You’ll know where the wild things are in Savannah if you’ve sauntered past 24e lately, where a new assimilation of colorful characters has gathered beyond the regular Savannah sort. Over the last few months, peering into the storefront window has revealed a festive atmosphere of decidedly odd antics: a fetching figure called Crystal caught deliriously dangling from a tire swing, while a parachuting parade of poppets frolic underfoot. Peek through the windows after hours and you might catch a shadowy glimpse of a visiting Hotchkiss (an extremely talented barber who likes to visit the swamps in spring), or Antoine, who prefers swinging in Italy and confesses a strange penchant for shoes. These newest residents aren’t human, however, but the fanciful creatures of Savannah artist Caleigh Bird’s eclectic imagination.

Dubbed “The Sock Monster Posse,” Bird’s avant-garde creations, referred to as “sock monsters,” find their spectral roots in the most unlikely of places: a happenstance tutoring gig at a local art camp for kids. An artist and longtime crafter, Bird decided on a lark to accompany a friend to an art camp to teach children crafts. The sock monster was among the projects she taught. “Ironically, I never actually made a single monster during that camp. When I got home though, I thought they might be a good item to add to my craft show booth and started to play.” A few months later, the Sock Monster Posse was born.

Bird, who graduated from Charleston College with a Bachelor of Arts in fine art, is an accomplished oil painter whose figurative realism works include Towel Creature and The Happiest Little Broken Rubberband, as well as an entire series devoted to amoebas. You might say she has a bit of a penchant for the strange. “I’ve been crafting my entire life—jewelry and things like that—primarily to support my painting. However, the monsters were what really started taking off.”

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Written by: Lisbeth Cheever-Gessaman
Photography by: Jabber Pics