Inspired to Travel on Off the Wall Friday

Blacksmith Shop, John C. Campbell's Folk School

 

As my class date draws closer, it's got me thinking about how travel always seems to inspire my creative nature.  (Obviously, since we have traveled very little in the last two years and I feel all dried up inside.) It's the trips and the classes over the years that have been a driving force in keeping me sewing.  There is always something new to learn, places to explore, and people to meet.  

But right now I just have one little trip planned for this summer and it's located smack dab in cornfield country in rural Indiana.  (Don't get me wrong!  I pretty much believe the Midwest is my favoritest part of the US...but still it is a cornfield in rural Indiana!)  So I was thinking of other trips I could plan that could inspire...hmmmmm keeping in mind that gas is $4.25/gal here in NW PA!

Marc Adam's School of Woodworking
(cool right?!?)

(Here's another list for you Norma!  I swear I never realized how many posts ended up with this format until you mentioned it!)

Travel Ideas to Inspire

• Local History...If you're like me you might forget that your hometown actually has a history behind it.  Make a list - take a day - GO VISIT.  While you're at it ... are there any good nature spots that you haven't visited?  Track those down and go visit those too!  They are in your backyard!

  

  Lake Erie from Blasco Libary, Erie PA

  
  
  

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  Drawing Class at the National Gallery in DC

  Museums...If you've been paying attention you know I'm a museum lover.  My husband reads his way through museums but I tend to LOOK my way through.  I look at everything...the exhibits...the architecture...other people visiting.  It totally inspires me and I have ideas jumping in my head every time I visit.
  
• Take a creative class somewhere else.  Here are my posts on folk schools here and here.  But you're not limited to those... You can travel to take any kind of class that gets your creative juices flowing!  Paul is still talking about traveling to take New England to take a baking class there.  Plus look I'm going to a woodworking school to an art quilting class - grin!  (BTW - Marc's school is offering a really cool selection of all sorts of classes and that list grows every year!)
• Explore the Opposite... What I mean by that is if you live in the city, pick a rural place to visit
  and if you live in the country, pick a city.  Don't be afraid to talk to the people and eat something different.  I highly suggest that you use TripAdvisor to help you find fun things to explore in your chosen area.  So many times, I've taken their advice and found the most interesting things to do.  

Westside Market, Cleveland

That should get you started!  Now once you start traveling don't forget to take a ton of pictures.  Don't take the regular shots but get up close and personal.  Remember to take shots of things that excite you and things that are different from home.  Try to take different angles and zoom in on the small and interesting!

Keep a small notebook.  Now I haven't ever gotten those to work but I've had many of my friends carry a small notebook to take notes of things that interest them as they travel.

Pick up bits and bobs!  I'm not talking about the normal souvenirs one gets but the small things that will fit in your purse that will remind you of your trip..a leaf, a napkin from an outdoor restaurant etc.

Hopefully when you're home and rested all of these will come together to springboard you into a new piece.  

Fingers crossed it will for me, too!!

So What are You up to Creatively? 

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