Travel Journal Inspiration

Yes, even though I’ve been traveling a lot this summer I have still been carrying my sketchbooks and pens with me and creating.   I even added some markers and most recently some chalk watercolor paint to my travel collection.

One of the projects I worked on was taking some photos of certain pages from my journal and then creating hardcover books for a couple of my close friends. I gave them each certain images that I thought would be inspirational for them to see when they need a “pick me up”.  I think they enjoyed receiving the books (this is based on their responses). :)

Below are some of the newer images I’ve created.

DIY Project- Going Retro

My mom found this ugly metal stand at a flea market and thought of me. She was right on for this particular piece of furniture.  I immediately had a vision. Below is how I transformed this piece from ugly to retro chic.

Steps:

1.  I started by sanding down the metal.

2.  Then purchased Krylon Spray Paint color Ocean Mist glossy and put a couple of layers on the stand.  I taped off the wheels so they wouldn’t get painted. And took the drawer out and painted it separately.  **Wait at least 24 hours before moving on to the next step.

3.  I thought I’d leave it plain but then got inspiration from my new phone cover. I found some painters tape and created chevon stripes. Once taped off I used Krylon black glossy paint to spray the exposed areas. It was a little difficult only having two hands as I had to take a piece of cardboard and move it along the edge of the table top in order to not have any spray paint get onto the sides of the table.  

4.  I waited half a day before peeling of the tape to see the results. It’s not perfect but then again neither am I.  Bottom line- it came out pretty cool.  (to avoid any jagged edges on the stripes don’t rip the tape like I did, lesson learned- use actual scissors) Yeah I know duh!!!

5.  Even though I used glossy paint which is fairly rugged I did use Kryon Crystal Clear Glossy spray to finish off the just the top of the stand. I figure this may help protect the top from wear longer.

M & M

I’ve spent the summer traveling. From Thailand to New Mexico, to South Carolina, then Minneapolis, and lastly Montreal. 

I went to Minneapolis for the National Art Therapy Conference where I presented on the work I do as an art therapist.  (It went great.) This is probably one of the best conference a person can go to. Where else can you find a photo booth, an open studio full of supplies, the opportunity to participate in a huge glass tile mural for a local organization, homemade crayons in the bathroom, and inspirational cards where you lease expect them. The only thing that one have been better was if I hadn’t had a bad cold the entire week. (Thank you Kim for putting up with my sniffles and coughs!)  

I had never been to Minneapolis but found that I really enjoyed it. Or rather the few spots I managed to go to on my off time.  The conference was located downtown and I enjoyed walking through the Greenbelt area. I also went to a few galleries including The Walker Contemporary Art Museum and the Minnesota Museum of Art.  I found the later Museum the best as frankly I just don’t get contemporary art no matter how hard I try.  I also had some great food, desserts and drinks. :)

I came back to Rochester for a less than a week and spontaneously headed to Montreal for a weekend with a good friend of mine.  Neither of us had ever been there before but heard great things about it.  The way up took a little more time than expected due to some traffic issues but eventually we made it to Montreal by dinner time. 

We stayed at a very urban stylish hotel called Hotel Zero. It felt a little 50 Shades of Grey’ish and NYC’ish due to the walls being cement and all black and everything being condensed into a small space.  We dropped our bags off and then walked down to Old Montreal exploring Old Port, shops, artisans out selling their goods, a lot of neat street performers and some great food.     

My fav stop was Poutine with chicken and a large Sangria for dinner. Yummy!!! The Poutine restaurant was set back through a stone walkway and in an open courtyard surrounded by stone buildings.  We sat next to some really nice Canadians and chatted them up. They told us of an International Firework competition going on during the summer and it happened to fall on that night.  So we stayed wondering around the streets enjoying watching everything going on until the fireworks began. China ran the show and since they were the creators of fireworks they made sure to not disappoint.

The following day we got up early and headed to breakfast followed by the Montreal Contemporary Art Museum. We both left very disturbed and felt the need to cleanse our souls, so we were on our way to the Notre Dame Basilica when we came across the “Laugh It Out” Comedy Festival that was being held for 2 weeks. We explored the festival a bit bummed that we weren’t there long enough to see any of the great performances that were being held but we did discover Bad Monkey popcorn.  Oooooo so good!   After the Basilica we found some ice cream for lunch and then walked through Chinatown.  

Montreal is a great place to visit (okay perhaps only in the summer/fall). I wish I could have stayed there longer because there was so much more to do. Perhaps I’ll make it back there again someday.