Local artists Jenny Armstrong and Luke Evans work together to honor the tradition and beauty of the Washougal MX Park with their trophies

Paul Valencia
ClarkCountyToday.com

Some call them sports trophies.

To the ones who create the championship memorabilia for the Washougal MX National, they are works of art. 

Jenny Armstrong, the artist behind DK Designs, and her partner Luke Evans have turned winning into an artform.

“I’m not going to lie. It’s pretty cool,” Armstrong said. “I have people who say, ‘I can’t wait to see what you do this year.’ It’s kind of like a little fan base. It’s cool.”

DK Designs has now earned the top prize for best trophies on the Pro Motocross Championship series two times in the past three seasons. DK Designs earned the title in early 2022 from the 2021 season, and just recently was named best from the series for the 2023 season.

“It was pretty good bragging rights,” Armstrong said, noting that DK Designs was featured in a Racer X magazine the first time they won, and she has a framed copy. 

She might not be climbing up Horsepower Hill, flying down the Ski Jump, or maneuvering the Whoops section at the Washougal MX Park every summer, but Armstrong and Evans do add a little more soul into Clark County’s biggest one-day sporting event.

More than 20,000 fans head to the park every July, and so many more around the country, and the world, watch on television and online. The fans see the trees, the shadows, this unique track with the huge elevation changes. And they see those trophies, locally designed pieces of art.

How local? Armstrong and Evans live together in a home that is walking distance from the park grounds. Evans has volunteered at the motocross park since 1999. He still works a bulldozer every year at nationals.

How local? The wood for the very first trophies they created for Washougal MX Park, in 2019, came from fallen trees at the park. 

The 2023 trophy featured a motocross rider with a mountain in the background, those famous Washougal trees, plus an American flag. 

“I want them as a piece of art they can display inside their home, not just in a trophy room,” said Armstrong, who named her company after her grandchildren, Daxton and Kaiden.

The artists have a process.

“I usually wake up in the middle of the night with an idea. I sketch it out. ‘Can you build me this?’ I get an idea, and he goes ‘Aaugh.’”

Evans has a sawmill. Even though his work looks professional, he calls it a hobby.

“She’s the artist. She comes up with the idea. She gives me a pattern,” Evans said. “I cut it and give it to her. When she’s done, I put a finish on it, and there you go.”

Armstrong said Evans deserves more credit than that.

“The pattern is not really a pattern. It’s really a sketch and a guess of the measurements, and then he comes up with something that will work,” she said. “We work well together.”

Every year, there are requirements for the trophies.There are certain logos and sponsors that must be used. It takes time, and talent, to make it all work on a relatively small canvas, if you will.

“I start to piece together the artwork, and I transfer it on the wood, and it is all burned by hand with a little hot pen,” Armstrong said.

Their first trophies were a little too much like plaques, they were told. So they made improvements.

That included an invitation to Washougal blacksmith Lanette Grelle of Forgeress Ironworks to help. DK Designs, with an assist from Grelle, won the 2021 title of best in the series. 

Armstrong said she researches other motocross parks, to see their trophies. Armstrong said she never wants anything of hers to look like any other park’s creation. And while there is a competition for the best trophies, Armstrong said she is mostly in competition with herself. She just wants to top herself every year.

She once saw her trophy displayed on an Instagram post from champion rider Ken Roczen. She has been commissioned for other pieces from Washington pro motocross rider Ryan Villopoto and another champion, Eli Tomac.

Armstrong acknowledged that when she first started making the trophies, she was “kind of star struck” with the racers.

She remains impressed with their talents, but she and Evans also have a greater appreciation for the whole community, not just the athletes.

“Moto is way more than dirtbikes,” Armstrong said. “It’s family. I have made friends I could call on anytime. If I needed anything, they would be there. It’s not just an individual sport. Everyone looks out for each other.”

Evans has been part of motocross for decades, working at Washougal MX Park. Armstrong, who grew up in Clark County, also attended races at the park for years.

Now, they are even a bigger part of that community — as award winning artists.