Preparing For Take Off

Our "Art Studio" in the apartment in Rhodes, Greece.

Many times we give ourselves excuses for not creating because we don't have the perfect dream space to do it in. I realized that we are challenging that assumption by taking our own art studio in a suitcase. My space for a studio at home is small, but the space of two suitcases, one sized at 18 x 24 x 10 and the other 14 x 21 x 9, is quite a bit smaller! Much like solving a Chinese puzzle, it involves placing all the pieces in just the right order.

Our essentials include: two portable easels that we found at Art Supplies Online (I would definitely recommend these easels), paints, brushes, medium, palettes, and of course, canvases. Our canvas sizes are small, 11 x 14, 9 x 12 and 6 x 9, but we have a total of 28 of them. Jeff is brilliant at figuring out the volume available in a suitcase. We are also taking digital cameras and a tiny photo printer. If we decide we need a light source, i.e. a lamp, we will have to buy it there.

The master plan is to check the bags with the studio supplies in them and carry on one bag each containing our clothes. We thought this would be the most efficient strategy and would fulfill any airline regulations. Now I just have to get everything I need for a month in one bag. My biggest problems are running shoes and vitamin supplements, neither of which I want to live without. One of my friends suggested rolling the vitamins up in a cloth pocket pouch. Pretty good idea. If anyone else has any fun packing suggestions, let us know!

Jeff's Corner: "You can't always take what you want, but if you try sometimes, you just might find, you can take what you need..." (with apologies to the Rolling Stones)