Art on the go...

Meri thinks I have super powers "beyond ordinary abilities"...LOL. Nope. Alas, Super Kelly I am not (of course when I was very little I might have wanted to be Super Grover...well, ok, I really wanted to be Wonder Woman. I had the Halloween costume and everything.

Okay, back to reality. How the hell do I make art on the go? How in the world was I able to make art at the track yesterday?
two more pages from art at the track... What to take?
First thing, you need to realize that you don't need to bring your whole studio. I brought a couple of broken stubs of watercolor crayons (literally, watercolor fragments broken into tiny pieces and in a small ziploc bag), a few of my favorite pens with me (my lattes, my sweets, a couple of black pens, one gold pen and one white uniball signo pen), two glue sticks (just in case), scissors (though these are not always necessary and I didn't bring them with me last year), metal ruler (again, not necessary and I didn't bring that with me yesterday), a rag or paper napkins (to smooth out bubbles and wrinkles..also can double as a gluing surface), journal and collage ephemera. I brought way too much collage ephemera with me yesterday-a big ass ziploc bag. Last year I brought a tiny ziploc bag and maybe 50 pieces of paper. At Comic Con in the summer I put paper scraps and small images in a small wet ones plastic box. Yesterday, we didn't know we were going until the last minute so I literally grabbed my bag of collage ephemera that was "ready to go". YOU DO NOT need a ton of stuff to make art.

Journal + paper ephemera (small selection)+glue stick+pen(s)+rag/paper towel=Happy Artist

Where did I work?
We buy general admission tickets to the track (we usually only go Opening Day...I'm not a huge fan of the track..too smoky for me!!!) so that means either you bring your own chair, find a spot outside or just stand. Well, I like to stand. There's a spot down the far end of the track near the betting windows that aren't being used any more. That area has little nooks and crannies where one can spread out a few things and stand at their makeshift desk, which is what David and I do. We claim our spot and I stand there protecting our territory and happily making art.

I've done the same thing at Comic Con. While standing (or sitting in line), I'll work in my journal.

I've made art while waiting for hubby to finish jury duty sitting outside the court room (no scissors or metal ruler with me..I brought a bone folder to use to "tear" paper). What I think is that most of us forget that we really don't need a ton of stuff (though I will freely and openly admit, I LOVE new toys to play with). We need a small space to claim as our own and just the desire to want to MAKE something. I've done art on planes, trains, boats and in cars. If I can do it, you can do it. Just remember, you don't need the kitchen sink, just a glue stick.

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Megan asked where I store my images. I have different bags and boxes (after all, there isn't one perfect storage system) in my studio (aka living room) area. I rotate everything. I have my originals in large ziploc bags under my desk. Every now and then I go through what I have and sort out my must have NOW vs keep for later. I just rotate to what I want and when I want it. Right now my studio area is a mess being Christmas and all. ;) I know where everything is though!

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I finished the journal last night. I'll be showing the last few pages over the next couple of days...

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The world lost not only Eartha Kitt this week, but also Harold Pinter...and Adrian Mitchell.

Comments

Barb Smith said…
Thank you so much. I think this boils down to "Keep it Simple." You're so right when you say that we get caught up in trying to use every single bit of art supply goodness that we own on each page that we forget how wonderful SIMPLE can really be.

Thank you for reminding me.

Peace & Love,
~Barb~
Sandy said…
Two more beautiful pages and done at the track? How great. I'm never still long enough when we go out of town to pages. LOL We always have things to do like shop. LOL When I go visit my Mom again in New Orleans I'll be making me a "to go" box and I'll do art while at her house because I get tired of sitting there and watching boring TV after we've done all our fun stuff for the day. :D

Thanks for the tips on what to bring. I need a mini ruler, mine is rather huge, I needed it for my calligraphy class in college but it's metal with cork on the back. :D

All of my "stuff" is organized in my studio too, which is on and around my dining table. LOL I also have a bookshelf against that wall that I have things organized in rubbermaid containers and labeled so I can find them. It's a mess right now but like you Kelly I know where everything is. I'm scared to organize it anymore because then I can't find what I want.

One thing I've found that works are those acordian style folders for bills, I use one of those for my papers I want to use in my journaling. It's great for organizing them. I already had one that I wasn't using.

Can't wait to see the finished book.
Julie said…
Hey Kelly,

Have been a fan of your stuff for a while. I often visit but dont comment so decided to speak up more often in 2009!

Its interesting that you do your art on the go. Having packed all my stuff away for xmas (on account of all 3 kids coming home for xmas!) I decided to just spread it on the floor today whilst watching tv and I lost myself in my own little world.
Anonymous said…
This is funny because I woke up this morning and in my half asleep state was wondering "how does Kelly make collages and journal at the race tracks!?

And here was my answer.

You must be pretty fast too, because it takes me forever to make choices about what to use, where and how. Hopefully I will work on that during your online class, since there will be one prompt per day, and I work full-time, so I better get fast!
Megan Warren said…
Thanks Kelly - so I need to get some bags and get the studio set up! thank you for being so open about your process.
Judy said…
Good ideas for "art on the go"! I so want to try that, but haven't got a starting point for a "kit". Thanks for the push in that direction!

I will be taking two classes from you in February at Frenzy Stamper and cannot wait! Sherry Goodloe was the source that pushed me to go to FS and check out your samples! I am so ready to try something new and different to crank up the creative juices!

Thanks for visiting my blog today and leaving a comment. I have way too many "blurkers" that visit and never comment.

Hurry up February!!!
Anonymous said…
thank you for this great post! I'm going to start carrying supplies with me all the time:) I have a pretty big purse, so I can carry my sketchbook, pencils and favorite art books (at the time) with me-you never know when you'll be stuck somewhere and need them. I never thought about taking art journal too-I actually LIKE going to places I know I will have to wait for awhile-gives me time to play!

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