As my trip to France gets closer, I'm starting to make lists of what to take and gather things together. My fellow travellers and I have swapped emails about what we're planning to pack and it made me laugh to see how most of what we are all bringing involve electronics and the accessories we need to work them - cameras, iPods, laptops and their plugs and adaptors. Hopefully we'll still have room in our suitcases for everything else we need to bring. I can't imagine not taking these things with me but I did have to pause and think about the whole concept of technology and how much it is a part of our lives when I heard Tom Holland speak the other night.
Tom shared some photos of his home with us, which is currently a small "shack" he and his wife are living in while they build a new solar-powered home on the side of a mountain. Their goal is to live off the grid. One photo that made us all laugh was their hot tub - an actual metal tub with a fire built underneath it. Tom said they sit on a board so their butts don't burn but it works like charm!
He also spoke of both the talismanic and the spiritual aspect of beadwork, how working with beads or glass or any other artistic medium is a sanctuary from technology. I can definitely relate to that. Making art, to me, is a way to connect with our inner selves and tune out the noise of the world around us.
I'm not sure I'll ever be ready to give up my iPod or my camera, or being able to download my photos onto my computer. Not this trip, anyway! I know there will be so many images to capture and hopefully share here on my blog. I'm taking my laptop and planning to blog regularly, time permitting. I'm also packing a journal and a sketchbook, paints, watercolour pencils, and pens in my suitcase along with all the wired stuff so I can play with both while I'm gone. And yes, I'm taking beads too!
(photo of someone else's traveling art kit)
No comments:
Post a Comment