DIY at Home Art Retreat

I’ve been dreaming for a while now about getting out of the city and away from the distractions of everyday life to go make art. The reality is I can’t afford a solo cabin somewhere in the midwest (ideal spot for this daydream), so I decided to make a DIY at home art retreat for myself the Sunday before labor day. It started when a few days prior I was looking at my calendar and noticed that I had no plans. I blocked the day out for art making and an at home retreat.

Full disclosure that I more or less did everything I’m going to talk about here, but I did let myself get distracted with an impromptu invitation and went out with a friend to a comedy show. So...it wasn’t a full day but I did have about 5 hours to myself (I also had a sick boyfriend to go get medicine for).

Of course before the day came I made a list of what my ideal retreat would look like and here it what I wrote:

• Have morning coffee without phone/social media/TV. Bonus picture below with an appearance by Cleo the cat. I am currently reading "The Secret History of Wonder Woman" by Jill Lepore

• Look at old sketchbooks for ideas

• Limit distractions (dishes, laundry, etc).

• Go for a walk to the nearby park

• Read articles I have saved to read later

• Write blog content

• Read

• Minimal social media time

• Collage

• Sketch

• Paint

If you are thinking about doing an at home retreat, nothing fancy is needed for supplies, whatever you have on hand and normally work with are just fine. If you want to play around with a new project make sure you already have all the supplies ready to go so you’re not running to the store day of. Enjoy your day and think of all those times you thought “I wish I had time to work on that” and take this time to do the work!

For me, it was really nice to start the day phone less and with a book. I haven’t done that in a looong time. It did set a good mood for the day and I got a lot done. Next time I do this I will make sure not to get tempted by an invite to go out so I have a full day retreat.

Have you ever done a DIY at home retreat? How did it go? I would love to hear in the comments!

June (Final) Wrap Up

I don't know how people blog several times a week, I can barely handle once a month! This week I found myself dreading this June wrap up post (which is why it's super late).  I'm not a full time blogger (obviously) so I can do whatever I want here! That means I'm going to end the wrap ups for now. I wanted to do a year of monthly wrap up posts and I made it 9 months. Not bad! Back to posting here whenever the mood strikes.

It took me about two seconds today to realize that I've been having a hard time handling stress and anxiety, so I should cut some things out of my routine (and add in more of what I truly want to do at that moment). Scott and I went to Michigan for a long weekend in a cabin with no internet and barely a cell signal and I realized I need to unplug a bit more in daily life. In honor of that, here are a few of my favorite photos from this weekend.

Now I'm going to spend the rest of my night reading and collaging/drawing in my sketchbook. Happy creating!

From a 4.1 mile hike in the Northern Michigan woods

The great (and affordable!) Airbnb we stayed in

We sat around the fire going through a few sections and asking each other questions

February Wrap Up

February was a month of balancing work-life-art and feeling pretty good about it. The day job has been busy but there was still time to make plans with friends and make art. It's not as perfect as I feel it could have been- I could have done a lot more with the art, but it feels good overall (and that matters!). The boyfriend and I went to Milwaukee for a long weekend of museums, eating, and drinking; another fun Midwest winter trip.

I haven't been doing so well with being present lately; my mind is all over the place and unless I'm painting I am having trouble focusing. I am working to block out more creative time and not let other things distract me. As I type this I have the whole evening ahead of me to create and work on whatever I need to catch up on. 

Here's the February wrap up:

•  Went to the Milwaukee Museum of Art, mostly spending time in the contemporary collection (they have a Kehinde Wiley piece that I love)
• Some great books arrived this month! 100 Days of Discussion by Jennifer E Synder (which is also helping to support this artist residency). There are several ways to use this book and I think I will be using it as a solo journal. Map Your Business by Tara Swiger also arrived. So many things to dig in to!
• Listening to: Pay Attention Podcast interview with Jennifer Synder. Tara Swiger's Explore Your Enthusiasm episode titled How do you get up in the morning when everything is awful?

Photo Round Up

100 Days of Discussion by Jennifer Synder 

Map Your Business by Tara Swiger

Tyanna Buie (American, b. 1984)
Incarnation, 2015
Assembled screenprint with collage and ink, charcoal, and mixed media on paper
150 × 133 1/2 in

Milwaukee Art Museum

Have a great March!