A Jerrysquatch Sighting!

Jerrysquatch (a.k.a. Hairy Garcia) 8/18/21

We were driving through Eureka, CA looking for Living the Dream Ice Cream because Matt had heard they always have a few non-dairy options.  We were stopped at an intersection and I was consulting the map versus the street signs when I looked to my right and saw a building-sized Jerry Garcia mural a couple blocks down.

It was Jerry, but not Jerry.  I couldn't quite make sense of it.  Puzzled about what exactly I was seeing I pointed it out to Matt who immediately declared with surprised delight, "That's Sasquatch Jerry!  Jerrysquatch!!"  Upon second look that was totally the case.  Yup.  Jerry Garcia with a Sasquatch twist.

Jerrysquatch in process.  8/15/21

As we continued our drive to the ice cream shop Matt filled me in.  Jerrysquatch is a regionally-specific work of art that he had seen shared on a Grateful Dead fan group a week or so before our trip.  (What are the odds?!?!)  I didn't "get" it at first because I didn't realize how big of deal Big Foot is out in in those California woods.  He's incorporated into a lot of stuff out there--including the art, it turns out.  I know basically nothing about this mythical beast.  Matt, on the other hand, was a big Sasquatch fan as a boy so the connection was not lost on him.  He didn't know the mural that he'd seen online was in Eureka.  Our spotting it in person was a total fluke and happenstance.  That actually made it cooler though, if you ask me.  We didn't go out looking for Jerrysquatch, but we found him either way.

Jerrysquatch in process.  8/15/21

We hit Living the Dream and got a double serving of Cookies-and-Cream ice cream to share on the boardwalk.  We watched boats cruising by and harbor seals swimming and splashing.  They're so amusing to observe.  The ice cream was excellent.  Afterwards we decided to circle back and take a closer look at the Big Foot Jerry.

Seals, and boats, and ice cream--oh my!

Walking up to the building we found the artist there with a ladder and supplies, working on the mural.  She was sort of stuck on the guitar though.  She said she'd gotten a lot of feedback online following the piece being shared on social media.  While a lot of it was positive, she'd been given grief over the fact that Jerry's guitar and other details weren't quite accurate.  Since she wasn't finished yet she was trying to address those concerns.  She was on the phone with her dad asking him for advice, but quickly got off to ask us what we knew about it.  Ultimately we weren't that helpful.  Neither of us pay that much attention to details such as brand or style of guitar, I guess.  Matt had a few factoids up his sleeve, but nothing that seemed relevant to the guitar in question.  

Jerrysquatch in process.  8/15/21

The artist seemed pretty tickled that Matt had seen her work all the way up in Montana and that we'd made a point to stop and check it out more closely.  She called it her "extra credit" project.  She'd been hired to paint a mural on the front of the building and then decided to do the Jerrysquatch on the side of the building as a bonus for the community.  She was taking it in stride, as an artist must I suppose, but we thought it was sorta lame that people complained about the "accuracy" of her beautiful and imaginative work.  Especially since she'd created it as a gift to the community.

This is some of the work she did on the front of the building.

As Matt joked, "Yeah!  I mean, do we even know what kind of guitar Jerry played when he was a Sasquatch?!?!"  We all shared a good laugh and she seemed to appreciate the interaction, as did we.

Jerrysquatch 8/18/21

Matt and I paid a second visit to the mural (and the ice cream shop) a week later on our return trip.  The ice cream was still yummy and the Jerrysquatch mural was even better than the draft we had seen.  As much as I'd rather not say it, the nitpickers on the internet might have been right.  The guitar is now not only more accurate to one Jerry played (I learned something!), but she went back in and made the whole piece richer in texture, depth, and color.

Jerrysquatch 8/18/21

It is a really grand and unique portrait.  I love how it marries the legend of Big Foot with the legendary Jerry Garcia.  At the time, we didn't think to ask the artist her name, but have determined she's Julia Rose Morgan of Aerose Art.  I checked out some of her work on Instagram once we got back to Montana.  She was really friendly and is incredibly talented.  I'm sure glad we stumbled upon her and Jerrysquatch while we were on our Redwoods Megavacation adventures.  It really is a small world.