Josh Trefethen Photography

OK - in the spirit of “Do as I say, not as I do”, or just in the spirit of learning from my bad luck and mistakes so that you don’t have to suffer through this, I thought I would share something that I discovered in my trailer this past weekend - a little treat from my last show

Josh Trefethen Photography at the Bayou City Art Festival

My last show was in Houston, and it was rainy and wet. My wife Laura and I literally set up in a torrential downpour, with several inches of rain coming down in a matter of minutes. It was bad! We were soaked to the bone, a lot of my stuff got soaked - luckily, we were able to keep my artwork dry, and everything survived - no damage done. Despite the wet weather - the show went very well for us. It actually turned out to be my top grossing show up to this point! We sold out of a lot of work, and were able to meet many new collectors. It was a huge success!

After the show, the breakdown was better, but still a bit wet. As I was packing up my work, I realized that I never dried out the large fleece bags I store my large 40″x60″ pieces in…and having no where else to put these large works, I was forced to use the damp fleece bags anyway as there was no alternative. I made a mental note to check the bags when I got home to Fort Worth the next morning.

After the long process of breaking down and packing up was complete, my wife and I drove an hour or so to my mom’s to pick up the kids, stayed the night there, and the next morning proceeded to drive back north. I was flying out that very day to head to Arizona for a meeting, and was in a hurry to get back home, pack my things, and head to the airport. In all the hustle I forgot to remove the 40×60s and let them air dry. I parked my trailer and headed to the airport.

Arizona was great - captured some great images, and enjoyed the southwest immensely. I need to go back there again - there is so much to see and experience.

When I finally returned home and had a chance to check the trailer a few weeks later, I was surprised by what I found. I opened up the trailer doors, pulled out the first 40×60, and was startled by how widespread the growth was. (click the images below to see them larger)

I pulled out the other 2 large prints and saw the damage there too! I knew it was too late for these pieces; they were beyond repair. I didn’t want to take the chance that the mold would spread any further. So, I broke out the saw and made quick work of collapsing the artwork down to a size that would fit in a trash bag.

Luckily, the mold was isolated, and had not spread to any other areas of the trailer, or any other pieces of work. The damage was contained, and although I lost a few large pieces of work, I learned a lesson - and will not store my work in damp bags again! I need to invest in some water proof bags for next time and skip the drama!

UPDATE: I went ahead and purchased a bunch of Gallery Pouches from Frame Destination to store my work in - they are waterproof and cushioned, and would have saved my work had I had them for the Houston show.

No, I am not affiliated with Frame Destination - Just a happy customer