A Day at the Elephant Sanctuary
I am simply without words. I'll try my best to write out what I can about our day spent among the elephants - but I know whatever words I pick will not do the animals justice.
We visited an elephant sanctuary today. No riding, no performing, just a slow walk back from the river. These elephants have been rescued from dire situations around the countryside and brought to the refuge to live out their days in peace, and it was hard to speak in anything more than a whisper around them - everything just felt so sacred and soft.
We walked with them on their daily trek from the river to their sleeping quarters, feeding them bananas, sugar cane and bundles of grass along the way. They were so much larger than I was expecting, just absolutely gargantuan creatures - but so, so gentle.
We learned about each elephant individually as we walked the trail, it's history and it's temperament, favorite foods and funny moments. I just can't get over how incredible their presence was, how anyone could hurt them is a baffling, sickening mystery to me.
At the end of the day I was more tired than I think I've been in years. The walk wasn't strenuous, but every nerve alert, every sense trained on soaking in the time we had with these gentle giants.
It will take me a bit to process the day, but I already have a few sketches going to help. When words fail me, colors usually pick up the slack.
As always, thanks for following along <3
Refuge / 18 x 24
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?