ArtMaking on the Road

When you're trying to keep up a regular artmaking practice, travel can really put a crimp in your style! I do a lot of my work in encaustic, and it's a big challenge to try and take a griddle, torch, and wax if you're traveling - especially if you're flying.

But I want to make sure that I keep my artmaking muscles flexing, even when I'm on the road.  Here's the kit I usually take with me when I fly:  It includes pencils, eraser, sharpie pens, brushes with built-in water reservoirs, portable watercolors and a sketchbook. 

 

I only take scissors and an exacto knife if I have checked baggage (which is most of the time).   If I'm driving, I'll add gesso and encaustics, along with a collapsible water container and a wider selection of brushes.

Here's a collage I made in New York last year - one of the fun challenges I set myself is to only collage with things I can find for free.  In New York, I was attending a book conference and visiting museums, so the freebies were amazing!

 And here's one from an International Encaustic Artists' Conference in San Antonio last year.  All the collage materials were found for free, and I picked up some gesso along the way.

Here's a collage from my road trip through California earlier this summer -all made with stuff found in the Bay Area.

Later on during the trip, I copied it and reworked it with some paint.

Of course, even if you forget everything, you can still make really fun stuff.  I recently flew to the East Coast to see a friend and realized I had left all my art supplies at home! 

So, I picked up a glue stick and some copy paper (even grocery stores will have these basic supplies), and found an old fashion magazine in the laundry room of the place I was staying.  Even without scissors, I was able to piece some things together. 

So hey, no excuses!  Go make stuff - even on the go.