Color Talk

I gathered some charts and fabric samples this morning to use in my brief talk at the Confident Color book signing tomorrow evening. Bookstores sometimes call these events "readings," but I can't imagine reading an art instruction book aloud to a group, can you? The "program" part lasts about 15 minutes, so it isn't a formal talk, just a short show-and-tell with a few questions. Then I'll sign books along with some of the 20 area artists whose works appear in it.

The site is Books & Co. at The Greene, which is a huge, elegant two-story building in an upscale towne center that is fairly new here. Books & Co. started out as a tiny Little Professor bookstore in Town and Country Shopping Center about two miles from my house. A special corner in the back had a lovely sitting area, where an amazing selection of art books were shelved.

Eventually, Joe and Anna, the owners, dropped the franchise and operated independently as Books & Co. From that small space, they expanded continuously, until they became the crown jewel of the center. People drove for many miles to shop at Books & Co., and still do.

This is one of the few local bookstores where national figures and bestselling authors come for book signings. (The store is now owned by Books-a-Million but continues to operate as Books & Co.) Sharon Roth has managed these events for many years, including five previous signings of my books. This is my first at The Greene, where we'll be on the upper level, so it will be a new experience for me. I can hardly wait.