Travel Art Supplies :: Japan/Thailand
I’m an over packer by nature.
As a little kid I would stuff virtually every CD I owned, at least 3 books and as many colored pencils/sketchbooks as would physically fit inside my backpack just to go on relatively short road trips. (Sorry Mom and Dad!)
It’s not that I fear being be bored, or have to be occupied at all times, — I actually really enjoy the feeling of “nothing” to do, I’ve just always felt a supreme need to be prepared. What if the car breaks down in a beautiful field and I want to draw? Better have my pencils. What if rains all day and our hiking plans are cancelled? Better have my sketchbooks.
These over-packing tendencies begged to be carried over into my international trips - but baggage requirements and the realistic weight of what I can actually carry have dictated otherwise. Over the last 3 or 4 adventures abroad I’ve whittled down what I consider necessary and have ended up with a pretty good list for creating the art I want to create while away. I’ve been asked a few times on instagram to share what I bring, so here is my complete list of art supplies for this 2017 Asia trip.
Art Supplies - Japan/Thailand 2017
Document tube + a few sheets of paper from home.
Tube acrylics
Acrylic brushes + plastic palette
Passport-sized Moleskine sketchbook (generally kept with my passport)
4 x 6 watercolor book (cold pressed)
Sennelier watercolor travel palette
9 x 12 Fredrix watercolor canvas pad
9 x 12 watercolor block (hot pressed)
Watercolor brushes (Escoda, Golden)
Washi tape
9 x 5 watercolor sketchbook
All of this fits into my carryon backpack except the document tube, which gets carabiner-ed onto my checked luggage. True it doesn’t leave a whole lot of room for non-art items, but with my phone and iPad I’m pretty well set for the flights. At the end of the trip I’m sure re-evaluate what I used the most/least and tweak my list again - but I think out of all the trips we’ve gone in the last 2-3 years, this has been my most successful packing list. What about you, how do you pack for art-inclined vacations?
Problem Solving with Fredrix Pro-Series Dixie Canvas Kit
I love working on commissions. Creativity, problem-solving, getting to speak with clients; the process combines some of my favorite parts of being a working artist. As much as I try to make sure everything is ready, planned and budgeted correctly, as with any long-term project— issues can arise that could possibly derail the progress.
In this case I’m excited to share an issue that came up in the initial planning stage -- which I can happily report is solved.
Staying within a budget for a project is incredibly important to me. I value my clients time and information and do everything I can to make sure the finished version aligns with the initial projected cost. On this project, the canvas was large enough (40 x 60) that it wouldn’t leave a lot wiggle room for the shipping. Well, not any in truth, and thus made the project less than feasible. We didn’t want to break the sketch into two pieces for cheaper shipping, and moving to paper to roll it up wouldn’t work with our sketch either. Feeling really dismayed that I wouldn’t be able to make this project fit in the budget, I tried one last option.
The Fredrix Dixie-Pro rollup canvas kit.
The kit is a rolled, pre-gessoed length (multiple sizes to pick from) of Fredrix’s Dixie Pro canvas. It’s stapled on one side with a sturdy cardboard tube in the middle to support the canvas and is packaged with all the appropriate sized stretcher bars and their patent-pending stretching tool. By using the kit I can stretch it in my studio, paint the work, undo the canvas and repackage in it's original long, thin box to send out. With this arrangement shipping is far, far less of a concern and makes the project 100% feasible.
What I needed:
-Electric drill
-Staples/Staple gun
((Everything else is included in the kit.))
To put it together, I simply unrolled the canvas on my vacuumed studio floor, and aligned the stretcher bars. From there I screwed in the cross pieces at 90 degree angles and added the crossbeams. Once the frame was together I used the provided tool system to stretch the canvas and staple down.
I usually stretch my canvases by hand, or by using a set of metal stretcher clamps --- but I was seriously so impressed with the Fredrix kit stretching system. It was incredibly easy to get a perfect tautness in the canvas, and even easier to staple down. If I was stretching the kit without the disassembly I’d cut the extra canvas off and fold the corners - but since my client will be re-stretching on her end I left the extra.
The canvas was easy to build, and will be just as easy to take apart to save on transit fees. I’m ridiculously thrilled that it solved the shipping problem and made this project possible --- and can’t wait to start the painting phase!
Stockist Spotlight: Thistle and Bess
I’m pretty particular about the places that stock my work.
It’s got to be a shop that you feel good walking into, with people who care about their community and give back to the area that supports them. A shop that sparks a bit of joy.
(Patterned wallpaper is always plus too)
Which is why I’m so thrilled to have work available for purchase in Ann Arbor’s Thistle and Bess.
The shop is near literally the cutest thing on the planet.
Each carefully curated and displayed item has a story to share, a tale to tell. And it's all just so. cool. I could spend hours looking everything, discovering makers, artists and all sorts of products that just make my heart sing.
The shop is located in the Kerrytown area of Ann Arbor, which is filled with fun little spaces to explore and lots of restaurants/cafes. It's one of my favorite locals for a brainstorm-lunch, or a coffee-fueled sketching session outdoors.
AND! On October 27th right there in the heart of Kerrytown I'll be at Thistle and Bess for a Meet the Artist event. I'll have originals, limited edition prints and a few new pieces to share - so make sure to stop by if you're in the area.
EH Sherman Art Abroad - Making Work in Ireland
We took a 'circular' path around the island, beginning in Dublin, Carlingford, Belfast, Letterkenny, Castlebar, Cork and back to Dublin. It was an incredible two weeks of sights, sounds, sketching and of course - food.
Spending multiple nights in each location, we took day trips to the surrounding areas as we went. It was a very busy trip, always on the go, but just so utterly fantastic. 99% of the places I've visited I've fallen in love with -- but Ireland just might come out on top.
Perhaps it was the small towns, connected by narrow winding roads and divided by nothing but stone walls and sheep herds that felt like a moment back in time, maybe the overflowing warmth of everyone we met, maybe the jaw-dropping vistas. Or more likely, a combination of everything above.
When I wasn't taking pictures, I was sketching and painting. Filled with a new appreciation for greens, grays, blackish blues and tiny dots of purple I worked furiously to express what I felt looking at the landscape.
Every time we rounded a bend it seemed like there was another valley, another mountain that called to be explored. Like a carrot on a stick. A big, beautiful paleo-lithic carrot.
I could have spent another 3 weeks there, easily. Or longer. But I only really had 3 weeks of clothes with me, sooo...
It was just the most fantastic time. And I truly enjoyed getting to talk with some of you on a few of the car rides via Instagram Live, being able to show my process in the car was just such a neat experience. (Follow me @ellen_the_lemon for the next Live video!)
Now that we're back and I'm settled into the organization of the work I made, I can't help but think wistfully on the slow mornings spent waking up to mountain haze, listening to the sheep and smelling the seashore. I'm grateful for all the wonderful suggestions we received on what to do, what to see and what to eat, you guys had some truly fantastic advice!
I'll be posting a major shop update in the coming days, (featuring the works made in ireland!) sign up for the newsletter to be notified the second it goes live.
Hope you all have a wonderful weekend <3
Bookmaking with Blurb - Unveiling!
**Thanks to Blurb for sponsoring this post. It has been a wonderfully transformative project from start to finish**
When I began this project, my goal was to create an art piece; another avenue and medium to show my paintings, another way to look at my work, something to bring along to shows. I had no idea it would turn into such a personal and sentimental adventure.
When I returned home from our travels to Ireland and Belgium, my first thought was the book that I knew had arrived at my parent’s home while we were away. All the nights I spent planning the pages, picking the words to go with the paintings, delving into consciousness and recollection were there, just waiting to be opened.
I was immediately floored by the cover. The depth of the printing shows the true texture of the work, all the delicious nooks and crannies in the fibers of the raw canvas are nearly tactile. It accomplishes what I set out to create, an art piece in itself. Flipping through the pages brought nothing but unbridled delight. The paper is gorgeous (ProLine Pearl), the printing is flawless and brings these detail shots to life with an amazing range of tone. The pages are truthful to the original pieces - which is a major concern for me when printing images of work.
The project morphed as I worked on it, (you can read about the process here!) but the end goal; to have a functional art piece to compliment my body of work was met and then some. The book transitioned from a relatively cut and dry gallery book to a snapshot of my motivation, inspiration, memories and inner-monologue. It is something I’m immensely proud of, but also something that is a little bit scary to share with the world.
I decided to make the book available in the Blurb store for now. I may consider Amazon, Ingram or an iBook release in the future, but it’s super easy to sell your book through the Blurb store - and it is the most cost-effective way to get this out to you all for the time being. Plus I really like their marketplace, it’s been a fun community to poke around in - lots of interesting people making some very interesting books.
The creation of this book has been a wonderful process, a chance to engage on a much more personal level with my viewers and a chance to have a different type of discussion with myself about my work, presented via a totally different medium. The design, digital creation, uploading and ordering process were a breeze and I am just so thrilled with the overall experience. I’m looking forward to bringing a few copies to my next show!
(( If you can’t make it one of the shows in Michigan or Florida and want to order a copy for yourself, head over to the link and purchase from the Blurb store. Send me your order confirmation and I’ll send over a little thank you present. <3 ))
Connecting with my work through a different medium has been such a transformative experience. Removing the context of ‘a painting’ has led to some really great conversations with myself about motivations and growth. What about you? Have you showcased your work via another medium? Video, book, performance? What have you learned in the process?
