A Road Trip is Art

Have you ever journeyed across the country to pick up three large paintings you dropped off after a series of unfortunate events, really hoping that they would have been sold so you didn’t have to come back to Indianapolis, but sadly had to welcome them back to your studio anyways? Well, that has been my life for the last few weeks, more and more logistics, a hope and a prayer traveling in a nearly 30-year-old Chevy Suburban across the country after your mama and dad gifted it to your Vaimo and you saying “you’re on borrowed time” after learning that your “new” nearly 30 year old Suburban has its original engine.

But somewhere in rural Illinois after Hermana and I heard a very surprising commercial about backdoor pleasures, I was struck with the inspiration of the theme of this month’s newsletter essay! Road trippin’! How could I make that work I wondered to myself as Hermana’s stomach gurgled following the decadent Culver’s custard pit stop. Road trips are always an adventure if you make it so, whether it’s a well worn path or a new journey, the excitement of the open road is a great analogy for art making because as I’m learning, art is sometimes something that you need a map for, and other times, a complete trusting process that you will end up where you need to be somehow as long as you start the journey. The road is it's own analogy for life, of course it can be for art too.

There are attractions and scenic overlooks if you have the time and presence to stop and pull over, and on the other hand, sometimes the biggest thrill is simply accomplishing the next mile on the way to the destination. I’ve logged a lot of road miles this summer, three round trips from Minnesota to Kansas, a one way and a round trip from Minnesota to Indiana complete with the joys of Chicago traffic, a couple of trips to Minneapolis just two hundred miles each way but who’s counting? Even if I’m not trying to leave the state, living in a rural place means a half hour drive to town for groceries or buckets of paint or soft serve ice cream. During summer camp with my hermanitas this month we traveled to Fergus Falls, Detroit Lakes, Park Rapids, Wadena, Motley, Moorhead, and Fargo in addition to the Twin Cities. No wonder I’m having a difficult time remembering what day of the week it is or where I am!

What if we thought about our creative journeys like a road trip? I’ve had lots of time to think about it meandering through country roads and seeking new radio signals amongst the hum of static, and the part that intrigues me the most is that a road trip’s beginning and end is not the only important part. There’s joy to be had in the journey itself. It’s a good reminder for me, because I am notorious for focusing on the destination as the only true important part of any journey. However, my art practice (and let's be real, my sweet Vaimo) is also teaching me the joy in the journey. Yes, completing a painting is magic, however if I’m not finding something to look forward to in the journey I may as well call the whole trip off. Without the journey, there wouldn’t even be a destination. Small milestones can help you get to where you want to be.

And you know what, that nearly 30-year-old Chevy Suburban handled it mostly like a dream. Sure it dripped some water on Hermana’s feet on the passenger side, and the vehicle creaked and groaned at the end of an 8-hour drive. But she did it. And she got up and did it again the next day, and we made it back home safely. And that’s all we can really hope for, caring for the vessel so that it continues to get us where we need to go. Every mile was a miracle, just like every minute in the studio can be even if they're in short supply...for now.

What I’m Hearing

Excited that This Land is back with a new season, and as a teaser to the new episodes the meantime, they aired this special episode from Snap Judgment about a Census Powwow in North Dakota. Given my time out on the census trail a year ago, this listen reminded me of those terrible times and how truly systematic exclusion is built into our democratic structures. Who counts is a really important question I’m continuing to chew on. *Also, as a complete aside, who knew I want to add podcast episode art to my goal list, like woah!

Artist Offerings

• My screen time has been seriously down lately, though, two essays that moved me this month: amb’s The Darwin Varient, and/or Love of the Fittest, and
• My new favorite newsletter writer Sweater Weather particularly resonating with the chair is peak jeans in church culture Brandon had me at "vibes as aesthetic theory, tbh" 

Creative Ritual

Vaimo and I hosted Summer Camp for my hermanitas which meant we were busily preparing for one of their upcoming nuptials to happen at the ChicFinn and running all over the countryside. Hermanita reminded us all that self-care in the form of laying out in the sun and floating on the lake is of top priority while I also tried to do some important home repairs and preparations for the upcoming wedding (23 days out!) My self-care was skipping August 15th’s correspondence, while I also hosted a PBS news crew to the home to do a spot on me, prepped a fellowship application due in mid-September and navigating through the continuing to evolve website that my Storymapping Project helped inform! As for a couple of paintings I'm working on little by little, I am in the thralls of not being sure when I’ll get to my destination, and trying to be ok with that.

Questions to Ponder

Are you enjoying the journey?
Do you need a map?
Are you up for an adventure?
What is your favorite kind of detour?

Thanks for journeying with me. I hope, as always, that you take what you need and leave the rest for someone else, or for another time. 

-KCF