Evocative Images of The Fatherlands

I spy...at Black Swan Books and Music a neat event happening this weekend! A Reading by Michael Trocchia from his just-published book, The Fatherlands.

Trocchia's  "chat book" consists of short stories that will transport and enliven the senses and spur your imagination.  

Such evocative and imaginative phrases inspired my drawing composition for Michael's book event posters which illustrates: A "see-through house" made of a house-sized "quilt" of the "blueprint of a city" containing a room wherein "three bulbs hang...exposed wires and pipes...fractured light..the work of spiders and well-lit angles" dominates the foreground. Above its simple gable is the skyline of a city on vacation that "squats down on the forest floor, only the tips of its tallest buildings seen above the treetops. And on the rooftop...there lies an unclean boy in a net hung like a hammock."

I'm glad Michael wanted to work with me. There was a nice dialogue between his poetic prose images and the architectural, urban and landscape themes I strive toward in my drawings. Gave me some nice ideas for future map-drawings, too... . . .

Macro / Micro pre- Re-Brand for TOTC

I fell down the rabbit hole. A one-day project turned to two, a week, two weeks, almost three weeks!  But IT HAD TO BE DONE.

 > click larger <
A new shop banner represents my origins in Savannah Georgia and my current growth season in Staunton Virginia. And my love of Maps!

Here's what happened...I was lucky to snag a free spot on the consultation calendar of Ariana & Katrina, creative business gurus at LAUNCH SESSIONS. Our short, but dynamic, conversation was a boost to my wonderings about how to share my work with more people and how to make this business profitable. I would love to just stay in my little old house and make drawings all the time. But, to pay the rent, the drawings have to sell... 

Our delightful conversation extended my view of what what possible with Turn-of-the-Centuries, the 'macro' view. That was exciting, dream-fueling... But, the next day I turned my attention to 'what can I do now?' A & K loved my work but suggested a re-brand of my internet sites, with all new photographs. More professional, I infer. I can't afford to hire a photographer nor purchase a camera right now. But, as I look closer, the 'micro' view, it was obvious the photographs of my prints and postcards in many of the listings in my etsy shop were outdated. No, ugly. c. 2008. I must have been taking photos at night under fluorescent light. As a visual person, I was appalled. How did I ever sell any of these things with such bad photos? Could I sell more with slightly better photos? I decided to at least stop the bleeding, so to speak, and do a pre- Re-Brand. Throw away the bad photos and re-photograph the worst offenders. Some of the prints and postcards that have been with me for a few years seemed bright and fresh, framed and newly photographed. I also did some extensive editing of each of the 250ish etsy listings to fit them to my new shipping materials and lower prices (yay!) and to offer Prints in more sizes (yay!) and Postcards in packs as well as singly (yay!) It took way more time than I expected and I was so stressed about the projects I was putting on hold in order to get to the end of this marketing rabbit hole and back again, but I love the way the listings read and look now. I even designed a new shop banner that better represents my origins in Savannah Georgia and my current growth season in Staunton Virginia. Here are a few of the new photos: 

Philadelphia Streetscapes Architectural Map-Drawings
400 Block Pine Street (left)
900 Block Clinton Street (right)

Architectural Map-Drawings
Portland Oregon Bungalow Streetscape (top left)
Staunton Virginia Archi-Topo Map (top right)
New Orleans Louisiana Streetscape (bottom left)
Charleston South Carolina Battery Streetscape (bottom right)

Architectural Map-Drawings
Alexandria Virginia Captain's Row Prince St. Streetscape (top)
Staunton Virginia Beverley Streetscape Drawings (bottom)

Architectural Map-Drawings
Savannah Georgia Architectural City Map with Select Block Streetscape (top left) 
Savannah Georgia Wright Square Architectural City Map (top right)
Savannah Georgia City Map Drawing (bottom left)
Savannah Georgia Rowhomes Streetscape (bottom right)

Architectural Map-Drawings
Savannah Georgia Coastal Landscape Map (top left) 
Savannah Georgia 1902 City Map Drawing (top right)
Savannah Georgia Coastal Landscape Map (bottom left)
Savannah Georgia Sanborn City Map Drawing (bottom right)

Savannah Georgia Postcard Pack

Sometimes, you just have to TAKE CARE OF BUSINESS! Alright! Enough!  Let's get back to making drawings! With a View -- thanks Launch Ladies!

Architectural Map-Drawings to Date: February 2014