Speaking of Art Blog

My husband Randy and I returned recently from our summer vacation.  We spent 4 wondrous days exploring the southwestern coastline of Michigan, then we (and our car) boarded the steamship SS Badger and cruised across the middle of Lake Michigan to Wisconsin.  Then we spent 7 more wondrous days exploring Door County, Wisconsin before driving home to Indiana.  We hiked almost every day and soaked in the beautiful scenery surrounding magical Lake Michigan.

I always make a Shutterfly hard cover vacation book using some of my best pics I take on our trip, but what I also like to do is try to find bits and pieces to take home to create my own homemade souvenirs after our trip.  I find my own personalized mementos to be much more satisfying and specific to what we saw and did.  Here are some examples of what I purchased on our recent trip and what I did with the items I took home.

During the first 2 days of our trip, we explored Sleeping Bear Dunes National Park in earnest.  The haze in the sky those 2 days created quite the unique perspective. It was hard to tell where the water ended and the sky began.  It was mesmerizing.  So, in little gift shops throughout our trip, I kept watching for inexpensive beaded stretch bracelets that showcased all shades of blue. I purchased several and then pulled them apart once I got home to create my own one-of-a-kind necklace featuring a few pendant stones I found while on the trip too – a Petosky stone (native to Michigan), Opalite (the color of the hazy sky reflected in the water), and Citrine (reminding me of the sand dunes).  In advance, I usually try to scout out any rock shops I might encounter during our vacation.  They are a gold mine for special stones, beads, and pendants I want to feature in a beaded creation.

I found a really cool tree bark vase in a gift shop in Door County.  Then in the back room of that same gift shop I found a bucket with some sale priced stray silk flower bunches, with some looking like lavender.  Score!  I bought the vase and 3 of the flower bunches and put them together myself at home.  We spent one day during our time in Door County on Washington Island.  That island is famous for their lavender fields which are stunning to behold.  Yes, there are gift shops selling all kinds of lavender souvenirs on the island, but I love the unique touch of a tree bark vase because we did a lot of hiking in woods throughout this trip.  So, this arrangement reminds me of both our excursion to Washington Island and our many woodland hikes.

I have 2 more treasures awaiting my creative efforts, a tiny handmade book, 2x3.5”, that will hold little bitty prints of my bird paintings, and a Petosky stone slab that I intend to paint an image of a lighthouse onto with some acrylic paint and colored markers.  We saw lots of birds and lighthouses on this trip.

I would urge anyone to consider making your own souvenirs after you return home from your summer vacation.  You don’t have to have any special talent.  There are all kinds of books and videos explaining the basics of jewelry making, rock painting, and flower arranging, and those are only 3 suggestions.  Some gift shops, especially ones at art galleries and nature preserves, even sell kits for making your own creations.  Buy one and have some creative fun when you get home. 

When I’m on vacation I feel free from my obligations at home.  My creative thoughts have time to wander aimlessly through my brain cells. Why not keep that momentum going when I get home? It helps to ward off the inevitable post-vacation emotional slump.

Yes of course, I will be creating some new paintings based on a few of the 220+ photos I took  during this trip.  But a painting takes way more time for me to create compared to a simple floral arrangement. Before I even finished unpacking my suitcase I was primping those flower bunches in that tree bark vase.  They made me smile as I remembered our day on Washington Island while I sorted the mega loads of dirty laundry.  Mission accomplished.  My homemade souvenirs help me push through those doldrum feelings of another vacation coming to an end.  Try it for yourself.  You might really like the feeling you get from creating something new and fresh and unique to your trip and fashioned by your own creative vision.

Long Shadows, pastel  

I created this painting many years ago based on a photo I took when visiting Sleeping Bear Dunes National Park for the first time. During our vacation this summer, we visited that park for the third time. Each visit feels like a whole new experience.  Nature is ever changing, ever inspiring to me.

Special note: I am presently selling some of my jewelry creations in the members gift shop at the Chesterton Art Center in Chesterton IN, and two sizes of my dune/Lake Michigan matted prints are for sale at Beaches & Beyond, the gift shop at the Indiana Dunes Visitor Center in Chesterton.  I will have my original artwork for sale at the upcoming Chesterton Art Fair on Aug. 2-3, 2025 in Dogwood Park, Chesterton IN.  But my floral creations are not for sale.  For now anyway, they’re just for me and my family to enjoy.