Arts Hound

He dreams of Eugene in ink: San Diego transplant Thomas Fernandez is the artist behind this week’s cover illustration, bringing to life the slide dream of another local artist, Jud Turner (see cover story). For this illustration, Fernandez drew the outlines in ink, scanned the work and filled in the color digitally. In September, the 23-year-old moved to Eugene, where he says the lower cost of living has allowed him to focus more on art jobs and less on graphic design. With a portfolio that includes tattoos (he’s been a tattoo artist for five years), T-shirt designs, album covers and illustrations for PORK Magazine, Fernandez draws his inspiration from “shitty early morning cartoons,” mid-century “weirdo” art and eighties skateboard artists. See more of Fernandez’s work at live-rad.com.

According to the Associated Press, in 2012 more American troops died by suicide than by combat in Afghanistan. Encircle Films — a local, ongoing documentary film series in Eugene — shines the light on the PTSD epidemic with its screening of Free the Mind at the Bijou 6 pm Thursday, Jan. 2; $5-$7. The doc follows brain scientist Richard Davidson and his unorthodox experiment: teaching veterans and other PTSD sufferers how to alleviate their pain through meditation and yoga. Can you rewire the brain just by taking a breath? Follow director Phie Ambo as he tries to answer the film’s central question. Next up for Encircle Films at the Bijou: Citizen Koch: A Film about Money, Power and Democracy on Feb. 6 and Genetic Roulette on March 6.

It’s Friday, Dec. 27. With the holidays and all those heavy seasonal beers sloshing around town, you’ve eaten and imbibed too much this week. Time to go for a walk. Last Friday ArtWalk! Stop in at Ninkasi’s tasting room for the “Ninkasi Employee Art Show,” pop by Sam Bond’s for Taylor Clarke’s surrealist paintings and see H.I. Rand’s oil and acrylic paintings on those sky-high walls at Oakshire’s tasting room.

A Note From the Publisher

Dear Readers,

The last two years have been some of the hardest in Eugene Weekly’s 43 years. There were moments when keeping the paper alive felt uncertain. And yet, here we are — still publishing, still investigating, still showing up every week.

That’s because of you!

Not just because of financial support (though that matters enormously), but because of the emails, notes, conversations, encouragement and ideas you shared along the way. You reminded us why this paper exists and who it’s for.

Listening to readers has always been at the heart of Eugene Weekly. This year, that meant launching our popular weekly Activist Alert column, after many of you told us there was no single, reliable place to find information about rallies, meetings and ways to get involved. You asked. We responded.

We’ve also continued to deepen the coverage that sets Eugene Weekly apart, including our in-depth reporting on local real estate development through Bricks & Mortar — digging into what’s being built, who’s behind it and how those decisions shape our community.

And, of course, we’ve continued to bring you the stories and features many of you depend on: investigations and local government reporting, arts and culture coverage, sudoku and crossword puzzles, Savage Love, and our extensive community events calendar. We feature award-winning stories by University of Oregon student reporters getting real world journalism experience. All free. In print and online.

None of this happens by accident. It happens because readers step up and say: this matters.

As we head into a new year, please consider supporting Eugene Weekly if you’re able. Every dollar helps keep us digging, questioning, celebrating — and yes, occasionally annoying exactly the right people. We consider that a public service.

Thank you for standing with us!