Travel Kit: Taking Art On The Road

This collection of art supplies comprises the basics of my travel art kit. Everything fits in a small tote bag for a car ride and it also easily fits under the airplane seat in front of me. Of course, for plane trips the sharp items (scissors and exacto knife) must be go in checked luggage. Also, I've had crayons and oil pastels confiscated at the screening location as potentially being explosives, so I put those in my checked luggage along with mini containers of acrylics. Oil pastelts are too expensive to replace, and I don't want to go through the production of getting my checked luggage pulled back in so I can drop in a few crayons or acrylic paints. Once I'm through the x-ray checkpoint I fill my travel water jar and travel spritzer. Before every trip I also take time to do a few interesting backgrounds so they are ready for doodling en route. I also bring pieces of waxed paper cut to fit the pages of the journal to be used as  page protectors when I am painting or using gesso.

Color Adds Visual Element to Basic Journaling

During the return trip from visiting extended family in California during Christmas used my travel journal to help focus in on where I had been spending my time compared to how I needed to (re)prioritize my time to help facilitate the church's growth. First I brainstormed the various job headings for the major ways that I currently spend my time, and then I reorganized it based on leading for growth. I used the simple colors of the traffic light as a watercolor wash to add a visual element of how I needed to stop prioritizing my time (RED) compared to the new organization for GREEN and growing. Yellow in-between is the visual caution that the changes cannot, should not, and will not be made instantly, but rather there will be a transition from the red list to the green.

Clearing Clutter and Organizing the Workspace

 
My newly organized art space; a wall that was once filled with philosophy and theology books.
Label all the containers to indicate contents. Organize them so what you use most is located nearest to your work space.
My Happy New Year's resolution was to clear away the clutter in my art workspace and actually create room to do art. My art shares space with my academic library and my pastor study, so a three-in-one. Step one: I had to actually find the space so that I could organize my art supplies. I carefully went through my book shelves and edited out books I had not been using and packed them up to donate to a new seminary. I boxed up seven cartons of books and freed four long shelves. Step two: go to an inexpensive "dollar" store and buy an assortment of clear plastic storage containers. Step three: sort the art supplies into tubs and carefully mark each to indicate the contents. Follow the same procedure for tools and back-up supplies.
A partial "before" picture-I had cleared the books but I had not consolidated the remaining books to allow for art supplies.