Macon, Georgia

Today I began my Road Trip Across the South. After a really busy week and running several errands this morning, I set off on Interstate 16 under grey skies and intermittent rain toward Macon. As I drove this lonely, straight highway, the desire to just go back home and go to sleep grew stronger and as I drove into the city of Macon, I actually considered getting a room and going to sleep. (Crazy! I know!) I was that exhausted. FORTUNATELY, the familiar excitement hit me after I got out of the car and began exploring this old city with great architecture, though forlorn streetscapes and shopfronts.

Macon was chartered as the County Seat in 1823. The "city within a park" envisioned by its founders is evident in its spacious streets with parks in the wide medians. The former success of its river port and railroad economy are evident in its tall, classical buildings which housed theaters, shops, restaurants, civic uses and department stores. Many are now vacant.

Wedding Stationer

wedding announcement postcard, front

A wedding stationer was not what I was going for when I decided a little over a year ago to really invest myself in making drawings for the note card canvas. But something caught on, and I've been lucky to work with some amazing brides and couples, some I never met who found me through the turn-of-the-centuries etsy shop and one couple in particular who are the bee's knees in my stationer's book. Rose & Todd took my conceptual style and made it personal to them, their musical life (of Rose & the Rivals fame), their roots in Portland and New Orleans for wedding announcements (above & below) and party invitations (below).

wedding party invitations, front and back wedding announcement postcards, front and back

And there was a couple in San Francisco (and many others) who liked the Old-Time Duo silhouette of my friends Afton and Samuel at their rehearsal dinner and it seems to be becoming an iconic wedding image. Who knew?

wedding announcement postcards, front and back with a simple "tying the knot" sketch

I love making map-drawings to illustrate the quintessential elements and character of a place. To make one as a wedding save-the-date card...genius. This is the caliber of customers on etsy that I enjoy collaborating with, like Ellen in Seattle. This drawing is derived from a c.1900 map of Seattle and draws upon its patchwork of street grids, location between bodies of water, and boats - especially houseboats which line the bottom edge on the back. I searched for a slogan of turn-of-the-century town-building boom times optimism for Seattle and was disappointed. So I made one up -
Wedding Save-the-Date postcards, front and back

And this custom Save-the-Date started it all when Kristin, visiting Savannah from Washington DC, saw this postcard in shopSCAD and we got to work together on transforming (not by much) Savannah Postcard No.1 into wedding stationery.

wedding save-the-date postcards, front and back

I may have a New York City wedding Save-the-Date on the horizon. I'm thinking this may be the way to capture all the great cities with map-drawings - as wedding stationery! Who knew? Many thanks to all the great folks I've had the privilege of working with as a "wedding stationer."

The Conspirator

Well, I reckon I'm not the only one blogging about the filming of The Conspirator in Savannah this month. The Robert Redford movie tells the story of Mary Surratt who was hanged after she was convicted of being part of the plot to assassinate President Lincoln. Mary Surratt is played by Robin Wright Penn who played Jenny in Forrest Gump, another Savannah film. The smoke machine and Julio's truck at right.Smoke machine in action.tourists with cameras flood the scene after the barricades come down.
parking meter camouflaged. The house under bright lights across the square is where the action is.

I never intended to follow the action, but it came to me today! I took these shots from my desk at work, out the window onto the staging area at Gordon Street and Chatham Square.

Brain Overload

I can't stop thinking about...

New Orleans Vernacular: Progress...

click to enlarge

Here is a tiny streetscape-in-progress. The more I draw of New Orleans buildings, the more I need to draw. Once drawn and added strategically into the streetscape, I find that the transitions between building types are still rough and more of each type are needed. The grey boxes mark the gaps to be filled by new drawings.

Though I snatch every free waking minute to work on my drawings, it is never enough. Will the fall back time change boost my efficiency?

You Gotta Be Kidding

I noticed these posters mounted on the Liberty Street Garage today. They made me stop and laugh. I've seen these ads in Connect Savannah and wondered. Turns out this is a campaign by the Georgia Department of Community Affaitrs to encourage recycling among Gen. Xers by using reverse psychology, exaggerating the absurdity of not recycling. I think they are hilarious. Check out the website.

200 East Jones Street_PROGRESS

before the incident

after the incident: Oh dear, my hand must have been wet after taking a drink. That is the knit pattern of my sweater imprinted on the paper in stolen ink...

Oh, dear.

Notice the house has an exterior and interior set of double doors. The right exterior door is open, revealing the dark interior door beyond the airlock.