Bring your creativity with you when you go on the road
I don’t know about you, but for me, travel and creativity are inextricably linked. I find they inspire each other. Being in a new place, surrounded by new sights and experiences, wakes up my creative muscles and makes the magic happen.
If you’re a creative type, no matter your artistic weapon of choice, there are simple ways to make sure that when that travel inspiration strikes, you’re ready for it. Tap into the creative energy of new surroundings and create away!
Carry a Notebook
This is the top essential tip for staying creative on the go. Carry a notebook. It can be something elegant and amazing, or just a little flip pad that fits in your pocket. But carry paper and a pen or pencil, and carry them everywhere.
If an idea strikes you, write it down. Whether it’s a clever line, an entire poem, a new story idea, or a plan for a crafting project you’ll do when you’re back home among your supplies, write it down. Get it down on paper so you don’t have to be responsible for keeping track of it in your head anymore.
And if writing is your favorite creative medium, there’s nothing like working on a new project while on vacation. Whether that’s sitting with a newly inspired scene from your work in progress, or spontaneously crafting a poem while waiting for your meal to arrive at dinner, travel downtime is absolutely ideal for this kind of creative work. So pack your notebook and live your best traveling author life.
Sketch or Draw
Make that notebook in your pocket an unlined one and suddenly you’re prepared to sketch or draw! (or paint, if that’s your poison!) I prefer sketching as the vacationing visual art because all you really need in addition to your sketchbook is a pencil or two. But depending on the size of your bag, you can bring anything from some basic colored pencils, to a full watercolor set, or anything in between!
I’ve been known to travel with my sketchbook and my favorite art markers, and there’s nothing quite like taking the scenery around you and turning it into personalized art. You can draw from the photographs you take, or settle in and do your creating on location! I’ve done this in front of landmarks at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival, from cafe windows in Zion Canyon, or from balconies in New Orleans. Every time is a deeply special experience, taking the unfamiliar scenery in front of you and putting it down on paper.
Plus, drawing in public is a huge ego boost. Most people who see you doing it will be so impressed with the fact that you’re drawing in public that they’ll compliment the hell out of your work…even if it isn’t that good!
Get Creative with your Photos
You’re probably already taking a lot of photos as you travel -I know I do!- so take your time with them and turn them into an art form! With the basics of photo composition, even photos taken with your smartphone can become dazzling works of art.
I have family members who regularly order and frame large prints of the photos they take on vacation. They make for absolutely stunning home decor. However you decide to share your photos, they serve dual purpose as reminders of your travels, and a showcase of your personal brand of artistry.
Collage when you Get Home
I can’t be the only one that collects every scrap of paper that I accumulate while traveling, right? Save those ticket stubs, those public transit tickets, those paper maps, even those receipts if they have particularly interesting logos or happen to be in a foreign language, and use them to make beautiful art on your return! Whether you collage them, paste them in a scrapbook, or anything in between, the result is a beautiful travel keepsake that takes up almost no space in your luggage on your return flight.
Travel is such a Creativity Boost!
Tap into the wealth of creativity that new surroundings can bring. Turn your new experiences into poems or stories or images. Take home some mementos of your trip that you just so happen to make with your own hands. Enjoy!
Still need more space in that luggage? Want more Arts and Adventures? Pick yourself up a FREE Packing Light List: the ultimate guide to packing everything you need and nothing you don't!
Love and Shenanigans,
Andi
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