Packing for My First Artist Residency

In a few days, I will be traveling to Brazil for my first artist residency. I have all the feelings you would expect; nervous, fear, joy, excitement, worry, etc. I think I am also dealing with the feeling of not being enough. I see it playing out in packing my luggage which I did my research and made a few lists, narrowed it down and I’m still bringing too much stuff. I keep thinking, will I have enough? What if I need this or that. I also have to pack my art supplies which I have an idea of what to bring but right now I am stuck on what clothes to bring, toiletries, shoes, etc. I also want to leave room to bring back souvenirs and some cute clothes I might find. 

As I am writing this, I am telling myself, this is not a vacation, my time is not constrained, I will be living in a residential area in town. I can walk or take a bus to get anything I may need. I can go to a laundry mat and wash my clothes. I think this is what I’m forgetting. When I volunteered in the Dominican Republic, we had to bring everything we needed. There was limited time and limited places to get things. And every other trip I have been on, most of the time I over packed. I don’t want to do that this time. I have enough. I am enough. I want space for new things and not be bogged down with fear. 

I was gonna end it there, but I want to share how I am going to accomplish this. One simple suggestion I saw a couple times when I did my research was to cut everything by half. So I will bring half of my packed clothes and I will use this thought process in bringing my art supplies as well. Limited constraint breeds resourcefulness and creativity in art and in life. Now, it’s time to repack.

I will try and post a weekly blog about my time in Brazil. I know I'll have lots of pix. If you have any questions, please feel free to comment and with a question.