Unpacking your Adventures
You know how when you attend a really good art retreat, the air itself seems filled with magic and possibility?
You’re hooked up to the pure tonic of the Universe – all those messages from the creative muses are flooding in, and you’re listening! You’re a channel for creation, and nothing seems impossible!
As that airplane descends through the clouds back though, the atmosphere gets denser, and the ‘spirit channel’ clouds up just a bit. You’re coming down from the high, and doubt starts to creep in. Did I really publicly declare (all lofty and confident), that of course I’m drawing every day, doing that gallery show, writing that book, etc.? Hopefully, for a few days, you set your alarm early, and practice drawing/writing/creating every day. But, the lovely but deeply messy people who share your home have left a debris trail. Socks! Dirty frying pans! No food in the fridge but a jar of mayonnaise with two teaspoons left. Deep sigh….Real life has taken over again.
The mental question pops up, ‘how do I extend that art retreat magic’ once I’m back in real life? Personally I admit, I’m still working on this one. But I’ve found a good way to get started on daily creativity is by drawing the contents of my suitcase as I unpack it! There’s something about making a list of what you actually wore, when you wore it, what happened that day that brings even little moments back. And you can excuse all this art time with ‘I needed to analyze what worked and what I shouldn’t have brought!’
It’s amazing how many micro-memories will pop back in, and provide material to fill out the drawings with running commentary. Your Artist Self actually wore that beret in Paris, despite its accompanying tourist cliché alert! And thoroughly enjoyed it. The umbrella that you bought because of your favorite Sleep Story - which naturally involves buying an umbrella in Paris, in the rain. The sandals that smelled so bad you wrapped them in their own shroud. How about the blister treatment that you’ll never go without again, and the glittery dinosaur children’s toothbrush purchased when you forgot your sensible Oral B Plaque Buster?
Each item, each drawing, brings it all back.
And isn’t that exactly what you want out of a travel sketchbook? Its purpose, after all, is to bring back the moments that made up the days of the most magical week of your life. I’d call that extending value.
Bonus: drawing the wrinkles on your clothes is a wonderful drawing exercise, with very low stakes because really who knows where the wrinkles sat in the laundry pile!
