Hi all,
Just got back from Arizona and southern California! Had an amazing time! Visited Phoenix, Prescott, Joshua Tree, did some light hiking and rock climbing. Finished off the trip to in Mission Viejo San Juan Capistrano. Saw LA for the first time... Hollywood walk of fame... got some baseball games in. Arting, sketching, chalking the whole time! It was great! I have pictures on my
Instagram and
twitter if you'd like to see.
There is so much importance to traveling and doing art. In a age where many of us get most of our culture behind a screen of some sort, really being able to see the west coast mountains, desert, ( ROAD RUNNERS ARE AWESOME ) on my own in person, there is no substitute. Very fortunate my scheduled allows me to have time for travel this year. I encourage everyone to take these trips, get out, stretch the creative legs and go on a journey.
I say this because I recently had a poll going on a few sites "
Have you ever taken a "Art-Cation"? ( its a vacation/retreat for artists ) "
An Art-Cation ( also known as artist retreat ) is a type of vacation just for artists. They can be taken solo or with a group.
Reasons why someone would take a Art-Cation could be one or more of the following:
▪Time to work on new art
▪Learn a new skills
▪Explore a new region for inspiration
▪See museums collections in person
▪Attend art relates events/galleries/workshops
▪Network with other artists
▪Fill a curiosity need
The results were overwhelming surprising to me. Out of a small sample of DA users who participated, 136 votes, 68% never heard of a Art-Cation / or Artists Retreat. ( they art different from a meet ups ) On Art Amino same results, with 64% had no clue. I anticipated people maybe knowing but never gone... but not never knowing at all was shock. Now I'm questioning why? Why haven't online artists talked about this? I'd like to know your thoughts and start a conversation on it. Share
stories if you have or reasons why you haven't. I'd like to research this and do a video on it... if its helpful. 
( Lucy Florida Panther, Chalk it up! - Prescott, AZ 2017 )
May is a time where I'm resting and spending it getting re-organized. Its the tail end of spring and Florida starts to wrap up! The chalk/public art season of the year ends due to heat/rains. However its prime time weather conditions everywhere else! So I'll be spending this summer mostly out of state. I updated my event listing. If your near any of these areas come on out! See some awesome artists... bring your art supplies! Sketch party art... have fun! Hope to see you! If not at any of these event there are more. Check your local listings for chalk art. You'll be glad you went.
In the mean time I'll be thinking over ways to bridge the gap of digital artists and the mobile screen vs the gallery artists vs the public art artists... Maybe its not as bad?
Upcoming Events / Summer 2017
May 26th -28th
I Madonnari, Italian Street Painting Festival
Santa Barbra, CA
June 10 - 11
Arbor Lakes Chalkfest
Arbor Lakes , MN
June 23- 25
Cambridge Street Art Festival
Cambridge, Ontario Canada
July 15-16
Sweet Chalk Festival
Lockport, NY
August 4 - 6
Buffalo Chalk Fest
Buffalo, NY
Written by
Cass Womack
Cass has devoted her life to education and the arts. After teaching programming and animation for 4 years and working another 10 as a production artist in the video game industry, Cass decided to take up street painting as a way to get out of the office and reconnect with the community. What started as a hobby in 2011, blossomed into a lifestyle. Cass now travels all over the world sharing her unique, colorful style, her vast knowledge and love of public art. She loves to experiment with new techniques, surfaces and mediums.
"Getting comfortable with discomfort is crucial to success!"
<3 Cheers Muzzy... I hope your battling a cthulhu some place.
