The First Ever TELFAIR MUSEUMS Cool Yule Holiday Trunk Show

After a delicious breakfast at the Casa de Cat, including a big rich mug of hot chocolate, I was on my way Saturday morning December 4 to the Telfair Museum's Jepson Center for the Holiday Trunk Show. Unloading curbside, I heard the announcer one block away at the start line of the Savannah River Bridge Run where I could be found in past years. I felt the same nervousness as he announced "30 seconds to start."

It was a whirlwind of making and preparing for this show, then driving to Savannah from Washington DC. I was sleep-deprived and excited and a little anxious about whether my borrowed display props would work - including some vintage dishes from Cat and two bricks removed and washed from her patio. The frantic hour of setup was over and people began floating into the glass atrium to see the work of eight local artists and craftspeople. I lit up and stayed so for seven hours while engaging with friends and colleagues and new friends, speaking about my work and theirs, finding common interests - and of course common acquaintances because in Savannah, one degree of separation is the rule. I LOVE this part! My sometimes introverted nature takes a vacation and I enjoy talking about Savannah and architecture and drawing and preservation and architectural history and craft and Telfair and SCAD and Washington DC and Baltimore and maps and what's next for turn-of-the-centuries. I particularly enjoyed introducing the new book, 2 1/2 years' work, This is Savannah Vol. 2 - Jones Street. This was the perfect debut.

The Show was also a reunion of sorts for me, coming back to Savannah. Hugs from my friends and colleagues were precious. Meeting the other talented artists and admiring their work was inspiring. The Telfair staff and volunteers were helpful and gracious, even helping the artists unload and reload their cars. I was the last one out by about half an hour. It look me longer to shut down. Though bittersweet to see it end, I soon realized how exhausted I was and was only too happy, after a nice long visit at shopSCAD, to relax at circa with Cat and eat a huge hamburger - after making a calculated dash through the Christmas parade on Broughton Street. Savannahians love their parades!

I managed some quick photos - and one quick bathroom break - during a brief lull.
The "seconds" bin proved popular as always: $1 each or 10 for $5. At one point four ladies were huddled around the corner of the table. I joked that I needed a second table to adequately accomodate their intense bargain hunting. They promptly took over the nearby table earlier occupied by kids' crafting, spreading all the cards out for better hunting.

THANK YOU to everyone I was lucky enough to see and to meet at the Telfair Trunk Show and to Lisa Ocampo and the Telfair staff for their excellent organization and hosting!