An Artist Guide to California
November was busy! In between the release of my Nostalgic Route Collection, the hustle of a huge in-person market (read about that here), and the rush of Black Friday and Small Business Saturday I felt burn out coming on quick! Thankfully, my husband and I had planned to slip away, just the two of us, for a breather in my favorite state: California.
I truly believe I was born on the wrong coast. I may physically live here in Florida on the east coast, but my heart is west...then north…then over west a little more , keep going, have you reached the Pacific yet? You need to hit the Pacific—basically I’m trying to get to San Francisco guys! My heart is in San Francisco! (Hey! Isn’t there a song about that??)
Our visit wasn’t long—only four days—but we managed to enjoy ourselves fully without overbooking our itinerary. After all, the purpose of the getaway was to recharge and rest, not run ourselves ragged! We started by spending a couple nights in San Francisco. We ate at different restaurants and browsed local shops, rode the streetcar to Fisherman’s Wharf, and biked over the Golden Gate Bridge into Sausalito (I say that last part so nonchalant like peddling up those hills didn’t almost kill me!) Once in Sausalito, I appreciated all the local art proudly displayed throughout the shops we explored. The art scene in general in California is so amazing and I truly admire the support locals give for original art and the artist who create them.
After our brief stay in the city, we spent a couple days in Sonoma and Napa, visiting several wineries and my husband’s favorite brewery. Also, can I just mention that the Sonoma Square is the cutest little shopping district ever! This isn’t a travel blog by any means, so I won’t launch into details about the places we ate at or visited. If you do have questions shoot me an email and I’d be happy to share more details of particular places we went—we’ve discovered some pretty great spots over the years of coming to this state.
The purpose of this entry was to acknowledge that burn out is real! And sometimes a nice little get away can be just what you need to avoid it. It worked in my case. I came back refreshed and ready to begin thinking about all the good stuff I have in store for next year. Another thing California helped me with was nudging some of the fuzzy details of my next collection into clearer focus. The textures and colors and landscapes of Cali in the fall can’t be beat, in my opinion. I collected rocks from various places throughout the trip and have some ideas that I’d love to begin implementing using their pigment!
I think I’ll start experimenting and creating in January…
So, stick around, I’m looking forward to sharing what I come up with. If you haven’t already, subscribe to my newsletter below and give me a follow on Instagram to get a better grasp of my process.
Talk soon!
xo
