Creativity on the GO - Vacation Mode.
Earlier this month, I had the opportunity to take a trip that’s been cancelled twice in the past two years - something which many of us are familiar with. In fact, I wasn’t entirely sure it was going to happen until about the day before. Other than a long weekend away last year up the coast, this was our first trip since before the pandemic. The first airplane ride, new airports…the whole experience. It was a little surreal, but it was also wonderful.
I think the reason I didn’t plan a stitchy project to bring with me is because I was sure something would cause us to cancel it. I had plenty of suggestions as to what to take (which I may incorporate into screen porch stitching later this summer), but I took nothing with me, other than my cell phone and my tablet. I downloaded a book that I had been interested in reading for a while into the tablet for the plane ride, and we were off for a week in Las Vegas. Oh, and I had a notebook to capture profound thoughts in - which came home blank.
A Vegas vacation is not a relaxing by the lake or by the pool vacation, but it was a lot of fun. It was also very nice to just switch gears for a bit, and enjoy each other, and give my mind a bit of a break. That said, when you are a creative person, you tend to look at the world differently, and I used what I had at hand (the cell phone) to capture some interesting photos.
Today, I’m going to share a few photos, and what I saw when I was taking the photos. It’s a window into what inspiires me, and I hope a road map for you the next time that you are feeling creative without your usual tools with you. It became an interesting experiment.
The photo above was the art work in the hotel we stayed in. Paris-Las Vegas. Yes, my husband gets to brag that he took me to Paris on this vacation. This is bold, graphic, black + white + color, and it fit my mood. Paris - yes, please.
This photo looks like a background fill design for a quilt - but it actually came from a chair in one of the casinos. The color scheme fits Vegas, but I’ve already taken a few stabs at stitching this one one. I love the bold graphic design!
We stayed on ‘The Strip’, and there was a lot of little shops tucked in here and there amongst the casinos. This was one we passed on the way to breakfast each morning - bold color, and a distinctly quilt like pattern on one of the bags to the left. I never went inside any of the shops - but I did have a lot of fun looking.
This street art was found on one of the little side streets off the main road, and Rock Candyman must have been 15 feet high on the wall of the candy store. What can I say, I have several grandsons who are approaching superhero stage, and now I see them everywhere…but seriously, the colors of blue/orange/green would be a fun quilt to make. Memo to self - show the boys this one.
My absolutely favorite place to go each time I go to Vegas is the Bellagio Conservatory. It’s a massive display of floral wonderment that is changed 5 times a year. ( And you thought the fountains were amazing). We typically visit Vegas in February, which coincides with their Chinese New Year theme - this time, we got to see what they do with spring. It smelled wonderful, and the motifs were everywhere. This hummer was about 8 feel long, and the color… All I can say is Peacock!
I can literally look at this one all day long. Now that I am back, it’s time to revisit this theme…it is gorgeous.
Sometimes changing your typical tools for something different can break you out of a rut, and make you look a the world differently. That’s what worked for me.
Come back and join me next week, won’t you?