How do you take an art break when you are away from home?

Transcript for Take an Art Break Podcast Episode

Lisa (00:02):

Oh wow. <Laugh> my computer. Talked to us. Okay.

Lauren (00:07):

Okay. Alright. Hello. Hello. It’s Lauren and Lisa. Lisa back again from Art Moving this time podcast can be a little bit different because it’s not going to be recorded live on Facebook as per usual because Lisa and I are, are taking a break. Haha.

Lisa (00:29):

<Laugh>.

Lauren (00:31):

So this is being recorded early. Mm-Hmm. <Affirmative>. So we thought a great question to ask would be how do you take an art break when you are away from home? So, you know, a lot of us might be traveling right now or just spending warts time outdoors if that’s, if you live in a place where that’s what you wanna do or just, you know, changing your vibe up a little bit. So you can take an art break outside your home and we’re here to tell you kind of how to do that today. Give you a couple tips. So what do you do, Lisa? How do you take art, break your

Lisa (01:11):

Home? I think it’s I think it’s pretty easy. I mean, I love when I’m traveling wherever abroad or we’re going to the picnic to the Bluffs, I always bring like watercolors and a journal and it’s just really fun, you know, while Don’s playing his, his ukulele, I can just you know, you can kind of record the moment with watercolors. So I do that and then I found some ideas. I’ll, I’ll go through them to collect inspiration. I think it’s, well there’s number one you can create. Like, that’s what I have a little backpack that has just really simple supplies so you can get that together pre. So when you’re either on the dash or you’re going on a road trip, you have that. And if you have kids you can actually create a cool little box full of art games and art supplies that they can, you know have fun with. So what I thought was when you’re way, I think it’s really important to find time to be alone. Hmm. Right? Because you, we always think of the concept of when we’re away on vacation, we have to be with everybody. But I think there’s also that moment in time where you really kind of need to, to take time to be alone, <laugh> and you need

Lauren (02:20):

To, yeah, you need a vacation from your vacation, right? Everybody.

Lisa (02:23):

Right. So I thought that’s important. And you know, when you do take time alone, you have new ideas, new creativity, new flow. It’s almost like you’re recharging yourself. So when you go back to the vacation with your kids or your friends or wherever you can be you can be charged up. And then I’ll just go through these things that I found. Snap pictures, which we all, all do. I don’t think anyone, most any everybody in this world snaps, pictures

Lauren (02:49):

<Laugh>. Yeah. I would add, I would add to that one when you say, because yeah, a lot of people are taking photographs of their vacation. I would challenge someone and how do you turn this into an heartbreak rather than taking a photograph to record something so that you kind of remember it or so that it, it like Marks, I did this. I’m standing in front of the Grand Canyon. Let me just take this picture. I would challenge you to turn it into an heartbreak and really photograph the part about it that is like, kind of speaking to you. Yeah. Take your standard Grand Canyon photo. I, I think everybody can probably think, understand what I mean when I say standard Grand Canyon photo. I mean, take it because you, you do want that family photo or your selfie or whatever it is. But then take five to 10 minutes to really wander in your mind and body through the Grand Canyon and, and find that photograph that speaks to you in a different way. That’s not about necessarily recording the scrapbook moment for your own memory, but recording the feeling of what it feels like to be there.

Lisa (04:03):

So I love that. I love that because then you get to really know the place. You get to know the energy of the place. Cause I think what we do, we tend to do, if we’re on our vacations, we go to the spot, we take it and then we run away <laugh> we don’t, we don’t absorb it. Like, that’s why I love to do art in spaces because you kind of sit down, you absorb the art, you can observe things. So I love that idea. It’s like you can really, really find the energy of the Grand Canyon and how it’s such a awesome, spectacular, <laugh> amazing place.

Lauren (04:34):

Well, I, so I, I, I had this experience when I saw the Sistine Chapel for the first time. And I mean, that blew my mind. Mm-Hmm. <affirmative> mm-hmm. <Affirmative>. And at the time you weren’t, I think, I’m not sure if you’re allowed to take photographs, it might have been no flash photography at the time, but they were very particular about how you could photograph it. Yeah. Pretty much so that you felt limited how to do it. And so crowded that

Lisa (05:03):

And then they always do Kaye Kaye <laugh>, like what it’s coming from.

Lauren (05:09):

And you were, you were forced to create that memory, not through photography. You sat there and you experienced this, this teen chapel. I mean I’ve, you know, and, and I feel like I, you absorbed it in a different way. And I think you can, you can do that anywhere. You don’t have to be in some check off your bucket list kind of place. You can be having a picnic on your Saturday afternoon and give yourself five minutes to absorb it. Not not just click the shutter to, to record that you were there, but, but absorb it as a human, as a being. You know? If that makes sense. It

Lisa (05:53):

Makes sense. Really connecting to the space, really connecting to nature, really connecting to the energy of it. I mean, I think that’s, that’s beautiful cuz that’s for me that’s the way to travel, you know, on some level because I, I think art, to take an art break is a form of travel on some level, you know? Yeah. Mm-Hmm. <affirmative>, it’s an inward. The other one I had is keep a journal, which is kind of the same thing, you know? Mm-Hmm. <Affirmative> say you are in wherever the Grand Canyon a picnic. What if you just take some notes about, I think, you know, like, or draw on it. 

Lauren (06:24):

Yeah. We do that with you know, this a friend of mine gave me this idea when her kid, her kids are older than mine, so she would get them notebooks and a append and turn them into naturalists. You know, I would love that out. And, and so rather than, you know, cuz everybody has that experience with their children where they’re bored. Yeah. you know, rather than pull something else out, they had their notebook and they, and they would draw what they saw or they would write it. So, you know, we do that. We, we piggybacked on that idea and we, we each have our notebooks and I

Lisa (07:01):

Love that. I love that. Yeah. That’s fantastic. It’s almost like that, that’s piggyback. I love when I travel the places to write a postcard to myself. <Laugh>. That’s awesome. That’s

Lauren (07:11):

A great idea. Right?

Lisa (07:13):

That’s

Lauren (07:13):

A great idea. Yeah. I

Lisa (07:15):

Still haven’t received the ones from Egypt though. I’m like, okay, that’s two years. Oh, three years ago. I dunno what happened to them, but most of the time I received them and it’s awesome.

Lauren (07:25):

And it was awesome.

Lisa (07:27):

<Laugh>, sometimes I, I I, I send them to my cats, but you, you know, we’ll see. The other one that I love was taking tours. If you have that opportunity that’s really creative to get another perception. I think there’s so many in, in national parks, there’s so many skilled professionals that really can give you a new perception of, of where you’re at, which is so cool.

Lauren (07:51):

Yeah, I like that. That’s, yeah, that’s kind of, I know it’s an experience of opening your mind, right?

Lisa (07:59):

Yeah. It’s like perception. And I don’t know if you’ve ever gone to like a place that you know, like you didn’t really understand. Say it’s a Native American sacred site and you really, you kind of know what it is, but you don’t, and then you have an an expert or somebody who knows what it is and you’re like, oh, wow. And then you can really connect with it also. So that’s a beautiful,

Lauren (08:18):

Yeah. I think that, oh, so that’s cool. Okay. So what you could do mm-hmm. <Affirmative>, if you could like, be there and either make a mental note or make a, like a note in your journal that you’re taking with you about what you’re drawn to visually or emotionally at this site where you are. And then go on that tour and then do it again and kind of see if you’re drawn to something new or drawn to some the same thing in a different way because of what you’ve learned. It’s sort of like, I used to do this with, in museums, I didn’t like to know the title of the artwork right before I saw the artwork mm-hmm. <Affirmative>, because I wanted to know what the title would do to my psychosis around the artwork. Right. So you walk up to a painting, you experience it, and then you read the title and the artist’s statement about it. And your experience is different because your, your influenced by, I mean words are in influential, right? They’re their own, they’re their own artwork in itself. So

Lisa (09:17):

Yeah. I love that, that you used the word drawn. It’s like draw on, you know what I mean? Like, you’re drawing and that’s taking an heartbreak, but it’s also like maybe it’s a phy it is a physical action. You’re like, like I’m drawn to something. Like you’re drawn, like you, you are at the dot. That becomes the line as you’re drawn to, you know, to, to a petroglyph or, or something, you know? I think that’s really cool. The other thing is ask questions. You know, ask questions, especially if you’re with a group of people, a family, what if you, you know, start kind of asking the inquiry <laugh> ask questions where you’re at. Embracing the experience is another important. I think we’re, that’s the full circle. We keep on really talking about that. What else do I have? I did the art box and the art backpack, but I think also have fun and create like that bucket list. It, especially if you’re in our car for a long time, it’s really cool for family members or friends to create like this creative bucket list of where what you wanna see, what you wanna do in the world. Those are

Lauren (10:24):

Some beautiful Love that. Yeah. Yeah. So yeah, when you’re in, if you’re taking, if you’re in the car for a long period of time some fun breaks you can do that just involve driving in a window are, you know you can search for the rainbow. We do that a lot. We’re used at the top of the rainbow. You look for something that’s the color red, and then you look for something that’s the color orange and it’s sort of like a seek and fine game. And then obviously you can have art supplies in the car and the people who are not in on driving duty can sketch away or write letters or you know, find things outside the window to write about, draw about collage about things like that. And then you can also just make up stories you know, look some for something outside your window that inspires a subject matter for a new story and everybody can contribute to the story as they feel inspired to do so. So that’s another kind of in the car heartbreak.

Lisa (11:34):

Two things come to mind. I love hawks. So when I’m in on a road trip, I always like, oh my God, there’s a hawk that’s always kind of like, like a, you know, like everybody look at the hawk, find the hawk, or you gotta find the hawk. The other one is that movie with who Bear, it was so cute. I think it was Christopher Robinson, it was the latest one. Maybe <laugh> a crew bear. What he does is he’s traveling on the train, he’ll like point out tree <laugh>, you know what I mean? Bush,

Lauren (12:01):

Like I related to that scene like more than a human should, because I was like, someone knows what it’s like to be me <laugh>, because totally like tree train cow

Lisa (12:16):

<Laugh>. I embrace that a lot. Any other ideas? I mean, there’s so much fun you can do. I just think that, you know, if you have some time, do some preparation and, and get some stuff together or have some fun and do spontaneity, organic things. Yeah.

Lauren (12:31):

I feel, yeah, I mean, if you are the type of person that can pr, you know, wants to go all out with it, I would totally say make that heartbreak backpack for either your family yourself or every person in your group. And then if you’re, if you’re, if you’re not there yet, then just yeah, use your mind and your eyes and your breath to, to kind of yeah, I would, I would challenge you to, to turn your experience into an heartbreak. Like ask yourself that question when you’re standing somewhere. Ask yourself, how, how can I have an here? And so like, if it’s at the beach, maybe you draw in the sand maybe you stack rocks. If you are meeting your family at a park for an afternoon barbecue maybe it’s with food, maybe you make art with maybe you kind of write a play together. It doesn’t mean you have to perform it, you don’t have to get that silly, but you could, you know, come up with a story together around the barbecue grill. There’s, you know, it’s, it’s really, and you and I talk about this a lot, it’s a mind shift. You just have to shift your mind and you’ll experience things in a, in a wholly different way.

Lisa (13:58):

And, but I think also we also always say this too especially when you, you do a community art break or a gathering art break with, if you get to know the person, like, I think the best way to get to know a person is by making art with them <laugh>. And the best way to get to know to your kid, or even like a stranger that you’re, you know, gathering with is to make art with, and that’s amazing. Our, it’s an icebreaker too. Like say you’re at a gathering right now because I think California opens today with no covid restrictions. So Yeah. There’s gotta be some anxiety also, so, you know what I mean? Yeah. And people

Lauren (14:35):

Are,

Lisa (14:37):

It’s, it’s called what’s it called?

Lauren (14:39):

You, it’s opening,

Lisa (14:40):

It’s called Opening Anxiety. It’s actually a thing that I’m doing a, I’m doing a toolkit for the American Association’s for the covid relief team. I’m doing a Yeah, good for you. Yeah. An art toolkit. But so, so say you’re in a gathering and the best way to get to know somebody is making art together, have a little pad and pencil and you know, if you, if you, you know, kind of get to, to know the person and draw together or something, I mean, that’s, yeah,

Lauren (15:07):

So, right. If you’re, do that pest the drawing game when you’re sitting next to someone or play, or if you don’t have a piece of paper and a pen, just play a word game. You know, do a thing where you make a sentence together. Right. That’s exquisite corpse with, that’s how it started, right? Where each person says a word and you make a sentence together. And in no time, you guys will both feel silly, goofy, and the the barriers will have fallen. Yeah. I mean, I myself definitely have opening anxiety because I’m just like, yeah, so why wouldn’t I <laugh> opening anxiety? Ooh, something, you know, not being able to control something. I mean, that is

Lisa (15:53):

<Laugh>

Lauren (15:54):

Something I like. So yeah, I can definitely, and I, and, and for, you know, when I enter a situation viewing it in itself as an artwork, it’s a lot easier to process it mentally and emotionally. So it

Lisa (16:13):

Oh, that’s great. Yeah. That could even be when you’re going to the, yeah, because I don’t know, cuz I’m gonna go to the grocery store, I’m not sure, do I have to wear a mask? You know what I mean? <Laugh>. So there’s all this like, thought that could be an <crosstalk>. Oh, you

Lauren (16:24):

Could, here’s the, here’s a tip, right? If you anxiety and, and you’re right. Like, so you might be taking a road trip to new places and they’ll have totally different restrictions. View it as improv and be like,

Lisa (16:35):

There you

Lauren (16:35):

Go. What it is like literally is that you have to improvise because you, you have no idea what’s going on. And so rather than feeling anxiety because you’re feeling unprepared, treat it like you’re at an improv class and you, you’re just at the ready for anything that’s coming towards you and try to make everything you experience silly rather than devastatingly like anxiety inducing. If that makes, okay.

Lisa (17:01):

That’s super creative. I mean, yeah, I have a amazing July because this is typically the time that people do take their vacations. It’s just kind of like general and get creative. I think. I love that. I love, as you say, it’s like if we look at life like it is an improv <laugh> in a very like, light playful way instead of like Yeah. Cause we’re exiting something that was really intense and Yeah. Yeah. So they say that you know, especially when the pause happens people don’t know how traumatized they are, but once they just, it’s not, you know, you’re, you’re just doing something else and you’ll be like, oh, whoa, I’m getting stressed out because I don’t know what to do. Or I don’t know the protocol, but I, I think you’re right. If you look at July as basically taking an art break, like an improv class Yeah. Life will be fun.

Lauren (17:54):

Yeah. Yeah. Try to try to find the silly <laugh>. Yeah. So yeah, I mean, turn it into an heartbreak and have a great time. Have a wonderful July. And yeah, if

Lisa (18:09):

You, I wanna end, I, I love that quote that says, you know, life is a blank canvas, so create your masterpiece. So I think that would be a beautiful philosophy to, to work with.

Lauren (18:22):

I love that. Yeah. Okay. Until next time, we’ll talk to you soon.

Lisa (18:27):

Okay. See, how come I can’t do this? <Laugh>, I wanna stop recording. Okay.