They Draw and Travel Savannah Map

Some time ago I found out about They Draw and Cook, a website where artists post illustrated recipes. Soon after I also found their sister site, They Draw and Travel (TDAT), a website where artists post illustrated maps of sorts.

So I decided to make my own map and what better place to make it about than Savannah?

The map is also up on TDAT!




I detracted from my usual, more refined, more calculated drawings and stuck to plain and simple, almost childish drawings. I often make funny little notes for friends with doodles like these so it was fun to finally refine those doodles into a proper piece.

If you look at the site, you'll notice most people don't draw actual, traditional maps with street names as viewed from above but I chose to make mine that way so that anybody in Savannah can actually follow the route and see all the landmarks, located relatively around the corners where I placed them. Plus, Savannah is such a linear town that it seemed counter-intuitive not to keep it that way.

While looking for reference pictures for these landmarks, I was really surprised to find exact pictures of what I was drawing. The fish rain gutter? Google it, first two pictures! Frankie the cat? Google "Frankie cat Savannah" and there she is! Google "Guitar Bob Savannah? Sure enough, there he is too.

This is what any given day might've looked like for me on Bull Street: E. Shaver's is just around the corner from Morris Hall, the illustration building; so after class, maybe I'd stop by for a book. Then I'd keep on walking, maybe get a chai tea from Gallery Espresso, cross Chippewa Square and occasionally stumble upon a group of drifters having a religious meeting. And if I went past and continued on to Wright Square, I might happen to hear a fiddle from far away, and then I would stop by and have a conversation with Guitar Bob.

Every place in this map has more than one story for me, but as you can see, I could only include so much. 
 
So these are not all landmarks or places that will always be there, but this map is meant to be my personal, visual representation of Savannah, the way I experienced it; by just walking and sitting around in these squares and talking to some of the nicest strangers I have ever met.