HUNTINGDON, Tenn. — For the past several years, customers at The 1822 Coffee Company have gotten more than a cup of coffee at the counter. Each day, they pick a side in a drawing-versus-drawing matchup and vote with their tips.
On Thursday night, November 5, the artist behind the contest, barista Jess Moss, saw those drawings on display at the Dixie Carter Performing Arts Center as family, friends, coworkers, and community members gathered for the opening of “Tip Wars.”
Guests browsed Moss’s pencil drawings while enjoying a selection finger foods and a coffee bar from 1822 Coffee Company.
“Tip Wars” began at the coffee shop, where Moss draws two illustrations each day that go head to head, such as Johnny Cash against Willie Nelson, Patrick Mahomes against Patrick Willis, or “Iris” by the Goo Goo Dolls against “Bohemian Rhapsody.” Customers vote by dropping tips in a jar, and the next day a winner is announced and a new matchup begins.
The subjects include celebrities, singers, and characters from books, movies, and TV.
Moss said the idea began about three or four years ago, when a coworker suggested she try something different from the shop’s yes-or-no tip jar questions.
Among her personal favorites is the first one she did, a matchup of “Starry Night” and the Mona Lisa.
She has kept all of her drawings over the years.
The tip war illustrations have even opened the door for Moss to share her artistic skills elsewhere. One coffee shop customer asked her to illustrate family members opposite recipes in a Christmas cookbook.
Visitors to the gallery can vote on one unsettled matchup, Michael Jackson against Elvis Presley, by dropping a tip in a jar near the guest book. The drawings are also for sale.
The exhibit runs through Jan. 27 and is free to the public Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
