This trip around Europe, while it might seem like a joyfest, was actually a research and development trip for my Creative Travel Tools. I am working on expanding the tools for use beyond my tours and I needed to practice them myself.
A few of the tools I used: blogging, free writing, the alphabet game and more. But I really got into collage. I did a lot of folding and making accordion pleats in the journal.
I collected ‘schwag’: post cards, business cards, labels, transportation tickets, stickers, etc. You get it. I never had a great envelope to collect them but they managed to get into my book anyway.
I did several pages for Berlin and Amsterdam, one for Milano, and sadly, none for Cologne, where we made a one-night stopover to visit Denise’s friend Frank. You’ve seen the Paris pages.
My Moleskine sketchbook is bulging from all the collage, and the stitching was really strained in the middle. I still have about ten pages to fill, and I will use them to learn Portuguese and capture my time in Portugal.
My traveling companion Denise and I decided to travel by train and use the time en route to make art. It was the perfect interlude for creating. Using the little tray tables, our glue sticks and watercolor pencils, we spent hours lulled by the rhythm of the train and the tunes on our iPods. Most of the trips were about four hours long, the perfect amount of time to whip out the supplies and capture the inspiration.
Denise’s Transformation
Denise is what’s known as a blocked artist. She’s a very talented painter and portrait artist, and before we came on our trip, she showed me her journal from when she was a teen runaway. It was stunning: filled with beautiful drawings of people and places, collage, design, color and style. I was blown away and encouraged her to bring her art supplies. We agreed that this would be an art tour for us. We’d wend our way through Europe filling our journals.
Denise turned out to be the perfect guinea pig for my Creative Travel Tools. She confessed to me that when she was packing her art supplies she thought “Oh, why bring these, I won’t use them. I haven’t done art in fifteen years and taking these will just be….”
This was Denise’s first trip to Europe and it completely blew the lid off of her head. That’s the only way to describe it – when someone has her head completely taken off and filled with new stimulus. You’ve had this feeling at some point, right? It can be overwhelming, especially with the non-stop pace we had – four countries in 19 days. Denise kept saying, “I can’t take it, I can’t take anymore!” She’s already pretty hyper and trying to calm her down was easy with my secret weapon:
The Creative Travel Tools saved Denise’s creativity and made her trip much, more than a romp around the Continent.
We’d be waiting for something and Denise would shout, “I gotta write this down! I gotta blog!” I encouraged her to whip out her notebook and do it there. She’d get it out, scribble some words or capture a quick sketch. Afterwards I’d ask if she felt better (calmer, more grounded) and she always did.
Denise’s journal is amazing and inspiring. I learned some new techniques from her and she let me use her watercolor pencils (now I want a set!).
Denise also got completely inspired by the fashion in Europe and scored some great finds: a hot dress in Berlin, two pair of awesome shoes in Berlin, a pair of boots, a belt and a leather jacket in Amsterdam. And a scarf, too, completing her new European look.
I have a secret desire to see Denise become a fashion designer instead of a graphic designer but I musn’t implant my dreams on someone else’s path!
But the best thing is that now Denise knows that she is no longer a blocked artist and has returned to Denver to use the inspiration in her life and art.
City Shrines
My friend Lena helped me brainstorm the idea for my City Shrines before I left. I went to the flea market in each city (well, Paris, and Berlin) and got a container for a City Shrine. In Paris I got a cool old stainless steel box that we think was used for dental pics. In Berlin I found a giant matchbox that even had matches packs from the sixties inside. I also got a small leather photograph folder in Berlin, so Berlin got two shrines.

In Amsterdam I found a cool tin with typical Dutch images on it at a thrift store. For Milan, I’m using a small pastilles box. You already saw the Lisbon City Shrine.
On the train, I’d get out my schwag, my journal and the soon-to-be Shrine box. Without thinking, I’d fold, pleat, tear and glue. I loved the process of intuitively placing things. When I look at the journal, I feel the critical eye wanting it to be different, but the City Shrines I just love. I want to make more.
I highly recommend this way of making art – no thinking, just do it. Just go.
More Art to Come
My creative plan for the summer is to switch to watercolor and fill my Moleskine watercolor notebook with pen and ink and watercolor paintings. The beach really inspired me with all the umbrellas and people lounging around. I need to practice drawing the human form – what better place than the beach?
While I love the collage, I really crave color and want to work with color more. So, on to painting!
I also really enjoyed making photos on this trip and think I am developing a good eye. I will continue to make photos and play with that art form.
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