- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
No? Well, if you attended the recent "We Know Jack" public art exhibit at the Vacaville Museum on Buck Avenue, you saw jackrabbits. Plenty of jack rabbits. And butterflies. Plenty of butterflies.
Artist Lisa Rico of Vacaville originated this first-of-its-kind project, a fundraiser for the museum. Area artists transformed 25 fiberglass white rabbits into works of art and then local businesses displayed them for several months, wowing the crowds. Then, voila! All the rabbits hopped over to the museum courtyard (with the help of trucks, wheelbarrows and carts) for a spectacular get-together. Voters singled out "Will Rabbit" by Mernie Buchanan for the People's Choice award.
Fast forward to Saturday, June 20 (rabbits can hop in any direction) and the jacks regrouped at a gala at the C.C. Yin Ranch in Vacaville, where they were auctioned off to the highest bidders. The hare-raising event, billed as "Hit the Road, Jack!", raised some $90,000 for the museum, including a high bid of $6,900 from Vacaville resident Heidi Campini for the Mardi Gras rabbit, the work of Geraladine Arata. The People's Choice rabbit drew the second highest bid, $6,700, from the Vacaville Performing Arts Theater.
Since this is a Bug Squad blog, we thought you'd enjoy some of the artistic butterflies adorning the rabbits. One of our favorites was The Velveteen Rabbit, the work of a consortium of artists. Butterflies adorned the paws, torso and back. Then there was "Flyin' Jack" by Richard Rico of Vacaville with brilliant depictions of the kind of butterflies you'd expect to see in the tropics.
After the courtyard appearance, volunteers--including John Vasquez Jr., member of the Solano County Board of Supervisors--wheeled the line of rabbits back into the museum.
Talk about a receding hareline!