The ART of Packing
plus why I travel with my art supplies even when I know I won't use them (except when I do)
Creative Possibilities/Issue #17
As of this past week I’ve traveled out of the country not just once but three times. It still feels like a pinch-me-to-make-sure-it’s-real situation. Only a few years ago I’d started to think that international travel would always remain an unreachable dream. I was twenty-one when I first flew on an airplane and for the next twenty years I barely made it out of the southeast quadrant of the United States. Then, at age forty-five, I celebrated my birthday in France, hopped over to Germany on that same trip and in quick succession this summer I’ve been to Costa Rica and Albania. I’m beyond grateful for the opportunities that have turned up in the last few years.
To me the hardest part of preparing for a trip is figuring out what to pack. First there is the running list of questions to answer in my head. Will I check a bag or only bring a carry-on? What kind of clothes will I need for the weather? What do I pack for just-in-case situations and what do I leave to chance? What are the non-negotiables and what am I willing to cut from the list as the suitcase gets heavier?
It takes me weeks of making a list, ordering items from Amazon, returning said items to Amazon, and slowly stockpiling supplies in the corner of my room like someone preparing for the end of the world.
I imagine we could learn a lot about each other just by the contents of our individual packing lists. Last week our family traveled to Albania for nine days and from the amount of band-aids, medicines, and toilet paper I packed, you could deduce quickly that I like to be prepared for any situation (enneagram 6, raising my hand). There were also clues that I care more about my appearance than I’d like to admit: the overabundance of clothing options, the travel-sized hair straightener even though I knew my hair would just get frizzy in the July wet heat, and several colors of bandanas to tie around my neck for that “final touch”.
At eleven or so the night before we left, just six hours before we needed to leave for the airport, my husband finally began packing his bag. I was a little envious of how little he’d thought about the contents of his suitcase leading up to the trip (he’s an enneagram 9, folks).
“Have you ever made a packing list in your life?” I asked him.
“Yes,” he said.
“Have you made a list for this trip?”
“Nope,” he said.
We could learn a lot about each other based on how we prepare, or don’t prepare, for a trip.
What about you? What would I learn about you from your packing list?
My Non-negotiable Item
There are plenty of practical items that go on a packing list but in my experience we often need emotional support items as well. If you’re lucky, sometimes an item can serve both purposes. My non-negotiable item is a small collection of art supplies and it falls neatly into both categories.
It’s a practical item because I’m an artist and an artist needs her paints and sketchbook right? I love the idea of arriving back home from a trip with a sketchbook full of art that captures the places I’ve been. When we visited Étretat, France, I could easily imagine myself standing just where Monet once stood, painting the same stunning cliffs that loomed above me.
The reality is that even though I almost always pack art supplies, I rarely pull them out. I find it difficult to create while people are watching me which means I most often work from photos when I get back home.
Why, then, do I pack the supplies to begin with since they take up precious space in my luggage? The few times I’ve left my art supplies at home are the exact times that I’ve ended up wishing I had them so I’ve resolved to always bring them, just in case.
Beyond the practical, there’s also something comforting about having them along. It’s similar to how I feel about having a book within reach even if I don’t read it. I want to bring along important parts of myself even if they never leave the suitcase.
What about you? What is your non-negotiable item for traveling? Is there something you bring for emotional support?
Art Supplies as Emotional Support
It turns out that I did need my art supplies during our trip to Albania last week.
Our family traveled with a team from our church to Vlorë, where we helped out with an English camp for students ages 15-23. Because we went with an intention beyond just sightseeing, we found ourselves more quickly integrated into the culture and the people of the region. We spent the mornings leading group conversations and the afternoons connecting with the students at the beach nearby.
As someone who shudders at the thought of awkward conversation and stays in a corner at social gatherings, the responsibility of building relationships over the week was intimidating. I brought along my art supplies, not only for my personal use, but because I thought it might be a way of connecting with the students, a way to build a bridge even if a shared language was absent.
A couple of times I spread out my supplies on a beach chair to see if any students might be drawn in. The first time I ended up working on my own, painting the gorgeous scenery of Vlorë that overlooked the Ionian Sea. Even though I worked alone, I have to tell you that art still showed up for me that day. Overwhelmed by the job of connecting with the kids that particular afternoon, I felt like an awkward kid myself. I could picture my nine-year old self standing at one end of the cafeteria, looking for an open seat and a welcome face at one of the tables. Working in my sketchbook brought me back into my body, back into myself.
As I finished up, one of the students came by and exclaimed over my little painting and told me it was beautiful. Later that week, a member of the Albanian team also mentioned the painting and it started a conversation. Even though my plan hadn’t exactly worked out, the students still knew me a little more, simply because I’d been…myself.
Later in the week I pulled out my supplies again and ended up at a table with a young adult from our team and an Albanian student who’s studying to be a fashion designer. Together we worked in our own styles and mediums and talked in broken English. I was grateful that as some people threw a volleyball or played a card game, I was able to find connection by painting the Albanian geese that had been sitting beside us at lunch each day.
What about you? How has art shown up for you lately? What do you turn to in new and awkward situations?
My Albanian Art Kit
Bag #1
Bits of Collage Papers
A Sketchbook: This is a Stillman and Birn mixed media sketchbook. It’s 5.5 x 3.5 and it fits inside this bag. It has nice thick pages that handle all of the mixed media materials you see above. Because it’s cold press paper, the surface of the paper is much smoother than typical watercolor paper.
Derwent Inktense Watercolors: This is a newer purchase and I love its compact size and the water brush that comes with the set. Even though the markers I packed were enough for my personal use, I brought the paints along so I had supplies to share.
Tombow Brush Pen and Uni-ball Signo Black Pen: The reason I love the Uni-ball pen is that it’s water soluble. I can draw something with it and use the water brush to create shadows or I can wait a few minutes and the black ink will stay set even if I put water soluble mediums on top of it. I threw the Tombow brush pen in on a whim.
A cream Posca marker, a white Posca Marker, and a Uni-ball Signo White Gel Pen: Finishing a sketch with white highlights is one of my favorite layers to do so I don’t like being anywhere without at least one of these. If I could only have one it would be the gel pen.
Pentel Water Brush: This is hands-down one of my favorite supplies. I rarely ever use a traditional paintbrush anymore. This makes it so easy to add water to any of the water soluble mediums that I use on a regular basis. Just fill the end up with water and no need for a water cup.
Posca Markers, Tombow Markers and Stabilo Woody Pencils: Since I knew we would be near the ocean, I chose cool colors for beach scenes plus some warm colors for contrast.
(not pictured) A collapsible water cup, extra traditional paint brushes and a mixed media notebook: I brought each of these so I could share with students.
Bag #2
Washi Tape: great for adhering collage material, ticket stubs and other travel memorabilia.
Glue Stick
Paint Rag
What about you? What are your favorite art supplies to bring on a trip?
Continue the Journey
A few other items were life savers on my recent trips. This insulated water cup and these miniature fans have been indispensable in the heat. These Teva’s were great for protecting my feet from the rocky beaches and I was able to wear them in the water, too. (Bonus: they’re orange!)
- has some great posts about traveling with art supplies.
Fellow artist,
, recently put together a post about her own travel art kit.One of my favorite art classes I’ve taken in the last few years is this Urban Sketchbooking Class by Lewis Rossignol. He works from photos in the class, rather than on location, which is perfect for me. Several of the sketches in the post were only possible by taking his class.
(None of the links in this post are affiliate links, I’m sharing them just because I love them and I think you might love them, too.)
Blessings from the Guest Nest,
Aimee
P.S.—Thanks so much for reading! You can support the writing and art I share each week by donating to my art supply fund.
This is so insightful and helpful! I look forward to eventually feeling adept enough to travel with my art supplies!
I think I prep for a trip more like your husband. :-)
I do always pack with my coffee consumption in mind - what will I need for wherever I am going to keep the coffee iv flowing, but other than that....I pack light, forget stuff, and figure it out from there. I do usually bring a book I won't read because, as you well say, "I want to bring along important parts of myself even if they never leave the suitcase."
Such a great post tracing through so many good and beautiful things. Thank you for it all!