The Traveling Artist

Caran d'Ache Neocolor II watercolor crayons

For some reason I simply can't toss a few things into my suitcase and be confident that I'll have all I need when I get to my destination. I have to make lists upon lists to be sure I haven't forgotten something important... and this from a woman who used to teach workshops about planning and packing a travel wardrobe. But to make packing easier I keep a packed sketching kit ready for the road.

Jo Reimer's traveling sketch kit

The case is a tri-fold cosmetic case, found at AAA a few years ago. I've seen similar ones at the drugstore. Here's what's in it...

• my small Moleskine journal, a tiny watercolor paintbox made from a mint tin, and a waterbrush. These live in my handbag at home, every day.
• Winsor Newton travel palette with 12 basic colors.
• a second waterbrush
• 4 other rather small brushes with shortened handles,
• a tiny spray bottle for water,
• a tiny bottle of Indian Red ink and a dip pen for drawing, 
• several half-sticks of Caran d'Ache crayons in a little plastic bag,
• my collage/watercolor journal and a few extra bits of watercolor paper,
• 2 UHU gluesticks and a small jar of acrylic medium with a spreader,
• small children's scissors,
• pens and pencils,including a couple of colored pencils
• eraser and tiny pencil sharpener,
• a tiny sea sponge,
• several paper and plastic alphabet stencils,
• a film container for paper clips and brads with masking tape wrapped around the outside,
• a roll of clear packing tape that tears easily to use for magazine transfers.
• small pad of watercolor postcards
• a 2" S-hook, a carabiner and a large safety pen 

This all fits into the folding cosmetic bag. 
 

Tri-fold kit with left compartment folded inward

 

Kit opened all the way

On the airplane I position the S-hook or the safety pin somewhere in front of me on the airplane, hook the carbineer to the handle of my travel kit, and hang from the S-hook so my equipment is handy as I work.


Between trips this kit lives in my car where I also keep a spare, larger sketchbook.

What do you pack? What sort of packing case do you use? 
 

New Studio Journals for 2011

I spent an hour this morning making 2 new studio journals for the coming year. These are made from cardstock or index weight paper, 8.5 x 11. None of the papers are white, to avoid the blank white paper syndrome we creative types sometimes face. I used 30 sheets of paper in each journal so it's half an inch thick and not too heavy to carry around.

I used my RubiCoil to punch holes in the paper as well as along one side of some painted and stenciled paper which is the cover. The 140# watercolor paper isn't sturdy enough so I sewed another sheet to the inside cover and added some gray ribbon along the edges, and I sewed some woven, patterned ribbon across the width to give some character and texture to the piece.

Although you can't see the three index tabs along the edge in this scan, the photo below will give you an idea. The tabs are attached to some heavyweight card and were originally used in a vintage file box that I found in a junk store

... so then I had to make a second journal and used the same woven ribbon plus another narrow orange and yellow ribbon for accent. I'm sure I'll fill both of these this year, and maybe others. It would be most efficient to make several at once while I have the tools out but there's something about binding the journals that encourages me to get to work in them right away so I'm anxious to get to work.

These journals will contain mostly notes, plans, thumbnail sketches, and ideas for future work. I don't use this as an art journal which one would fill the pages with beautiful paintings or collages. I have other journals for that.

I work in several journals and sketchbooks at a time and use several sizes. I carry a little Moleskine sketchbook in my handbag for drawings and notes when I'm out an about. And I usually have half a dozen art journals floating around the studio. I keep 2 in my journal case that's really an outfitted vintage train case. The rest stand on my desk in the studio waiting for me to be inspired to work in them.

I headed to the beach last weekend hoping to get some future planning done but somewhere I caught a case of the lazys and spent most of my time reading or walking... mostly sitting and reading. Now I'm still thinking about plans for the year and feeling guilty that I have't got anything onto paper. In the last day or two I read someones's blog where she talked about how most of us think we must have our plans made by January 1? She looks at it differently; she sets aside most of January to plan the rest of the year. (I'm so sorry I didn't make a note of which blog or I'd have linked to her post.)

Oh my, did that ever hit home with me!  I have NO time in December to make plans and I sure can't use the week between Christmas and New Years to plan, nor can I get it done on New Years Day like my friend Linda does. Whew! What a weight off my back. I have until February 1st before I need to feel guilty about not getting plans on paper, though perhaps this afternoon I can draw a big mind map of 2011 on the first 2 pages of my new journal.

Sharpening the focus

Mixed Bouquet in Blue Vase
4 1/2" x 6 1/2" (11.5cm x 16.6cm)
acrylic on board
$30 plus $4.95 shipping and handling in the US
E-mail me for International shipping rates or other inquiries.

I'm going through a period of self-questioning, trying to figure out how to bring a sharper focus to my art-making, though I admit that this is an on-going process for me. I like it all. When I worked in fiberart I wanted to do it all... embroidery, applique, quilting, surface design, dyeing, sewing, and all the little sub-groups of each of those topics. I could never settle on one thing and now that I'm making 2-dimensional art it's still the same.

At my Open Studio last fall there was a recurring comment from visitors who noted that I worked both realistically and abstractly, painted still life and landscape, used oil, acrylic, watercolor, pastels, collage, in all sizes and color palettes. I do have a recognizeable style but produce the unexpected rather than a series of similar work. I'm interested in everything and that's the problem... I need to focus my attention and dig deeper.

Each of us has a measured lifespan and right now I'm so aware that my productive years may be drawing to a close. I've lived 7 decades and while I'm not planning to jump off a cliff anytime soon I feel my body slowing down and my production waning.

I want my life to count, not just today but for eternity. I want what I do to matter, to my family, to my friends, and to God. I think that I've been given opportunity after opportunity to learn skills, to develop an artistic eye, to develop wisdom, to grow spiritually, to be prepared to do work that matters, to finally focus instead of hunting art with a scattergun.

The plan is to concentrate on my Sermon Notes. I've done 46 Notes and I'm aiming for 60, at least. I want to publish them as a book, so I need an agent and a publisher since I don't want to tackle the non-art part of self-publishing and marketing when my talents lie in the studio. Getting all this accomplished takes time and concentration, so for the next few months I will put away the oils and most of the acrylic and watercolor paints, the easel and the fabric and thread, and work on the Notes. Years ago my friend Linda showed me how to set up stations in my studio, so I plan to clear surfaces and set up some more clearly defined stations, one for working on Notes, a place where everything I need is at arm's reach and when I have even a few minutes all I have to do to get something more done is to sit down and do it. There's my reading corner with my Bible and magazines and Morning Pages journal and new books. There's the big work table in the middle of the room where I can spread out when I need more space. And there'll be empty space with a bouquet of flowers off to the side. Lovely.

I'll continue to travel with my little sketchbook and paintbox and draw my world, and I'll continue working in my art and writing journals... all that is related and keeps my skills exercised. My friend Sandy talked recently about making her studio into a sanctuary, a place that called forth her creative spirit when she entered the room. I'd like to do that; aim for minimalism, spareness, and beauty.

We were in Sunriver last weekend and I thought that when I got home I could jump right into my new plan but of course that didn't work because my studio is a mess and it will take time to get myself ready to work. And then there's the rest of my life. I'd love to say that I work at art full time but I don't and never will. I'm first of all a wife, a mother, a grandmother, a friend. All of that takes time and energy. I figure that by the middle of September I'll have the studio rearranged and my new schedule set. And I'll be tweaking it a bit as I go. After all, focusing is a new thing for me.