Exhibition Title: "I am a Camera: Personal Sketches and Objects From Joy Savage's International Travels" Dates: Nov. 14 through Dec. 8 Where: UC Davis Design Gallery, 145 Walker Hall Hours: Noon-5 p.m., Monday through Friday; 2-5 p.m., Sunday (Closed Thanksgiving weekend) Artist's talk: Noon, Sunday, Nov. 14 176 Everson Hall (admission $10; free for Design Alliance members) Reception: 2-5 p.m., Sunday, Nov. 14, 145 Walker Hall Artist Joy Savage wants to take gallery visitors on an exciting, fun and inspirational tour of her sketchbook world. Her work, reminiscent of Hilary Knight's "Eloise in Paris" illustrations, depicts people in some of the world's most exotic places. Savage creates all of her drawings on location. While some may have been completed on a bus, train or airplane immediately after leaving a location, no photographs were taken to use as reference for sketching later. "The challenge," explains Savage, "is to get the essence down quickly. I can produce a composition in five minutes, and my memory fills in the details while I'm riding on that bus, train or plane." Savage has traveled to Egypt, Laos, Mexico, Belize, Tikal, Guatemala, Japan, Bali, Java, Australia, Yemen, Syria, Petra, Jordan, Thailand, Hong Kong, Switzerland, Italy and Hungary. According to Savage, sketching has honed her skills of observation and her ability to think quickly. She has found that the sight of her leaning against a wall in a small village or sitting on a rock in the countryside, drawing, has caused interest and amusement among locals. "People often object to being photographed," she says, "but they hardly ever catch on to the fact that you are drawing them. When they do, they appreciate the effort that drawing takes and they seem to enjoy being around an artist. In Venice, during Carnival, the Italians pushed aside the paparazzi and cleared a space around me so that I could draw the costumed revelers, all the while shouting, 'Brave!'" The Design Gallery will display approximately 100 drawings from her collection, as well as selected objects and journals from her travels. "It is a small representation of the last 15 years of my travels," she says. Media contacts: -- Rhonda O'Brien, Environmental Design, (530) 752-6223,robrien@ucdavis.edu -- Lisa Klionsky, News Service, (530) 752-9841, lrklionsky@ucdavis.edu