, his muscular coordination was significantly impaired, and he had memory lapses to the point that there were serious questions about his ability to play guitar proficiently again.  As soon as he was released from the hospital, he began to work daily with his friend Mel Saunders, Bay Area jazz and rhythm & blues keyboardist, to rebuild his musical abilities.  It took about four months before he was able to return to the stage, and his performances would sometimes contain gaps when he would temporarily lose part of a song.  It was during this same period that he began to paint and draw on a more frequent basis, and entered the arena of professional art, releasing a number of lithographic prints based on his watercolours and pen and ink drawings.  His first official gallery showing followed in the late 80’s, and as his many fans learned of this new facet of Garcia, the demand for his artworks began to increase steadily.  In 1993, when the Grateful Dead did their summer tour, a collection of Jerry’s artwork accompanied it, with gallery showings in a  number of the cities where the Dead were playing.  This later led to the addition of other applications for his art, including the line of ties, which bear his name and are adapted from his art.

Though Jerry Garcia is less well known as a visual artist than as a musician, his art covers a wide range of styles and subject matter, in much the same way that his music did. Often the art reflects his quick wit, and some pieces are delightful improvisations of the places he visited and unusual people he saw or knew.  Other pieces are an expression of his interior world.  The art is frequently colourful and bright, and conveys the joy he experienced in its creation.  Even his pen and ink sketches will usually draw a smile from those who discover them for the first time.  Jerry was extremely prolific during the last 10 years of his life, taking his materials on tour with him and painting wherever he found himself.  The art in the current exhibition was all done from 1986 to 1995.

Jerry Garcia died in Serenity Knolls clinic on August 9, 1995, a little over a week after his 53rd birthday.  A victim of sleep apnea for many years, he suffered a massive heart attack during his sleep.  His passing was deeply mourned by his millions of fans, for which it was the end of a way of life as well.  The Grateful Dead was, at that time, one of the longest running bands ever, and while the other members of the group have continued to perform individually and collectively under other band names, the Dead ceased with Jerry’s passing.  He accomplished a great deal in his 53 years, however, and his music and artwork are a wonderful legacy he left to enrich us all.

Image Makers Art, Inc

IMAGE MAKERS ART, INC.,   9 Bracken  Avenue,  Paoli,  Pa 19301   610-722-5807  WWW.IMAGEMAKERSART.COM

 

                                

     

 

 

Pooches and Polo

Please join Mary Stabile and Colm Rowan of Living For A Cause and our friends from New Jersey AniMeals at the Pooches and Polo event on Saturday, September 18th, 2010 from 1pm to 4pm at Tinicum Park, 974 River Road, Route 32 in Erwinna, Bucks County, Pennsylvania.  The Pooches and Polo event is a great  outing for  all the family, for dog owners and also anyone who would like to support the charity Animeals whose work on behalf of animals includes providing pet food to owners who have difficulties purchasing sufficient food for their companions. It is a great, fun day out for our canine friends and their owners and also a great way to see live Polo in the beautiful setting of Tinicum Park.  All are welcome.  For directions to the event, please visit www.tinicumpolo.org   

Past Fundraising Events